Tennessee fans need to root for the rival Florida Gators on Tuesday evening

It's never easy to cheer for a team you hate, but sometimes it's necessary.  That's the case for fans of the Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday night with one of their most despised rivals. The Florida Gators host the Alabama Crimson Tide on Tuesday night in a game that has a major impact for NCAA tournament […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Jan 16, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht (3) shoots the ball against the Florida Gators during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Jan 16, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Dalton Knecht (3) shoots the ball against the Florida Gators during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

It's never easy to cheer for a team you hate, but sometimes it's necessary.  That's the case for fans of the Tennessee Volunteers on Tuesday night with one of their most despised rivals.

The Florida Gators host the Alabama Crimson Tide on Tuesday night in a game that has a major impact for NCAA tournament seeding for both teams.  

It also a game that has major importance for Tennessee.  The Vols sit atop the SEC standings at 13-3 after their 81-74 win over the Crimson Tide on Saturday night.  The loss bumped Alabama down to 12-4, tied with South Carolina for second place in the conference.  Kentucky and Auburn are tied for fourth at 11-5 and Florida is in sixth at 10-6.  

A loss by Alabama on Tuesday night makes things very simple for Tennessee.  Beat South Carolina on Wednesday night, and the Vols clinch the SEC regular season title outright.  However, if Alabama wins on Tuesday, then the Vols could still clinch the top seed in the SEC tournament and at least a share of the regular season title with a win over the Gamecocks, but they wouldn't clinch the regular season title outright, as Alabama would still be one game back with one game to play. 

And yes, the Vols have the head-to-head tiebreaker over Alabama for seeding purposes, but teams are still recognized as league regular season co-champions even if they lose a tiebreaker to the team or teams they're tied with.  

As such, it would be sweet for the Vols to keep the Crimson Tide from being able to add that accomplishment to their record books.  The Vols can do it without any assistance by winning out against South Carolina and Kentucky.  However, it would be nice to get a little bit of help from an enemy to get it done early. 

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