Talk about a rough start for the Southeastern Conference.

Despite lofty preseason expectations, the league has stumbled out of the gates in men’s basketball play. Several teams have already tripped up against mid-major and low-major opponents.

The lastest came Tuesday night when the Georgia Bulldogs lost to Wofford. Already, Alabama has lost to Cornell, Auburn was upset by Missouri State and Mississippi State dropped a decision to Rider.

The SEC clearly struggled last season. The league had just three NCAA Tournament teams, but some national experts boldly predicted that number to balloon as high as six or seven teams this year. Obviously there is still plenty of work to be done.

Still, count me in as one of the firm believers that this opening stretch is nothing more than an anomaly. I think this conference will be in the top three in the RPI by the end of the year because of returning talent and experience.

No other league had as many big-time names return to school. Players like Tennessee’s Tyler Smith, Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado, South Carolina’s Devan Downey, and of course, UK’s Patrick Patterson decided to put the NBA on hold and return to school.

By season’s end, I think we’ll see those decisions pay dividends with deep runs in March.

And oh, by the way, that same Rider team that beat Mississippi State — the same Bulldogs team that is supposed to challenge UK for the conference crown — visits Rupp Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m.