Single Post

Vols played themselves out of a No. 1 seed, but they don’t need that to reach a Final Four

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The cost of two straight losses for the Tennessee Volunteers, the second of which featured the worst basketball Rick Barnes’ team has played all season, was not as steep as it could have been.

It was something, though. Rather than playing for a Los Angeles trip as an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed, with up-and-down Arizona as the No. 2 seed, the Vols are staring at having to beat the team that looked like the best in the nation for much of this season — and has the most dominant big man — to earn the first Final Four in program history.

That’s a big, if not gigantic, difference. Speaking of gigantic, Midwest No. 1 seed Purdue’s 7-4, 300-pound center Zach Edey scored 23 in a 71-67 win over the Vols in November in Hawaii, and he represents the clearest kind of matchup issue for the Vols. But that’s also a long way away. And this tournament usually makes a mockery of what you think will happen anyway.

The challenge for the Midwest No. 2 seed Vols is to win three games and get to that regional final — which would be the second Elite Eight in program history — and if they do, that means they’ll be playing well enough to have a serious chance against Purdue or anyone else. The Midwest is still a better draw than the East and No. 1 seed UConn. And Tennessee at its best can beat anyone in the field.

The quest to rediscover that best version starts Thursday at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center against Midwest No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s (19-13). If the SEC regular-season champion Vols (24-8) can avoid absolute disaster — the kind of disaster that would necessitate disregard for future Barnes regular seasons — they will play Saturday against the winner of No. 7 seed Texas (20-12) and the First Four winner of No. 10 seeds Virginia (23-10) and Colorado State (24-10).

Vols are Charlotte bound#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Y2lmfPV7NB

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 17, 2024

That would mean a second straight Sweet 16 and third overall under Barnes for a program that had a total of seven before he arrived. And it would mean a trip to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, where No. 3 seed Creighton and No. 6 seed and SEC rival South Carolina would be the most likely opponents in the regional semifinal. The path to Glendale, Ariz., and the Final Four is treacherous and full of storylines.

“You’re sitting there thinking, ‘Well, is it gonna be Texas or Clemson?’” Barnes told reporters Sunday night of seeing Texas, where he coached 17 seasons before coming to Tennessee, pop up on the bracket. Barnes also coached four seasons at Clemson before Texas.

Meanwhile, the first-round opponent is TV-friendly enough. Saint Peter’s features freshman guard Armoni Zeigler, younger brother of Tennessee junior point guard Zakai Zeigler. The elder Zeigler might have been playing there in Jersey City, N.J., with his brother had Barnes not discovered him late in the recruiting process.

And Saint Peter’s is, of course, a verified NCAA Tournament Cinderella. Two years ago in the same building in Indianapolis that saw Michigan upset the Vols in the second round, the Peacocks were a No. 15 seed as well and shocked No. 2 seed Kentucky. Then No. 7 seed Western Kentucky. The following week, they took out No. 3 seed Purdue to become the only No. 15 seed to reach an Elite Eight. The run finally ended there against No. 8 seed North Carolina.

Vols guard Zakai Zeigler will open the NCAA Tournament playing against Saint Peters and younger brother Armoni. (Jordan Prather / USA Today)

All the key players and coach Shaheen Holloway are gone from that captivating team. That doesn’t mean Barnes can’t play highlights of mustachioed Doug Edert hitting improbable fadeaway jumpers on a loop for his team this week. This is probably a good thing for Barnes.

“We know it can be done now at every level — I mean, No. 16 seeds beat a No. 1 or No. 15s beat a No. 2,” he said. “It’s about our focus and getting ready. You’ve got to go out and play great basketball from here on out.”

The Vols are 0-for-2 in that department since winning at South Carolina to clinch the outright SEC regular-season championship. That cost them the No. 1 seed out West, which despite the travel would be the ideal draw (they would still be opening in Charlotte this weekend). The first of those was a case of senior-day emotions helping Kentucky grab a lead in UT’s home finale, and the Wildcats simply played offense at too high of a level to lose.

The second of those was an ugly, alarming display. Friday’s 73-56 loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville, in a building packed with orange, saw the Bulldogs push the Vols around right away, detect little resistance and dominate on both ends. The Vols couldn’t buy an outside shot and seemed to let everything else suffer for it.

They seemed to shrink in the moment. And nothing shrinks teams that are supposed to win games like the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve got to correct our mindset,” Tennessee senior guard Santiago Vescovi said afterward, which means playing up to some of the best defensive metrics in the sport regardless of what’s happening on offense.

On offense, the Vols need star Dalton Knecht to bounce back from an atypical performance, tight and ineffective. And he needs some other guys to hit shots. Vescovi continues to top the list — he has taken 30 shots and hit just seven in the past seven games. That includes a 4-for-22 showing from 3-point range.

“I mean, it’s been hard,” Vescovi said. “But the biggest thing is, I know my teammates have trust in me and I trust all of them too. That’s what we’ve got to bank everything on.”

Get one win, against a team that will try to slow down and shorten the game but has no matchup advantages, and all the good and bad of the 32 games before Thursday doesn’t matter anymore. This wasn’t the best possible draw for Tennessee, but it’s not bad. Nothing is if the Vols can find their best again.