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All for Tennessee Official Men’s Basketball SEC Power Rankings for Jan. 23: A Clear Top 2

By Caleb Calhoun

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Jan 17, 2017; Oxford, MS, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes talks with Tennessee Volunteers guard Lamonte Turner (1) during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2017; Oxford, MS, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes talks with Tennessee Volunteers guard Lamonte Turner (1) during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports /

Rick Barnes made a conscious effort to put together a collection of very young players who are not as talented as Kentucky freshmen that he could develop.

The result is a team that is too young to be able to deal with success but not talented enough to overcome that youth like the Wildcats. So while the future is bright, this year has been frustrating for every Tennessee basketball fans.

Last week, the Vols blew a 15-point lead to the Ole Miss Rebels on the road AFTER Rasheed Brooks left the game on a stretcher.

That’s a huge negative, and beating a Mississippi State Bulldogs team that appears to be fraudulent at this point is not enough to keep them from dropping in our SEC Power Rankings after that disaster in Oxford.

The young Vols have got to be able to handle winning and success. They have yet to see a two-game winning streak in the SEC.

There is good news, though. This team, despite its poor record, is No. 62 in the RPI because it has the No. 11 ranked strength of schedule, which only goes up with more SEC games.

So they are in a great position to get into the NCAA Tournament on that alone if they can steal a few wins.

Unfortunately, that could be tough this week with the Kentucky Wildcats and Kansas State Wildcats on the schedule. But both are at home, and even a split would shoot the Vols up in the RPI since both teams will even further improve their schedule strength.

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