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Tennessee basketball: 5 keys for Vols in NCAA Tournament

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

The Men’s UT Volunteers are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014, this time as a 3-seed. Here are five keys for them in March Madness.

March Madness has finally arrived. The NCAA Tournament is the one time of the year where everybody actually pays attention. And this year, Tennessee Vols fans get to celebrate the fact that they are back in the Bid Dance for the first time in four years.

With a goal early in the season of just getting there, Tennessee basketball has massively exceeded expectations. Rick Barnes’s team getting in as a No. 3 seed was an incredible shocker, and it raised expectations significantly for this team.

Locked in the South Region with an opening game against Wright State in Dallas, the Vols are now thinking about a potential Elite Eight. Heck, optimistic fans have reason to think that a first Final Four could be in the works for this team.

But how can Tennessee make such a run in the NCAA Tournament? The postseason has not been kind to the men’s Vols in the past. Sure, they made a Cinderella Sweet Sixteen run the last time they were in the Big Dance. But most of the time, they underperform their seed.

With their first three-seed in school history, that leaves this year completely up in the air. They got a decent draw for the first weekend, as they’ll face the winner of Miami and Loyola-Chicago if they advance past the first round.

But to make any sort of run, they’ll have to do what got them here. That includes a combination of things, some they’ve done consistently well.

March Madness is always about who gets hot at the right time. With only one senior, the Vols are at a significant experience disadvantage this year. Let’s take a look at how they can overcome that. These are the five keys for the Tennessee Vols in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

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