March Madness: 5 advantages Vols have in South Region of the Sweet 16

4. Tennessee basketball has the most experience in the bracket.

The Vols returned every starter from last year’s team. Their starting lineup consists of three juniors and two seniors, and their sixth-man is also a junior. By the way, one of those juniors, Lamonte Turner, is a fourth-year junior.

So their starters have a combined 17 years of experience, and they also have by far the most combined starting experience. Every other team in the South Region lost at least one player who averaged double-figures last year, and the Virginia Cavaliers are the only team who didn’t lose two guys.

Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers lost three guys from last year who averaged double-figures. Simply put, the rebuilding process that Rick Barnes orchestrated has blossomed into a major advantage, and that should be on display this weekend.

It’s a huge thing that favors the Vols in their matchup with Purdue, but they also have a solid advantage on that front with Virginia and the Oregon Ducks. In fact, they are a bit stronger this March Madness simply due to the fact that Kyle Alexander didn’t play last year in the tournament.

And even without him, they lost on a last-second shot to Loyola-Chicago, the eventual Cinderella Final Four team. But with Alexander back, this team’s experience is hard to counter. It’s why they have been so good, and it’s a very strong reason to bet on them in the Sweet 16.

Barnes is testing the theory that three-star guys with three and four years of experience are better than one-and-dones. Now, all the work he’s done focusing on that comes to this weekend’s round of games.