Tennessee cruises into a tie for 2nd place in the SEC after blowout win against LSU

Tennessee started SEC play 0-2, creating some concern for a team that started so well in non-conference play. Since that low point, the Volunteers are 7-1, still climbing out of that early hole they put themselves in.

After Tuesday’s results and Tennessee’s win on Wednesday against LSU, they took one more step forward. The Vols are now tied with Kentucky and Florida for 2nd place in the SEC at 6-3 in league play.

Florida’s loss at Georgia really helped Tennessee out. Vanderbilt nearly knocked off Kentucky at Rupp, which would have helped even more. Regardless, everyone is still chasing Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers.

Auburn is 8-1 in SEC play and has climbed all the way up to No. 11 in the polls. They’re rolling through their conference games right now with just one slip up to Alabama a couple of weeks ago. They likely won’t be going away anytime soon, either.

They’ll finish with Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina and Texas A&M at home, while facing South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Arkansas on the road. Obviously, Tennessee is going to need some help if they want to capture the SEC regular season crown.

Tennessee has a really tough week coming up too. They’ll be on the road at Kentucky next Tuesday and then will travel to Tuscaloosa to face a pretty good Alabama team. The schedule lightens up from there.

While a regular season title and a No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament would be nice, I think everyone would be just fine with a top four finish. That would give Tennessee a double bye and a free pass until Friday of conference tournament weekend.

Regardless of how this plays out, it’s fun to be competitive in the SEC once again.