25. Tennessee (18-7)
Ups and downs have helped and equally plagued a topsy-turvy season in Knoxville. Tennessee has won some very impressive games, beating Houston, Louisville, and Alabama among others to this point in the season. They’ve also had their fair share of struggles, though funnily enough their two most recent defeats came against Kentucky. Aside from those efforts against the Wildcats, this team really is starting to figure things out.
These Volunteers started the week by grabbing another road victory, this time winning 73-64 at Mississippi State. Ja’Kobi Gillespie had 18 points while Nate Ament put forth 16 points. Over the weekend, Tennessee did what was needed, winning 73-63 against LSU for another home win. Ament really stood out again with 22 points and 9 rebounds while J. P. Estrella added 16 points and 9 rebounds.
At their best, Tennessee has stood tall with some really talented teams, but we can’t ignore some of these bad showings in the SEC. Regardless, they’re suddenly right in the thick of the conference race at 8-4 and have grabbed wins over several teams they’re competing with for Tournament seeding. They’ll host Oklahoma in a few days with hopes of continuing their streak before a very important matchup at Vanderbilt on Saturday.