Tennessee assistant Amorrow Morgan met with the media ahead of Tuesday's showdown with Missouri, and seemingly had some mixed opinions on the Tigers.
He was asked if the road trip to Columbia could prove difficult for the Vols, and took a subtle jab at Mizzou before offering a bit of praise later.
"It can be, right? Mizzou, I don't think they have necessarily, like, the flair of, you know, they're not necessarily ranked in the top twenty-five, and it's not necessarily a sexy game," said Morrow.
Morgan then added that he and his staff have a lot of respect for Mizzou and their history.
"Coach wanted those guys to know that Mizzou has been historically one of the best programs in all of college basketball," Morgan continued. "Twenty, thirty years ago, like, Mizzou was a top-fifteen program in the country. So just trying to get our guys to understand what we're about to walk into Columbia, knowing that they're gonna have a hostile environment, and we gotta be ready for it, and they have a really good team."
Tennessee might already be looking past the Tigers
The Tigers are in a bit of a pinch coming down the stretch, needing to win at least two of their final games with earn an NCAA Tournament berth. While Tennessee is one of the more difficult matchups of the remaining games, Morgan's comments might add a little more fuel to the fire.
The Vols are one of the hottest teams in the country, winning eight of their last nine, and enter Columbia as the No. 22 ranked team in the latest AP Poll. Meanwhile, Mizzou has had a roller coaster season with wins against Florida, Kentucky and more, combined with 20, 30, and 40-point blowout losses.
A win on Tuesday will make Mizzou's remaining schedule against Mississippi State, Oklahoma and Arkansas much more palatable, but a loss forces the Tigers into a bit of corner.