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All for Tennessee Official Men’s Basketball SEC Power Rankings for Jan. 30: Vols Shoot Up

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 28, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers bench reacts after a three pointer against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won 70 to 58. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers bench reacts after a three pointer against the Kansas State Wildcats during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won 70 to 58. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 21, 2017; College Station, TX, USA; Georgia Bulldogs players walk off the court after losing 63-62 against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; College Station, TX, USA; Georgia Bulldogs players walk off the court after losing 63-62 against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

The Texas A&M Aggies did not do enough to move past the Georgia Bulldogs this past week, even if the Dawgs got blown out by the Alabama Crimson Tide and barely beat the Texas Longhorns.

Mark Fox’s group had enough of a resume to stay in the middle of the pack of the SEC Power Rankings, but the play of other teams that allowed them to rise is why they fell to No. 8 in the pecking order.

Sure, they are tied with No. 6 in the SEC given their record.

But losing by 20 at home to Alabama is unacceptable, and there was no reason to struggle with Texas at home.

The Dawgs now stand below a couple of other teams in the SEC in the NCAA Tournament pecking order, but like Texas A&M and so many others, their No. 30 ranked schedule strength in the RPI helps them.

Still, they need to get a few more wins and improve their resume to actually be in the tournament.

It’s about to get brutal if they want to do that. The Dawgs’ next three games are against the Kentucky Wildcats, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Florida Gators. If they just win one of those games, their schedule strength will shoot up, and they’ll have a quality win.

Then they need to take care of business the rest of the way, and they might have a shot at the tournament. But it’ll be tough.

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