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

If any team in the South Region is a clear Cinderella, it’s the Oregon Ducks. Don’t look now, but Dana Altman’s team is red-hot. They closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak, and then they won four straight games in the Pac-12 Tournament to secure an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

As a result, this team rides into the Big Dance ridiculously hot. On top of that, they are two years’ removed from a Final Four appearance, and that came after an Elite Eight appearance, so this team knows that Altman is capable of getting them to where they need to go.

Oregon is only so low of a seed because they had to adjust their system and learn how to win without center Bol Bol, who went out in December. But they’ve finally figured it out, and now they’re playing more like a top 4 seed.

Meanwhile, Altman’s focus on pressure defense and his up-tempo system is the achilles-heel for Tennessee basketball, as we’ve been saying. He focuses on pressing and trapping more than either team we just named, and right now, I’d say his team is better as well.

The two teams would not meet until the Elite Eight, but don’t count out Oregon’s potential to make such a run in the NCAA Tournament. They are an extremely dangerous team, and Rick Barnes would have to get his guys ready to adjust to that tempo. If he doesn’t, the Vols will once again miss out on a Final Four appearance. Oregon is a genuine threat to them.