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Tennessee basketball: Vols 5 toughest potential matchups in NCAA Tournament’s South Region

By Caleb Calhoun

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Jordan Bone #0 (second from left) of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - DECEMBER 09: Jordan Bone #0 (second from left) of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrates after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on December 9, 2018 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 76-73. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

Tennessee basketball has lots to prove in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Here are five tough March Madness matchups for the Volunteers in the South bracket.

For the third time in school history, Tennessee basketball enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. They have never been a No. 1 seed, and although they failed to win the SEC regular season or tournament championship, optimism is high that this could be the first Vols team ever to reach the Final Four.

After all, Rick Barnes’s fourth team on Rocky Top did spend four weeks at No. 1 and went on a 19-game winning streak at one point. They have numerous quality wins, including the Kentucky Wildcats twice, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Louisville Cardinals, the Florida Gators twice, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Ole Miss Rebels on the road.

So heading into the Big Dance, there are clear reasons to believe in this team. However, like anybody, they aren’t likely to have a cakewalk to the Final Four. Although the Vols got some breaks other teams did not get for this tournament, they still could run into some tough games in the South Region.

But which games will be the toughest for Tennessee basketball? That’s going to be the focus of our post here. We are going to rank the five toughest potential opponents for the Vols en route to the Final Four.

Spoiler alert: Colgate is not on this list. Barnes’s team has no business losing their first-round game, and the line is already three football scores in favor of Rocky Top. Assuming they do win, though, they could run into some other tough matchups.

However, these rankings could surprise you. We don’t base them purely on seeding or even talent. The talent is taken into account along with the location of a potential game and, finally, the style of play of the team as opposed to the Vols’ strengths and weaknesses. So with all of that data, here is our look at Tennessee basketball’s five toughest potential matchups in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament.

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