16. Tennessee
The injury to Nate Ament does have me a little concerned, but the Vols were still able to almost beat Alabama while playing without their shooting star. They shouldn’t need him against South Carolina, but would obviously prefer him back sooner rather than later.
17. Kentucky
I continue to bang the drum for this Kentucky team. The coaching job by Mark Pope this season, dealing with all of the injuries and considering how much of a disaster they looked like in November, has been impressive, and now they’re playing their best ball at the right time.
18. Arkansas
I think we have the formula to beat Arkansas. Any team that has any kind of frontcourt scoring presence is going to give the Razorbacks major issues, as evidenced by Florida’s frontcourt just completely dominating the game. Darius Acuff makes this team dangerous, but their lack of size, strength, and depth makes them vulnerable.
19. St John’s
The Red Storm did a great job of regrouping and picking up the pieces after last Wednesday’s debacle against UConn to demolish Villanova in a very similar fashion. Zuby Ejiofor may have still locked up Big East POTY even after the poor showing against UConn, thanks to his triple-double against Villanova.
20. Vanderbilt
Can they stop the slide? Since starting the season 16-0, the Commodores have gone 6-7 and now sit at a dangerous range of being a 5 or 6-seed in March Madness if they can’t course correct. Getting Duke Miles back from injury should be a major help.
