There are schools you'd like to beat, and then there are schools you need to beat. Then, there is a third category all to itself: schools that make everyone else want to beat them.
Kentucky usually falls into that third category. The Wildcats always get the best shot from every opponent they play. Something about the Blue and White brings out the best in everyone else. Maybe it is Kentucky's unmatched tradition, their historical dominance in the SEC, or the eight national titles.
But the feeling goes both ways. There are some teams BBN just wants to see lose. Duke and Louisville are the obvious non-conference villains; when they play each other, you hope it somehow ends in a tie just to mess them both up.
But today, we are focusing on conference foes. As a Kentucky fan, here are the two SEC opponents we’d like to see lose every single game.
Alabama and Tennessee could lose every SEC game and most everyone would cheer
1. Alabama
The only thing worse than listening to a Nate Oats press conference where he trashes every team he plays is watching them go out and win.
Recently, Oats made headlines by claiming Mark Pope's team doesn't pass and disparaging Vanderbilt by saying they "hadn't played anyone." Kentucky couldn't knock him off that high horse, but Vandy certainly did. Oats has embraced the role of the villain, and his arrogant style makes Alabama an easy team to root against. It did feel good to hear him say, "They played better than us." He goes on and on about his analytics, and layups or 3's. It's all very tiring. Plus the suits, man.
2. Tennessee
Despite Rick Barnes looking like the friendly pawpaw who sits on the porch and whittles, retelling the same story 20 times. His teams play an aggressive, physical brand of ball that grates on opponents.
But the real reason Tennessee makes this list? The fanbase. They are notoriously hard to deal with on social media and in real life. They have never been to a Final Four, yet if you check "Vol Twitter," you’d think they run college basketball. That disconnect between confidence and trophy cases makes every Tennessee loss a little sweeter for nearly everyone outside of Knoxville.
The Elephant in the Room: Why Not Arkansas?
Some would say Arkansas should be #1 or #2, and I get that choice. I really do.
But honestly, John Calipari wasn't coaching at the end of his UK tenure like he does now. He was still getting some of the best freshmen and doing his "Swaggy Cal" bit, but he was insulating himself. He stopped doing press conferences, started losing nearly every big game, and the program grew stagnant. It was just time for him to reinvent himself.
He has done exactly that in Fayetteville. And while Arkansas fans like to bait Kentucky fans, there just isn't a natural rivalry there yet. It feels more like a breakup where both sides are better off, rather than a blood feud. Even if Kentucky struggles for a few years, it was never going to get better for Cal and Kentucky while they were together.
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