SEC Notepad - January 21

Photo by Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Monday was a surreal day for Vol fans. Just after noon, the updated AP Top 25 was released and Tennessee sat at the No. 1 spot. It’s just the second time in program history that the Vols have been on top of the national rankings. The last time it happened was in 2008. Tennessee beat No. 1 Memphis to claim the top spot, but fell in their next outing, a game at No. 18 Vanderbilt.

Oddly enough, Tennessee travels to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Wednesday. The Vols are hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself. Still, this Vols team seems more complete than the one of 2007-08. Also, Vanderbilt was No. 18 when they pulled off the 2008 upset. Currently, the Commodores are 0-5 in SEC play and 9-8 overall.

Vol fans deserve this national spotlight more than any other fanbase. The loyalty shown by Vol Nation is unrivaled and the adversity overcome to get to this point is remarkable. When Rick Barnes was hired to replace the troubled Donnie Tyndall in 2015, the Vols had surpassed 20 wins in a season just twice in the previous 5 years. Tennessee went 15-19 in Barnes’ first season and 16-16 in the following year.

Then, after being picked to finish 13th in the conference last season, Rick Barnes began to return the program back to national relevance, as Bruce Pearl once had it. The Vols finished last season 26-9. They were Co-Champions of the SEC and finished second in the SEC Tournament. Their early exit in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was partially due to an injury to Kyle Alexander, as well as the fact that they ran into last year’s cinderella, Loyola-Chicago.

Thursday marks 2 years since the Vols pulled off an unexpected, 82-80 upset of No. 4 Kentucky in Thompson-Boling Arena. Fast forward to 2019 and the Vols are ranked No. 1 in the national polls, but they haven’t lost any motivation. They know that a ranking in January is not their main goal. It’s nice, but there is much more to be accomplished.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Tennessee (—): The Vols moved to No. 1 in Monday’s AP Poll, after beating Arkansas and Alabama this week. They racked up 106 points in their 19-point win over the Razorbacks and held on to beat Alabama, 71-68 on Saturday. They are 16-1 (5-0) and find themselves at the top of the national polls for just the second time in program history.

2. Kentucky (—): The WIldcats won 2 road games this week, defeating Georgia by 20 and beating No. 14 Auburn 82-80.

3. LSU (—): The Tigers solidified their No. 3 spot in our power rankings with a dominant, 83-69 road win over No. 18 Ole Miss. They also beat South Carolina by 22.

4. Auburn (up 1): Auburn handled Texas A&M on the road, winning 85-66, but narrowly fell to Kentucky in a disappointing home loss.

5. Ole Miss (down 1): Ole Miss responded to their home loss versus LSU by picking up a 17-point win over Arkansas.

6. Mississippi State (up 2): The Bulldogs fended off Florida for a 71-68 victory on Tuesday, before dominating Vanderbilt, 71-55 on Saturday.

7. Alabama (up 2): Alabama defeated Missouri by 10 in Columbia on Wednesday and nearly upset Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday afternoon, losing 71-68.

8. Florida (down 1): Florida fell to Mississippi State by 3 points on Tuesday and had a lackluster 10-point win over Georgia, winning 62-52.

9. South Carolina (down 3): The Gamecocks squeaked by Vanderbilt, 74-71 on Wednesday, before getting whacked at LSU, 89-67. South Carolina has home meetings with Auburn and Tennessee in 2 out of their next 3 games.

10. Missouri (up 2): The Tigers fell at home to Alabama, before their 23-point victory at Texas A&M.

11. Arkansas (down 1): The Razorbacks played 2 good teams on the road this week, but looked awful in both games. They lost to Tennessee 106-87 and fell to Ole Miss, 84-67.

12. Texas A&M (down 1): The Aggies looked flat this week, losing to Auburn by 19 and Missouri by 23. They are 1-4 in the SEC, with their lone win coming on a buzzer-beater.

13. Georgia (—): Georgia continued to struggle this week, with a 20-point home loss to Kentucky and a 10-point loss to Florida.

14. Vanderbilt (—): The Commodores narrowly lost to South Carolina on Wednesday, 74-71, before losing to Mississippi State 71-55.

Jotting down some notes…

Positive Aspects for the Vols: Lamonté Turner is back and looking like his normal self. He is making positive contributions and helping the Vols play to their potential. Rick Barnes said this about Lamonté after the Arkansas game: “I think he can be as good a defensive guard as there is in the country if he wants to do it and will be solid and not try to go for steals and get himself in foul trouble. He’s competitive, that’s one of his strengths, he’s not afraid to hop up there and try to guard somebody. He’s not afraid to do that. If you get one guy out there that decides he’s going to start doing it, it can get very contagious.”

Need to Improve On: As the No. 1 team in the nation, criticism will be hurled from media outlets and every opponent will be ready for the challenge. Tennessee will need to remain consistent to their game, tune out all the noise and not take any team lightly. If they are not mentally locked in, they could be upset, especially as they finish off SEC play against the conference’s toughest competition. Coach Barnes spoke about battling through adversity after the Alabama game on Saturday, saying, “A year ago, we found ways to win defensively and that’s what we did in the last couple of minutes tonight. We were getting too impatient offensively. They were contesting shots where the ball should have been moving and popping, and it wasn’t. When they were swarming in there and they made us kick it out, we had a couple that went in and out. The rebound that Bowden went in and got was a huge one for us. Those are the plays we have to get back to making and we haven’t done that consistently this year. At the end of the game, we had a much better focus and you either do or don’t. If you don’t have good focus, you just won’t win at all.”

Up Next for the Vols: No. 1 Tennessee plays at Vanderbilt on Wednesday night, before returning home for their Big 12/SEC challenge game versus West Virginia. The Commodores are 9-8 (0-5 SEC) and have sold out Memorial Gymnasium for this instate clash. West Virginia began the season as a top-15 team, but have since fallen out of the rankings after a 9-9 start to the season. The Mountaineers just upset Kansas, 65-64 on Saturday, but Tennessee will be looking to get their 20th consecutive home victory in front of a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday.