Volunteer Country

Drama in Lexington Continues

The Tennessee Volunteers are gearing up to take on Kentucky. The Wildcats have had a tumultuous few days and carry a lot of baggage into Saturday's action.

Evan Crowell

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On Tuesday evening, Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse called Tennessee "the best team in the SEC." The Volunteers are the class of the conference, rivaled only by Alabama, the No. 4 team in college basketball.

They have started SEC play at 4-0, the best mark thus far. Finding new ways to win is the most critical part of a good basketball team's foundation, and they have continually done that.

Tennessee will take on Kentucky this Saturday. While the Wildcats have hisotrically been one of the best teams of the new millenium, they have faltered in 2022.

The lowest mark of their season was losing to South Carolina on Tuesday. The Gamecocks are one of the worst teams in the SEC by the numbers, playing under a first-year head coach, Lamont Paris.

A fan was thrown out of Rupp Arena during the second half of the game for holding up a sign that said, "Please Go to Texas," urging head coach John Calipari to leave Kentucky.

While that one fan doesn't encapsulate all of the fan base, there is growing frustration in Kentucky. Calipari noted the frustration after the game that he expects fan frustration with the streak they are on.

"I imagine our fans are mad, I expect them to be, we lost at home. Going nuts on people is not the answer. Now can I be tougher on them in practice? Yeah I can. I just look at things today and say, ‘We’re better than that.'"

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Evan Crowell
EVAN CROWELL

Evan Crowell is the lead publisher of Sports Illustrated-FanNation's Volunteer Country, serving as a beat reporter covering football, basketball, and recruiting. He previously worked as the lead publisher of Sports Illustrated-FanNation's Gamecocks Digest.