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March Madness: 5 reasons Tennessee Vols could lose to Colgate Raiders

By Caleb Calhoun

SYRACUSE, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Matt Langel of the Colgate Raiders looks on during the game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on November 25, 2012 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - NOVEMBER 25: Head coach Matt Langel of the Colgate Raiders looks on during the game against the Syracuse Orange at the Carrier Dome on November 25, 2012 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

4. Rick Barnes has had postseason issues in the NCAA Tournament in recent years.

The Colgate Raiders haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since the 1990s. We have no idea what to expect from them or Matt Langel, since this is his first time ever coaching in the Big Dance as well. Heck, last year was his first season ever coaching in any postseason tournament.

On the other side, that’s a different story. Rick Barnes has had issues in recent years coaching in tournaments. He has not made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since the 2007-2008 season.

Now, to be fair, he missed March Madness once with the Texas Longhorns and in his first two years on Rocky Top. But at the same time, there are seven other seasons in which he failed to get out of the first weekend, including last year, when the Vols were a No. 3 seed but lost to No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago in the second round.

Simply put, tournaments are not Barnes’s thing. After all, he hasn’t won a conference tournament since his days at Providence. So he’s got a lot to prove starting out this postseason in spite of all the praise he’s earned on Rocky Top.

Meanwhile, Langel has a more recent tournament championship than Barnes. He just won the Patriot League tournament. So, whatever else you want to say about him, right now he’s more proven in postseason tournament production than Barnes is at this moment. And that actually leads to our next slide.

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