It was another jump in the polls for LSU basketball after a 2-0 week to close out the regular season, moving to No. 9 in the country.

The Tigers (26-5, 16-2) sealed the deal on an SEC title with a 80-59 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday that also locked them into the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament this week. LSU will face the winner of Florida-Arkansas on Friday, coincidentally the two teams that beat the Tigers in SEC play.

Interim coach Tony Benford said the team is still awaiting a decision about freshman point guard Javonte Smart who was held out of the Vanderbilt game as a precaution following the recent Yahoo report. Benford said in a teleconference Monday that he is moving forward under the assumption he'll be the head coach for the SEC tournament.

Other SEC teams in the top-25 are Kentucky (4) and Tennessee (8).