Most of the novelty of the Vol fan experience is that it’s shared. Family, friends, classmates, alumni and — due to Twitter — the media that covers the Tennessee program all have similar feelings and experiences when Tennessee wins, loses, recruits well or goes through changes. It’s comforting during rough patches and heightens the enjoyment of the good times. Shared experiences also blend into shared tastes and distastes. Vol Nation loves beating Florida at anything, Alabama at football and Kentucky at basketball. It’s a trait that all who wear Tennessee Orange and know Rocky Top share.But there are nuances amongst Tennessee followers.

Professor John Hopkins, a fashionable English gentleman and legendary legal mind — who I studied under — liked to say: “There is no use having prejudices if you don’t air them, and I’m perfectly happy airing mine.”

It is in that spirit that I air one of mine:Ole Miss drives me crazy.

I attended Cambridge through a joint University of Tennessee & Ole Miss College of Law program. I had a few Tennessee classmates and a few classmates from other schools, but the overwhelming majority were from the University of Mississippi. Some were benign. The overwhelming majority drove me out of my mind. It was like central casting for people who’d star in the prequel to Dinner for Schmucks.

As you can imagine, when the Ole Miss ethos became perfectly personified by Marshall Henderson, it represented a wonderful template to hold up to people to show the uninitiated and then patiently explain: It’s not just Henderson. It’s the Rebels. All of them.

To be fair to Henderson, the logic involved in the calculation of his decision makes plenty of sense. Opposing fan bases are going to hate visiting players regardless, so if it motivates or satisfies you to let them know you hate them back, then so be it. It’s actually surprising that more players don’t adopt his system. But his schtick isn’t merely on the court. It’s a way of life. Because he’s a Rebel. That’s what they do.

The dreaded: experience + predisposition combination causes me to despise Ole Miss beyond what is rational.

Therefore, I take special pleasure in victories against a university populated by people who do stupid stuff like this. And when losses come, I am overcome with an irrational rage that these people are enjoying themselves at Tennessee and my expense.

Which is why Tennessee’s hot start in the first half was so gratifying and Henderson’s fantastic performance and sustained trolling infuriated me throughout much of the early second half. Henderson wasn’t just good. He was electrifying.

But Tennessee’s big guys were the pillars of a team that would not allow the lead to fall despite the flurry. Jeronne Maymon and Jarnell Stokes were consistently good on defense and terrific on the boards, which allowed the Vols to control the tempo and roll off the Henderson punch to stabilize the lead for the Orange and White.

Jordan McRae was solid to spectacular in this game, depending on the moment. When he’s spectacular, you can see that Tennessee is a tournament team. When he’s solid, you can see that Tennessee is a solid bubble team. When he is neither of those things, Tennessee inspires drinking games.

But man was he good during this game.

So the Tennessee formula for the rest of the season is quite simple: have Maymon and Stokes grab every rebound inside, have McRae be special, and have other players step up with assists and buckets to keep teams honest. Tennessee has the talent to go on a run with the schedule in front of them. But those are the keys that drive the car.

Here are your eye-catcher games for the weekend:

Glance Game Of The Weekend

(17) Duke at (2) Syracuse 6:30 PM EST (TV: ESPN)

Come for Jabari Parker, stay to see just how good Syracuse is this year. While it is still odd that they’re in the ACC, it is fortuitous for the traditionally basketball rich conference to have added the Central New York powerhouse. Because the rest of the conference is just nowhere. The folks in Chapel Hill have got to be going out of their minds this year with their squad, Maryland is just plain not good, and as you move around elsewhere in the league there is nothing worth writing about. Except these two teams. Give them a glance.

Haterade Game Of The Weekend

(11) Kentucky at Missouri 1 PM EST (TV: CBS)

The “politics makes strange bedfellows” rule applies to basketball when your team is on the NCAA bubble. It is in Tennessee’s interest to root for Kentucky for several reasons:

1) Making the Vol loss at Rupp look more appetizing to the Selection Committee

2) Keeping Missouri from getting itself ahead of the Vols in the “Who is good in the SEC after Florida and Kentucky” pecking order

3) Keeping Missouri squarely in the same scenario as the Vols — an inconsistent team with the potential to get into the NCAA tournament — for when they face off Feb 15th and March 8th.

But that would require an amount of calculated ruthlessness that is ultimately self defeating. You hate Kentucky. If they are the only SEC team still in the NCAA tournament and you want to root for them, then fine. But during the year? Boo them. At every opportunity. This is the ideal Haterade game. Bask in it.

Reservation Game Of The Weekend

(6) Kansas at (25) Texas 4 PM EST (TV: ESPN)

Between Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid, Kansas has two players that are worth your time. In Wiggins, we have a player who we heard so much about that when he was merely talented and not the second coming of Jordan, everyone freaked out. In Embiid, we have someone that no one had ever heard of before the season who has exploded on the scene and become Must See TV.

Texas, meanwhile, has rebounded after missing the big dance and generally being terrible last year. While there is still some question about how hot head coach Rick Barnes seat has become the team is now more stable and at home in Austin and looking to announce to the nation that they’re for real.

Tennessee at Alabama 9 PM EST (TV: ESPN 2)

The win over Ole Miss, which had the home crowd chanting “It’s Great To Be A Tennessee Vol” down the stretch (Yes It Is) means that this game remains a Reservation game for Vol fans. A Tennessee win on the road against Bama helps the Selection Committee do their job. There’s nothing better helping the arbitrary group that holds your fate in the palm of their hands do their job. A Tennessee win at Alabama helps knock the Tide out of any conversation about the bubble and helps push Tennessee back to the front of the pack in an SEC that few onlookers are impressed by. The Ole Miss win helped rehabilitate Tennessee for lots of observers after the Florida loss. A win here on the road in Tuscaloosa will continue that trend.

Enjoy the weekend, the games and the Super Bowl.