The Vols could put it all to be tonight.
A once complicated picture is now clear (for now) — Tennessee can clinch another outright SEC regular season title tonight with a win at South Carolina. The Volunteers sit atop the SEC standings following that huge win on Saturday over Alabama with a 13-3 mark in conference play.
Alabama made things easier on Tennessee on Tuesday, dropping a road game to Florida. The Crimson Tide are now 12-5 in league play, and a Tennessee win tonight would give the Vols a two game lead over them, Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina going into Saturday.
South Carolina sits one game back with a 12-4 record. They could obviously even those records out tonight with a win over Tennessee in Columbia. Needless to say, tonight’s game is a large one with plenty of repercussions.
Should Tennessee lose tonight, they would once again be tied atop the standings. South Carolina finishes on Saturday at Mississippi State while Tennessee hosts Kentucky. Tennessee could still clinch a share of the SEC regular season title on Saturday with a win over Kentucky. They could still win the title outright with a win and a South Carolina loss. The Gamecocks would clinch the title with two wins this week.
Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky are still alive in the race should Tennessee lose to South Carolina.
Tennessee last won the SEC regular season title back in the 2017-18 season. They took home the SEC Tournament Championship back in 2021-22.
Of course, South Carolina took care of business in Knoxville back in January. The Gamecocks won 63-59 as the Volunteers put up one of their worst offensive nights of the season. Now they’ll have to go on the road and find another tough win if they don’t want to complicate this situation.
It’s simple — win tonight and Rick Barnes will have his second SEC regular season title. No. 4 Tennessee will tip-off with No. 17 South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.