Mark WiedmerCheck the latest Associated Press men's college basketball rankings this morning and you'll see the top three spots - No. 1 Duke, No. 2 and undefeated Michigan and No. 3 Tennessee - are unchanged from a week ago.
It's a fair ranking. Probably accurate, too, at least where Duke is concerned, because if the Dookies play their best, no one's beating them. At least no one outside of the NBA.
But that doesn't mean the Blue Devils will win coach Mike Krzyzewski his sixth national championship come April in Minneapolis. At least one team beyond Gonzaga, which handed Duke its lone loss in Maui back in November, would appear to have at least a reasonable chance against Zion Williamson and Co., and that would be a certain team from near the Smoky Mountains that knocked off the Zags a couple of weeks after they shocked the Blue Devils.
That team, of course, is Tennessee, which may stand third in the AP poll but has been second to Duke in first-place votes for the past three weeks.
"They have all the things you look for in a team," said Arkansas coach Mike Anderson, whose Razorbacks visit UT tonight at 7 (ESPN2). "Tennessee is a very physical team. They have five guys (scoring) in double figures. Tennessee does a good job of executing."
History shows that the one thing the Volunteers don't have is the one thing most teams that win it all do: experience on that biggest of college hoops stages. For all its overall success in athletics through the decades, the Big Orange never has previously reached the Final Four. Even in the football-crazy Southeastern Conference, no fewer than half of the league's 14 schools - Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State and South Carolina - have gotten there at least once.
But to view these Vols is to wonder if there's any way - at least any way barring injury - for them not to get there this season. As Anderson said, they have everything you look for in a team. Experience. Depth. Scary good athletic ability. Outside shooting. Rebounding. Inside scoring. Outstanding coaching from someone who previously has coached in the Final Four, though Rick Barnes took that other UT - Texas - there rather than Tennessee.
Beyond that, these Vols really seem to like each other. Or as the preseason media pick for SEC player of the year Grant Williams noted after Saturday's close win at Florida when asked what makes this team special: "Chemistry."
This is all you need to know about the Vols' chemistry: They're averaging more than 20 assists a game, easily the best in an SEC they also lead in scoring and field-goal percentage.
Consider this: On an afternoon in Gainesville last Saturday when Florida bagged nine 3-pointers before halftime, the Vols trailed by a measly three points (38-35) at the break. Ahead by two with a minute to go in the game, UT won by 11 in one of the most hostile environments anywhere.
Another sign of chemistry from that game: The 3-pointer that Admiral Schofield hit inside that final minute to put UT up five came on a pass from Williams, who easily could have decided to try to muscle in a shot in the lane but saw Schofield wide open in the corner and passed him the ball. Chemistry, indeed.
So let's just say on this 15th day of January that UT were to meet Duke for the national championship. Is it a good matchup for the Vols?
Let's be blunt. The teenage monster Zion Williams isn't a good matchup for anyone, even LeBron James. No human being standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 285 pounds should have the feet of Fred Astaire and the lift of Mary Poppins, but Williamson does. If Nike doesn't come out with Zion Zephyrs the second he turns pro, the shoe giant is missing out on the surest thing since introducing Air Jordans 35 years ago.
But let's say Williamson is off his game against the Vols. He finds himself in unexpected foul trouble (doubtful given Coach K's ability to bully the refs) or poked in the eye (as happened Saturday at Florida State, causing him to miss the second half against the Seminoles).
With no Williamson on the court, both Williams and Schofield could go wild inside. And when Duke adjusted, Jordan Bowden, Jordan Bone and Lamonte Turner could cause the Dookies immense trouble from the perimeter. There's also UT's secret weapon in the paint - Kyle Alexander - who's beginning to dominate the glass, which allows Williams and Schofield to beat their men down the court. And if anyone could slow extraordinary Blue Devils point guard Tre Jones - whose assist-to-turnover ratio is 5.9-1 - it might be the ridiculously athletic Bone.
Nor is Barnes intimidated by Krzyzewski any more than he was intimidated by North Carolina coaching legend Dean Smith when Barnes was at Clemson. He stood up to Smith - and Coach K - back then, and he won't back down from Krzyzewski now.
This isn't to say the Vols are certain to get to their first Final Four ever.
As Barnes said Monday, "It's a long, long way to go. If we stay right where we are right now, we won't achieve what we want to achieve. We understand that we're just getting started."
If these Vols are just getting started, every team but Duke might as well stop playing. Or as Kentucky coach John Calipari said on Monday's SEC teleconference, "You have to beat them. They're not going to beat themselves."
And playing as UT is right now, Duke just might be the only team capable of beating the Big Orange come the madness of March and the angst of April.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com