Tennessee may be playing its best basketball.

The Vols have won four-straight SEC games, including a 75-62 triumph over Vanderbilt in Nashville on Saturday.

Tennessee, which is 15-4 overall and 5-1 in league play, stayed put at No. 5 in the latest Associated Press Top 25. The Vols remained in the fifth spot in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

Tennessee was the highest ranked SEC team, followed by No. 10 Kentucky, No. 16 Auburn and No. 24 Alabama.

The Vols return to Knoxville to face South Carolina on Tuesday at Food City Center at 6:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.

The Gamecocks have exceeded expectations under second-year head coach Lamont Paris after winning just four conference games and missing the NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina holds a 17-3 record, including three-straight conference wins over Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri and finished just outside of the AP Top 25 with 108 votes this week.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Vols' Dalton Knecht puts on another roadshow at Vanderbilt

Guard Meechie Johnson Jr. leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game while transfer addition Ta'Lon Cooper is averaging 4.3 assists.

"I think that (South Carolina) has their identity," Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark said. "You can tell that their foundation is set in stone, now. They are really rough as they were last year, they just didn't have the bodies and the guys that understood the system. Now, those guys are like a well-oiled machine...They're just tough. They don't do a ton of switching.

"They get through everything. You can tell that they hold their identity on toughness, which is something that we've been able to do in this league. Seeing them do it, I think it leads to a lot of success."

Tennessee swept South Carolina in two meetings last season, an 85-42 thumping in Columbia and an 85-45 win in Knoxville.

KenPom projects the Vols to win 75-62.

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens.

–––––