The Vols opened SEC play with a 46-point win over Georgia (that one still isn’t normal, no matter what Tom Crean says about his players). Things got tight in consecutive games around Tennessee’s number one ranking: a three-point win over Alabama, and a five-point overtime win at Vanderbilt.
Tennessee’s other seven SEC wins (plus West Virginia):
- +24 at Missouri
- +11 at Florida
- +19 vs Arkansas
- +17 vs West Virginia
- +22 at South Carolina
- +17 at Texas A&M
- +12 vs Missouri
- +12 vs Florida
To be sure, things are about to level up for the Vols. That’s what we expected when league play began, and it hasn’t wavered in the least. The trip to Lexington will be an event by itself, book-ended by a last pair of trap games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Then it’s five straight against NCAA Tournament teams, three on the road, four in the KenPom Top 25.
All that’s coming, and with it a significantly higher probability of a loss or two. So let’s take a moment to appreciate what’s already happened on a now 18-game winning streak.
The Florida Gators, a program with eight Elite Eight appearances this century, came into Knoxville in desperate need of a win like this one for their bubble argument. And, as the Vols have done so many times to Florida this century, Tennessee simply turned them away.
Tennessee would push the lead to double digits, then Florida would work it back to two possessions. And then Tennessee, as it has done so many times this year, hit the kind of run we’re now comfortable saying a number one team makes: turning what feels like into a close game into, “Wait, we’re up 13,” in a matter of moments.
The Gators have been allergic to PB&J, and that was true again today: 30 points on 13-of-22 from the floor combined, and that with only four total free throw attempts for Williams and Schofield. The new normal is four guys in double figures: Bowden had 13, and Bone had 10 despite:
We’ve seen how valuable Bone’s speed is this season; here’s hoping he’s 100% in Rupp Arena.
Also, gross:
If that quote was about me instead of Yves Pons, it would read, “They had to go in there and push that bone back out, and he’s out for the rest of his life.”
The Vols were the number two overall seed according to the selection committee today. They’re 10-0 in the SEC, but Kentucky and LSU are 9-1 (and play each other Tuesday in Lexington). Tennessee is 22-1.
The most important days are still ahead, and there’s plenty left to learn. But the Vols have been dominating the SEC’s middle and lower tiers with incredible regularity. It’s not an accomplishment that’s going to mean anything at the end of the year, but it sure is fun to watch now.
On to the Gamecocks, Wednesday night in Knoxville.