Today On Rocky Top: Vols Making A Run!

Mar 23, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers bench celebrates in the closing second against the Mercer Bears in a men

From The Tennessean

"On this line in the bracket, we have a No. 14 seed from an afterthought conference that doesn’t want anything to do with Cinderella’s glass Nike.On this line in the bracket, we have a No. 11 seed from a power conference that embraces the underdog role.Just when you thought the NCAA Tournament couldn’t get any weirder, these odd story lines have emerged as Mercer and Tennessee try to overcome their seeding pedigrees and play their way into the Sweet 16.Really, now, did anybody have these two facing each other in this corner of the bracket? Remember,Tennessee had that little detail of a play-in game against Iowa on Wednesday. And Mercer’s opening opponent was close-to-home favorite and No. 3 seed Duke."

From Fox Sports

"The Tennessee Vols got some big-time payback on the Mercer Bears with a rout on Sunday night in the NCAA tournament, and they followed up the big win with one epic celebration.After Mercer ended Tennessee’s season last year with a 75-67 win in the first round of the NIT, the Vols were hungry not to repeat history and finished off a 83-63 rout of the Bears to advance to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in eight years.The relief of taking out the tournament’s Cinderella darling was clearly evident, as players and coaches went wild in the locker room.Read More At Fox Sports"

From ABC News

"Isabelle Harrison scored 12 points and sparked a game-changing 12-0 run as No. 1 seed Tennessee withstood an ailing head coach and a lethargic first-half performance to beat Northwestern State 70-46 in its NCAA tournament opener.Tennessee coach Holly Warlick missed the Lady Vols’ morning shootaround with what school officials described as a case of food poisoning. Warlick rejoined the team for the game, but she had an IV port in her left hand during the first half and sat on an orange stool while assistant coach Kyra Elzy stood and shouted instructions.Warlick stood throughout the second half and was much more animated as Tennessee gradually pulled away for its 14th win in its last 15 games.Northwestern State (21-13), trying to become the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed since Harvard stunned Stanford in 1998, forced a 22-22 tie early in the second half before the Lady Vols (28-5) scored 12 straight points to seize control."