Show Me My Opponent, 2023-24: Missouri
Meh-ssouri
Newly-minted 2-seed Tennessee takes their show on the road to play a Missouri team that inspires fear only if you remember last year. The Tigers handed Tennessee one of the more devastating upset losses I can remember last year followed by an excruciating, extremely annoying upset in the SEC Tournament. For their crimes, they have not been allowed to win a single SEC conference game this year.
0-12 is as 0-12 does, but no conference game is ever a gimme. For one, their expected record by point differential would be more like 2-10 or 3-9. To go 0-18, you need to be bad and be really unlucky. For instance, 2021-22 Georgia was way worse than 2018-19 Vanderbilt, but one hot shooting night (and one cold one by Alabama) saved them from 0-18. Missouri’s overdue to have a good night somewhere along the line.
The other is that last year did happen. The rosters are entirely different on both ends but Mizzou’s extremely hyper-aggressive style created tons of transition opportunities, which led to the worst day(s) Tennessee’s defense had the entire season. This year is different and their transition points/points off turnovers are way down, but these guys do at least own road wins over a pair of top-75 KenPom teams and gave Kentucky, Alabama, and Florida each 35 minutes of annoyance.
All of that is real and reasonable. What is also real and reasonable is Tennessee being a far superior side to Missouri over the first 25 games of the year. You can’t MacGyver everything out of thin air.
BEHIND THE WALL ($): An attempt to scare you into this being an interesting game despite, y’know, 8-17, 0-12 SEC