By Bobby Knight - After a tremendous day of tennis on Friday the schedule will be a little softer on Sunday with just 2 top 15 matchups taking place.   The feature match will take place in Lexington as #4 Kentucky hosts #6 Georgia.   A Georgia win would give the Bulldogs the inside track to the SEC Title since they are the only team with just 1 defeat.  The other top matchup will take place in Knoxville as the up and down Tennessee Volunteers host their state rival the Vanderbilt Commodores.   Tennessee has yet to pull off a weekend sweep in conference play with the Vols splitting matches each of the last 3 weekends.  

 

This has been a year so far where rankings seem to mean very little as the underdogs have been feasting on the favorites time after time again.  Neither #45 North Carolina State or #48 LSU seemed too concerned about being ranked 30 and 41 spots below #15 Clemson and #7 Ole Miss and it showed as they both pulled off upsets on Friday.   LSU will try to do it again on Sunday as they host another top 15 team in Mississippi State.  

 

Which underdog will pull off the stunner on Sunday?  Make your pick and follow along at the provided links to see if you’re right. 

 

Indiana at #5 Ohio State – Noon est – Live Scoring - The Buckeyes ran through Purdue on Friday while IU won its conference opener on the road over Penn State.  Indiana’s best chance at taking a court will come from Josh MacTaggert at 2 though Devin McCarthy has been playing well for OSU.  Prediction:  Ohio State 6-1

 

#65 Miami at #16 Florida State – Noon est – Live Scoring - Miami has won 6 of its last 7 while FSU saw had its 4 match winning streak halted last Sunday by Clemson.   I look for the Seminoles to rebound and beat its state rival in a fairly close match.  Prediction:  Florida State 5-2

 

#6 Georgia at #4 Kentucky – 1pm est – Live Scoring/Blog – Kentucky was upset at home by Tennessee on Friday while Georgia won a hard fought battle at Vanderbilt.  These teams met earlier in the year in Seattle at the NTIs and it was Kentucky who won a 4-2 thriller though Georgia was playing without its #1 KU Singh in that match.  The only singles matches that will be a repeat from the 1st meeting will be at 2 and 6 which Tom Jomby and Kevin Lai won.  Jomby’s opponent Ben Wagland is playing better so I expect that will be a close match and whoever maintains their composure will come out on top.  I’ll take UK in doubles and at 2 with Tom Jomby while I like KU Singh, Nathan Pasha, Austin Smith, and Hernus Pieters to win at 1, 3, 4, and 5 for Georgia.    The match at 6 will be left unfinished and Georgia will come away with the win.  Prediction:  Georgia 4-2

 

#8 Duke at #52 Virginia Tech – 1pm est – Live Scoring - Duke lost a tough one on Friday to #1 Virginia and will be looking to take out its frustrations on a Hokie team that has won 4 straight and 8 of its last 9.  I think the Blue Devils will be extremely motivated and will make quick work of Va Tech.  Prediction:  Duke 7-0

 

#70 North Carolina at #1 Virginia – 1pm est – Live Scoring - In year’s past this has been a good match but UNC has underperformed this year and is currently on a 8-match losing streak.  That streak will be pushed to 9 as the Hoos will ease by and will probably play a few off the bench as well.  Prediction:  Virginia 7-0

 

#24 Cal at #36 TCU – 2pm est/1pm cst – Live Scoring - TCU has won 5 straight and 7 of its last 8 while Cal is playing for just the 2nd time in the last 2 weeks.  Despite those facts Cal has more talent and will get it done at the top of the lineup.  Prediction:  Cal 5-2

 

#12 Mississippi State at #48 LSU – 2pm est/1pm cst – Live Scoring  – LSU looks to upset its 3rd top 15 team on the year while Mississippi State looks to even its conference record at 4-4.  These teams met back in January during the Kickoff weekend and MSU hammered LSU 7-0 with only #6 singles remotely competitive.   State will be without James Chaudry but should still be able to get past LSU though this will be much closer than the last meeting.  Prediction:  Mississippi State 4-1

 

#7 Ole Miss at #54 Arkansas – 2pm est/1pm cst – Live Scoring  – Ole Miss has now dropped 3 in a row while Arkansas is looking for its 1st conference win after 6 straight losses.  The Rebels will snap the losing streak while the Razorbacks will not.  Prediction:  Ole Miss 4-0

 

#13 Vanderbilt at #9 Tennessee – 2pm est – Live Scoring & Live Broadcast & Live Blog – Vols went up to Lexington on Friday and took it to Kentucky while Vandy lost a tough one at home to Georgia.  I’ve given up on trying to figure out Tennessee because they win some you’d expect them to lose and lose some you’d expect for them to win.   I like Hunter Reese and Jarryd Chaplin at 2 and 4 for UT while I like Kris Yee and Rhys Johnson at 5 and 6 for Vandy.  Both 1 and 3 are tossups and the team that can take one of those and get the doubles point will win it.  I’ll take Libietis and the Vols to pull it out.  Prediction:  Tennessee 4-3

 

#18 Florida at #35 Auburn – 2pm est/1pm cst – Live Scoring – Florida has won 2 straight while Auburn has dropped 2 in a row.  I like Andreas Mies and Dennis Lengsfeld at 1 and 4 for Auburn while I think Stephane Piro, Bob van Overbeek, and Gordon Watson will get it done for Florida at 2, 3, and 5.   I like the Gators to grab the doubles point as well to just get past Auburn.  Prediction:  Florida 4-2

 

#34 South Carolina at #26 Alabama – 2pm est/1pm cst - Live Scoring – Both of these teams have done better than expected so this should be an entertaining match.  I’d give the edge to Bama at 1 and 6 while I like South Carolina at 4 and 5.  I think the teams split 2 and 3 so that means whoever takes the doubles point takes the match.  I’ll go Gamecocks in a mild upset.  Prediction:  South Carolina 4-3