The Volunteers are rolling.
And there there was one.
The Tennessee Volunteers, who have been ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation for a handful of weeks now, are the final undefeated team left in the country. Other undefeateds entering the day — Florida and Oklahoma — took losses on the road. The Gators fell to Kentucky while the Sooners went down to Alabama. There’s a little preview of the SEC, it’s going to be wild.
Tennessee picked up a win over their old buddy John Calipari on Saturday afternoon at Food City Center. It was another dominant day from Chaz Lanier, who has settled into the Dalton-Knecht-role seamlessly. Zakai Zeigler continues to play at a high level, Igor Milicic has been a complete animal on the boards, while Jahmai Mashack continues to be a pest on the defensive end.
“They kind of manhandled us,” Calipari said after the game. “I can’t remember the last time I had a team get beat by 30 rebounds (was actually 22). And so we got to do some soul searching, because this league, what they play like everybody plays like. So we miss free throws, we miss threes and we get out-rebounded by 30, aren’t you like, how did you only get beat by 25? It could have been 50. But hats off to Tennessee. They’re the number one team for a reason and they did it to us.”
Tennessee has now tied a program record for the best start (14-0) in program history. That record dates all the way back to the 1922-23 squad. The 14-game win streak is the fourth in school history and the second under Rick Barnes (2018-19).
That streak will immediately come under heavy fire starting on Tuesday night.
The Southeastern Conference is absolutely loaded this year, and there will legitimately be no nights off going forward. No. 1 Tennessee will travel down to Gainesville, which is always a tough place to play, but will be particularly difficult this time around. The Gators are rolling despite the loss at Rupp on Saturday, led by standout guard Walter Clayton Jr.
Tennessee’s schedule rolls on to Austin to face Texas after that. Georgia, at Vanderbilt, (17) Mississippi State, at (2) Auburn, (10) Kentucky, (6) Florida will follow.
You can’t ask for a better start from the Volunteers, but buckle up — the tests have begun and they won’t let up in this ridiculously deep conference.