Tennessee basketball: Vols still had a successful season despite rough ending

Tennessee basketball’s NCAA Tournament loss to the Loyola Ramblers hurt. But the Volunteers’ season was still a success despite the March Madness.

For the entire offseason, Tennessee basketball fans will rightfully be asking lots of questions about their loss to Loyola Chicago. Why didn’t Rick Barnes go to Grant Williams more? Why did Williams not fight for position? What was up with the lucky bounces? Was it a supernatural presences?

But while the pain of the loss will sting forever, Vols fans everywhere should put the year in perspective. This team was picked to finish 13th in the SEC to start the season. Even the most optimistic analysts and fans were just hoping they’d make the NCAA Tournament.

In that regard, a second round loss after being the co-SEC Champions makes for a pretty good season. Yes, the flameout is more heartbreaking because of the losses in the South Region. But Tennessee basketball only suffered an upset loss in the scope of seeding.

When it comes to the preseason expectations, this was a team of massive overachievers. And, unless the unexpected happens, the whole team should be back.

James Daniel III is the only senior on this team. It’s hard to imagine anybody else being good enough to leave school early. As a result, the Vols can be thinking a lot bigger next year.

If you pay attention to the way the program has developed, Barnes’s work is far from finished. This is a program set up to get better next year. And whatever they did in this tournament would have been house money.

Although you should never take the NCAA Tournament and success for granted, it’s easier to swallow when you look at the state of Tennessee basketball. NCAA Tournament upsets happen. In some cases, they seem divine.

But any reasonable analysis of this program shows that this is just a taste of what could come in the future. The Vols are in great shape as a program. Given the craziness that happened from Bruce Pearl through Donnie Tyndall, that’s all you can ask for.

Barnes and the team are still not above the criticism for their refusal to give the ball to Williams more when it mattered. And the loss is clearly a massively blown opportunity.

This post isn’t to let the team off the hook. It is merely to point out that there is an overall perspective to look at. And a close second round NCAA Tournament loss would have been welcome by any Tennessee basketball analyst at the beginning of the year.

By any stretch, the Vols overachieved. And it looks like they should be better next year. So the sting of the loss should not impact what everybody sees is happening with the program. The Vols have stability and success, two things they have begged for. So the mood should still be high.