Whenever the Tennessee Vols and Vanderbilt Commodores face off, regardless of the sport, there's always going to be extra intrigue and drama present. Such is the case on Saturday, as Tennessee and Vandy will be facing off in Nashville in what should be a fun SEC clash.
Well, leave it to Vanderbilt guard AJ Hoggard to make things even more interesting. A transfer from Michigan State, the veteran playmaker knows all about in-state games. Leading up to this contest going up against Rick Barnes and Co., Hoggard said he's very much treating it like a Michigan State-Michigan showdown. Yup, he doesn't like the Vols and he knows they don't like him.
AJ Hoggard said they're treating Vanderbilt vs. Tennessee like Michigan vs. Michigan State.
— Aria Gerson (@aria_gerson) January 16, 2025
"We don't like them and they don't like us"
Vandy's AJ Hoggard made it quite clear he doesn't like the Tennessee Vols
“I’m just treating it how I used to treat Michigan State versus Michigan,” Hoggard said via Volquest. "We don’t like them, they don’t like us.”
Talk about giving Tennessee extra motivation for this one. Entering play, the Vols are 16-1 on the season, riding a two-game winning streak after the rough loss on the road against Florida. Meanwhile for the home team, Vandy is 14-3 on the year and 9-1 at home.
The Commodores are in the middle of a strong season and they're going to want to make a statement going up against one of the top squads in the country. No. 6 Tennessee knows this, which is why the pressure is going to be on for Jordan Gainey, Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler and others to silence Hoggard and the rest of the Vanderbilt lineup.
Lanier has posted three consecutive rough showings, but he's bound to catch fire again soon, right? Nothing would be better than to see Lanier light up the scoreboard to get his confidence back, especially if it ends up making Hoggard eat his words too. Soon enough, we'll find out if that happens or not.