Mike Strange: Kentucky wears the crown (and the target)

When men's basketball season starts in the SEC, there are two possible story lines.

One, who can make a run at Kentucky?

Or, what's the race for second place look like?

We still don't know which question is appropriate in 2017, although as the Wildcats come to Thompson-Boling Arena on Tuesday night, it's looking like the latter.

Kentucky (17-2 overall) is 7-0 in league play, fresh from handing South Carolina its first SEC loss. The Wildcats still have home-and-home dates with Florida, their other potential challenger.

Tennessee, of course, isn't a factor in either scenario. The Vols, at best, can play spoiler. Hey, it's something. A year ago Tennessee upset Kentucky in TBA, ultimately denying the Wildcats an outright SEC regular-season title. Instead, they had to share with Texas A&M.

That game – the Vols rallied from 21 down – was the highlight of Rick Barnes' first season at UT, one that accumulated 19 losses. While Barnes is feeling his way around the SEC, the concept of trying to hit the royal noggin with a rotten egg is a familiar one.

For 17 years at Texas, Barnes won a lot of games, reached a lot of NCAA tournaments and put a bunch of Longhorns into the NBA.  But the kingpin of the Big 12 Conference was always Kansas. In his new league, Kentucky's shadow looms just as large.

"When you talk about Kentucky and Kansas,'' Barnes said Monday, "I would say they're at a level beyond most everybody else. Because of simply this, I've never been in Phog Allen Fieldhouse without a full crowd and people lined up for hours to get in the building.

"You could feel the buzz a year ago when we went to Lexington and played. ... There are a lot of places that are rabid, but in terms of a big building and selling out every game, I don't know that there's anybody better than those two programs.''

The Big Ten has great basketball, but the wealth is spread around. Seven schools have won between 22 and 13 regular-season titles. Out west, UCLA once dominated the Pac-12 but there's plenty of competition now. The ACC has Duke and North Carolina to foil each other.

Since the Big 12 formed 20 years ago, Kansas has won or shared 16 titles. Texas is second with three, all under Barnes. Rock, chalk.

Kentucky has won or shared 47 SEC titles. LSU is runner-up with 11. The Wildcats have won 29 SEC tournaments. Alabama is next with six.

Rabid crowds at home are helpful. Another mark of a dynasty is taking the show on the road. Maybe you've attended SEC tournaments in Catlanta or Blue Orleans. Nashville becomes Rupp South.

"I can remember at Texas,'' Barnes said, "when we'd play Kansas they'd have a crowd there. Kentucky has terrific basketball fans and they love to travel. You could feel it a year ago in Nashville at the conference tournament. The same in Kansas City with the Big 12 tournament.''

Kentucky fans have always traveled to Knoxville. Thompson-Boling was ambitiously built to match Rupp Arena's scale, which made it a relatively easy ticket for Big Blue invaders. A 9 p.m. tip on a Tuesday, however, will discourage the less committed.

Barnes' mission is to get Tennessee back in the hunt. The Vols claim outright titles in 1967 and 2008 and shares of four other regular-season races ('72, '77, '82, 2000). There were three other crowns pre-World War II when the title went to the tournament winner.

For now, a title scenario is not in sight. But there's still a reason to play the game – and to watch it.

Doesn't matter whether it's North Carolina, Kansas or Kentucky in your sights, even if you're not going to win the war, it's still fun to win the battle every now and then.

Mike Strange may be reached at mike.strange@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at Strangemike44.