All of a sudden, the college basketball world revolves around the state of Tennessee.
After winning at top-ranked and unbeaten Memphis on Saturday night, the Tennessee Volunteers reached No. 1 in both polls on Monday for the first time in their 99-year history. UT is the 53rd school to hold the No. 1 ranking since the poll began for the 1948-49 season.
Yet the Vols won’t get much time to enjoy it.
”For us there will be little staying power because we have to go play at Vanderbilt on Tuesday where they have won 17 straight games,” said UT coach Bruce Pearl.
Indeed, the Vols (25-2, 11-1 SEC) will face another tremendous in-state test when they travel to Nashville on Tuesday night to face the No. 18 Commodores (23-4, 8-4), with Tennessee a 2-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
With four regular-season games and appearances in the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Tournaments yet to play, the Commodores are within reach of the school's single-season record of 28 wins, set by the 1992-93 squad. Vandy has won six straight games and 17 straight at home.
”We feel like we have a big advantage here at home. We're looking to take advantage of that," Vandy’s Ross Neltner said.
This year's Commodores have also spent 13 straight weeks in the AP Top 25 rankings. That's two weeks shy of the 15 consecutive weeks achieved by teams in 1965-66 and 1973-74.
And Vandy knocked off No. 1 Florida a year ago and has won its last three meetings against top-ranked teams - what other team can say that? Plus it will have revenge on its mind, as the Volunteers defeated Vanderbilt 80-60 at home on Jan. 17."I'm not concerned with the ranking other than it makes the prize even bigger for Vanderbilt or any other team that will play us," Pearl said. "To have the opportunity to beat the number one team in the country is an opportunity that is not extended very often. I know it was a big factor for us in our preparation for Memphis. There was almost an air of 'everything to gain and nothing to lose (mentality).'"
Tennessee has lost three of its last four visits to Vanderbilt, although the last seven meetings there have all been decided by fewer than 10 points. Three of the last four have been decided by five or fewer.
"Of course, we know we're going to get everybody's best shot," Volunteers guard Raymar Smith said. "We've got to take it and deliver and step up. That's really what it's all about right now."
Vandy senior forward Shan Foster is coming off 29-point game against Georgia and is second in the SEC in scoring with 19.3 points per game and is the conference's leading 3-point shooter at 44.9 percent. A.J. Ogilvy checks in with 17.1 ppg, and the big rookie center is pulling down 6.9 rpg.
”We’ll take our chances at home against anybody in the country,” Foster said. “Our crowd is great. They come and bring that intensity every single game.”
UT likely will need more than the seven points it got from star Chris Lofton and 37.5 percent shooting against Memphis to win tonight.
Tennessee has played only Kentucky more than Vanderbilt; the Vols lead 106-66 since they started playing in 1922, with the Commodores holding a 49-35 edge in Nashville.
But this will mark the first time these teams have been ranked while playing in Nashville since Feb. 17, 1968. Tennessee was No. 7 and Vanderbilt ranked ninth.
Best bet: Take Vandy.
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