Updated SEC standings: Chaz Lanier may have just saved Tennessee’s season
A once-dream season for the Tennessee Volunteers seemed to be on life support entering the weekend. Not only had Rick Barnes' team lost three of its last four games, including consecutive defeats to fellow SEC contenders Auburn and Kentucky, but it also lost star point guard Zakai Zeigler to a knee injury — just in time for a showdown with No. 5 Florida on Saturday, a team that blasted the Vols by 30 in Gainesville back in early January.
Cruising at the top of the conference just a couple of weeks ago, Tennessee suddenly found itself at risk of being left in the dust. A loss to the Gators on Saturday would've dropped them below .500 in SEC play, and while their NCAA Tournament hopes were hardly in doubt, the path to a top-four seed would look awfully perilous. But with its back against the wall, the Vols started throwing haymakers: Thanks to 19 points from Chaz Lanier and a ferocious defensive performance that held a lethal Florida attack to just 4-of-27 from deep, Tennessee pulled away in the second half and rolled to a 64-44 win.
Granted, one good day doesn't mean that the Vols are out of the woods just yet. We still don't know when Zeigler will be back, and they've still got quite the hole to climb out of in the SEC standings. But Tennessee at the very least stopped the bleeding on Saturday.
Updated SEC standings after shorthanded Tennessee topples Florida
Team | Conference record | Overall record |
|---|---|---|
Auburn | 7-0 | 19-1 |
Alabama | 7-1 | 18-3 |
Missouri | 5-2 | 18-3 |
Florida | 5-3 | 16-4 |
Texas A&M | 5-3 | 16-5 |
Ole Miss | 5-3 | 16-5 |
Vanderbilt | 4-3 | 16-4 |
Kentucky | 4-3 | 15-5 |
Tennessee | 5-4 | 18-4 |
Mississippi State | 4-4 | 16-5 |
Georgia | 3-5 | 15-6 |
Texas | 3-5 | 14-7 |
Oklahoma | 2-5 | 15-5 |
LSU | 1-6 | 12-8 |
Arkansas | 1-6 | 12-8 |
South Carolina | 0-8 | 10-11 |
The win bumped Tennessee up to 5-4 in conference play, which leaves them in sole possession of ninth place as things currently stand. (With several marquee matchups still on tap today, including Auburn visiting Ole Miss and Mizzou traveling to Mississippi State, this is all very much subject to change.)
The Vols' sensational non-conference performance, including wins over Louisville, Baylor and Illinois, will still go a long way come Selection Sunday. (Although the ACC's lackluster season isn't doing them any favors right now.) But if they remain buried in the middle class of the SEC, that'll put something of a ceiling on just how highly they can be seeded in the Big Dance. Staying at four losses was crucial in that effort, as they stay just one game back in the loss of column of everyone else in the conference beyond Auburn, Alabama and Missouri.
The good news about the SEC gauntlet is that it gives you plenty of opportunity to make up ground. Tennessee plays Texas A&M, Missouri, Kentucky and Vanderbilt — all part of the three-loss logjam ahead of them — in four of its next five games. If Zeigler can come back without missing too much more time, don't be surprised if Barnes has the Vols back in contention for at least a first-round bye in the SEC Tournament.
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