Kentucky fans, just calm down.
No one could be happy about Kentucky’s blowout loss at Tennessee, but it just so happens the Volunteers are not overrated.
They are a very good basketball team and when it isn’t going good, very good teams capitalize.
Gary Parrish of CBS Sports tells both team’s fans to calm down about the game’s outcome because both teams are really good and will probably be there at the end.
So now Tennessee is 26-3 overall, 14-2 in the SEC and tied with LSU atop the league standings with two regular-season games remaining. Kentucky is a game back of the Vols and Tigers. For what it’s worth, KenPom now projects Tennessee and LSU to share the SEC championship — with UK finishing alone in third. And because LSU beat Tennessee last weekend, the Tigers would be the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, if things break this way, meaning our next Tennessee-Kentucky showdown could come in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on March 16 inside Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Wouldn’t that be fun?
In the meantime, here’s hoping everybody keeps proper perspective after another lopsided result between these two. When Tennessee was handled easily inside Rupp Arena, I told anybody who’d listen that, in my mind, it was merely a road loss to a very good team. No big deal. And now that Kentucky was just handled easily inside Thompson-Boling Arena (without the injured Reid Travis, it should be noted), I’ll say something similar, and that something is this: it’s merely a road loss to a very good team. No big deal.
Kentucky is still good just like Tennessee was always good.
Either is capable of beating the other.
Both are legit Final Four contenders.
Here is hoping Tennessee and LSU lose the rest of their regular season games and Kentucky wins them all.
But if not, either way, the SEC Tournament will surely be filled with high drama.
Photo: Knoxville News Sentinel
