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Tennessee Vols Played Every Team in the NCAA Basketball Final Four

By Caleb Calhoun

Mar 24, 2017; Glendale, AZ, USA; The basketball court for the NCAA Men’s Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. The court is made from 397 4’ x 7’ panels of Northern Hard Maple, weighing approximately 188 pounds each. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK
Mar 24, 2017; Glendale, AZ, USA; The basketball court for the NCAA Men’s Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. The court is made from 397 4’ x 7’ panels of Northern Hard Maple, weighing approximately 188 pounds each. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK /
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This year’s men’s basketball NCAA Tournament has highlighted how difficult the Tennessee Volunteers’ schedule was. They faced every Final Four team.

As the Final Four gets set to begin in one day, it’s time to use it to highlight just how difficult the Tennessee Basketball schedule was this year.

The Vols faced all four teams on the slate. In fact, they faced five games against the four Final Four teams since they played South Carolina twice.

Now, Rick Barnes’s team went 0-5 against them. But it’s worth nothing that they came extremely close to beating the Oregon Ducks and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

However, it’s not just the Final Four that highlights how tough the Vols’ schedule has been this year. It’s the entire NCAA Tournament.

They played 15 games on the season against teams that made the NCAA Tournament. Another team, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, finished the year as NIT Champion runner-ups.

Then, they played 10 games against eight of the teams that reached the second round of the tournament.

But the first weekend isn’t as impressive. The runs these teams made is why this is impressive. After all, that’s why the Final Four makes them look so good.

Seven of the Vols’ opponents advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Yes, they played nearly half of the  Sweet Sixteen! In fact, since the Kentucky Wildcats and South Carolina Gamecocks both advanced, they played nine games on the year against Sweet Sixteen teams.

South Carolina getting there was obviously a major shocker. But at the same time, the Wisconsin Badgers upset Villanova as a No. 8 seed to get there. So they were another shock team to further validate the Vols.

Then we go to the Elite Eight.

The East and South divisions of the Elite Eight both featured only teams that the Vols played. In fact, of those seven Sweet Sixteen teams the Vols faced, six reached the Elite Eight.

They played 75 percent of the teams in the Elite Eight! And again, the two teams they played twice, South Carolina and Kentucky, advanced.

And we already mentioned the Final Four.

So they played five games against the Final Four teams, eight games against the Elite Eight teams, nine games against Sweet Sixteen teams, and 10 games against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

And they played 15 games overall against 12 teams that reached the Big Dance.

Playing this schedule and still finishing the regular season above .500 with nearly an all-freshman team highlights the trajectory of the program under Rick Barnes.

The schedule was clearly tougher than the Vols’ RPI even indicated. And they were a bubble team with an incredibly young group for most of the season.

So while missing the tournament this year may be important, the Final Four can serve as a reminder of where they’re headed.

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