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ESPN’s Jay Williams named two SEC programs that he would pick to make a deep run through the NCAA Tournament this season. During the broadcast of the Kentucky-LSU game on Wednesday, Williams explained his reasoning.
“I think, for me, it’s between Kentucky and Tennessee,” Williams said. “I think Kentucky, when they start defending, they can find what that rhythm … I think there’s so much improvement with where they are defensively.
“The way Tennessee defends, and the Dalton Knecht story is just insane to me for a player to go kind of not on the map at all last year to be in a guy that’s going to be considered a top buy ticket in his upcoming NBA Draft, that’s how talented and good he is.”
Despite the praise from Williams, Kentucky lost to LSU on a last-second shot from LSU’s Tyrell Ward. The Wildcats are now 8-5 in conference play and lost five of their last nine games this season.
Tennessee has won three consecutive games and is only one game behind Alabama for the No. 1 spot in the SEC. The Volunteers were projected as a No. 2 seed by the NCAA selection committee last week.
The Wildcats have not made a run to the Final Four since 2015 and have failed to reach the Sweet Sixteen since 2019. Tennessee has never made a run to the Final Four but will look to build on their run to the Sweet Sixteen last season.
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