Tennessee basketball has a challenging SEC schedule ahead of it. Despite being undefeated and the No. 1 team in the country, it will be difficult for the Vols to finish the SEC season in the same spot they started—at the top.
The Vols will look to defend their SEC Regular Season Championship title, which they won last season when they open conference play against Arkansas. The new-look Razorbacks are led by former Kentucky head coach John Calipari, who was run out of Lexington after last season.
While Calipari routinely had the Wildcats at or near the top of the SEC, the Razorbacks are currently just outside the top half of the SEC with +4500 odds to win the conference.
That goes to show how deep the SEC is this year. The conference has slowly become the premier college basketball conference, passing the ACC and Big 12. While the SEC isn't bringing home as many titles as the other two conferences have at their peak, it's obvious the SEC is taking over the sport.
Will Tennessee be able to win college basketball's deepest conference? Vegas doesn't think the Vols will be able to win its second-straight outright SEC title.
Fanduel gives Tennessee +290 odds to win the SEC, which is second-best in the conference. The Vols sit behind Auburn with +130 odds. Alabama has +430 odds, Kentucky is at +1100, and Florida is at +1200 to round out the top five teams to win the conference.
The Vols hold the advantage over Auburn in the AP Poll ahead of the start of conference play, but that doesn't guarantee it will remain that way throughout the season. KenPom also favors Auburn to win the conference, predicting the War Eagles to finish with a 15-3 record to Tennessee's 13-5 record.
Tennessee will play five ranked opponents in four weeks to start SEC play, so we will see where the Vols stand in the SEC after January. No. 6 Florida, No. 2 Auburn, and No. 10 Kentucky are all on the schedule in January.