The Tennessee Volunteers may be one of the most fraudulent teams in the entire country. The fact that ANYONE voting for these rankings put them at #1 is BEYOND ME! They are talented in their own right, sure. But when you look at their overall body of work…..you can EASILY see that their 14-0 record (prior to Tuesday night) was filled with asterisks and loopholes.

I’m not even kidding here; this team has been “something else” so far this season, and not in a good way. If you look at their rankings as a whole, Rick Barnes’ squad has had one of the EASIEST schedules in the entire country. They haven’t faced off with enough quality talent to garner a #1 seed, and when they DID have a decent match-up (like when they played my Illini)…..they had to take them to the buzzer.

They just haven’t shown the country ANY PROOF that they are legit. They are/were one of the most fraudulent undefeated teams in the history of college basketball, and they proved that last night against the Florida Gators in Gainesville.

WHAT. A. NIGHT.

IT’S GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATOR #GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/NlptwHFFXV

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 8, 2025

73-43. Todd Golden’s squad, who was favored by ONLY 3.5 points going into this match-up, put on an absolute CLINIC against the Volunteers. His team, lead by the likes of Alijah Martin (18 PTS) and Alex Condon (12 PTS, 12 REB), put together a 30-point WHOOPING that lead it’s fan base to ask; “I thought they were the best?”

Tennessee, on the other hand……never really showed up. The team who is 2nd in the country in points against (57.1 PPG) let the Gators run all over them, and treat them like they’re a JV team who’s getting a chance at the “big time.” The worst part for the Volunteers though is…..they didn’t really have a response to it.

It was a real “missing person on a milk carton” type of game for Rick Barnes’ crew, who couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn during their time in Gainesville. The team who many College Basketball fans thought would run through the rest of the season, all of the way to the tournament in March…..showed us just how much of a “joke” and “fraud” they truly are.

It was BAD! But the question is…..was this just a ‘hiccup’ for the orange and white? Or is their MONUMENTAL loss a sign of things to come?

Well, when you look at the rest of their schedule……I think it’s safe to say it’s going to be a rocky road for ‘Good Ol’ Rocky Top.’ I think these upcoming weeks are going to be the REAL TEST for this squad, compared to the ‘coasting’ that they’ve been doing since Day 1. Whether it’s against Auburn, Kentucky (twice), Florida (again), or even Texas A&M……it’s safe to say that this team could be in for a RUDE AWAKENING come March.

Can Tennessee turn things around? Sure! This is college sports, and we’ve seen crazier things happen in college sports. But with the information that has been put in front of me……I just can’t see any good coming for this squad. I think we are going to see a BIG DIP for the orange and white, compared to their appearance in the Elite Eight last year. But obviously…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.