And just like that, SEC play is set to begin. No. 5 Tennessee enters conference play with a 10-3 mark, suffering losses to powerhouses North Carolina, Purdue and Kansas early on. Since then they’ve been able to bounce back, stabilizing with wins over Illinois and NC State among a handful of tune-up games.
Tennessee will get another ranked matchup to open SEC play, set to host No. 22 Ole Miss. The Rebels are 13-0 as Chris Beard has quickly put his stamp on the program through the first two months of the season. The schedule has been fairly light, but Beard’s new team has picked up wins over Memphis, NC State and Cal.