19. Tennessee (10-4)
Everything was going swimmingly for the Volunteers before a three-game skid largely in early December. Tennessee has handled their business for the most part this season, but certainly want back some of the possessions in those close losses to Kansas and Syracuse. This team kicked butt against Louisville and handed Houston their only loss, surely they can continue to be a force in the SEC.
Before we get that far, the Volunteers were a force in a 105-54 win over South Carolina State back on Tuesday night. Ja’Kobi Gillespie led a myriad of scorers with a 21-point, 8-assist effort. However, the beginning of league play went awry, as Tennessee fell 86-75 at Arkansas over the weekend. Amari Evans led the scoring with 16 points off the bench as the defense had its worst performance of the season.
When at their best, this program can hang with any team and has the potential on both sides of the ball to win these games, but question marks with their defense at the beginning of SEC play isn’t a great sign. Tennessee will be challenged time and time again in this league and there will be other bumps and bruises, but Rick Barnes has to figure out how to keep this team consistent on both sides of the ball. They’ll host Texas in a few days before a prime matchup at Florida next weekend.