6. Tennessee (15-1)
Rick Barnes is having a sensational season with these Volunteers. Coming off last year’s Elite Eight run, Tennessee brought in some new faces and were thought of to have the talent to compete for the SEC title, but really shined with that unbeaten start to the season. That hot start included wins away from home over Louisville, Baylor, and Illinois, but it came to an end this past week.
The Volunteers laid an egg on offense on Tuesday night, falling 73-43 at Florida in absolute stinker. Tennessee shot just 21% from the field, 14% from 3, and had their worst performance in recent memory. Saturday was a better effort, with Tennessee holding on for a 74-70 road win at Texas. Zakai Zeigler played a great game with 16 points and 8 assists as the Volunteers played a much more cohesive game in every aspect.
Sometimes you just have to swiftly move on and these Volunteers didn’t let that abhorrent performance in Gainesville define them. Barnes led this team to a nice win in Austin, where he coached for nearly two decades, and has Tennessee still looking a potential champion in the SEC. He’ll hope for better consistency next week, though it’s a slightly easier slate with Georgia and Vanderbilt on the docket.