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Tennessee basketball: 5 reasons Vols should win the SEC Tournament

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 02: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 02, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 02: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 02, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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3. This year’s SEC bracket gave Tennessee basketball a very good draw in the first round.

The Vols may have only gotten a No. 3 seed, but they couldn’t ask for a better start to the SEC Tournament. That double-bye is already a big deal and gives them one advantage that the South Carolina Gamecocks, Kentucky Wildcats and LSU Tigers have.

On top of that, though, they will be the last team to play on Friday. Their game is scheduled for 9 p.m. That means they will also be the most well-rested, which is another huge advantage for this team throughout the tournament.

Finally, they will play one of three teams in the first round. Either the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Texas A&M Aggies or Vanderbilt Commodores will take on UT. Of those teams, only Mississippi State is a quality opponent, and the Vols beat them by 17 just a week and a half ago. They also beat Texas A&M by 17 on the road earlier this year.

So everything is set up perfectly for them to get to Saturday, and once the semifinals happen, they are in great shape. Now, it’s worth noting that the tournament is in Nashville, where the Vols needed overtime to beat Vandy.

But this one will be more of a neutral setting with the allotment of the tickets, and it’s not at Memorial Gym, where the magic for the ‘Dores usually happens. They shouldn’t even make it to Friday. Location, though, does lead to our next point.

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