All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball currently not a tier one contender, analyst says

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 21, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jaden Springer (11) and guard Yves Pons (35) and forward E.J. Anosike (55) during the second half against the Saint Joseph's Hawks at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jaden Springer (11) and guard Yves Pons (35) and forward E.J. Anosike (55) during the second half against the Saint Joseph's Hawks at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Tennessee basketball Volunteers have more work to do for Andy Katz.

That one loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide isn’t just keeping Tennessee basketball out of the top five. It’s keeping the Vols from being a clear-cut national championship contender relative to other teams that are currently in the running.

College basketball analyst Andy Katz listed his tier one championship contenders on Thursday, and UT was not on the list. The Gonzaga Bulldogs, Baylor Bears, Michigan Wolverines, Villanova Wildcats and Iowa Hawkeyes were in the only schools in Katz’s top tier.

To be fair, Katz did have Tennessee basketball in his tier two list of programs along with the Texas Longhorns, Creighton Bluejays and Alabama. He also said they are teams that are still elite and had nothing but respect to give to them.

As you can see, he was high on the Vols and suggested that Alabama may be their only loss on the year. However, at 9-1 and ranked No. 10 in both polls, you have to think that Rick Barnes team has the tools to be in that top tier of Katz’s teams going forward.

Iowa, for instance, is ahead of Rocky Top despite having two losses. To be fair, one of those losses was to Gonzaga, and the other was to a solid Minnesota Golden Gophers team. You still have to think, though, that UT has enough of a resume to be ahead of them with wins over the Colorado Buffaloes, Missouri Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks.

If the Vols had gotten a chance to play Gonzaga earlier in the year, a game that was canceled, this may be a different story. At least they have a chance to move up further when they face the Kansas Jayhawks later this month in the SEC/Big 12 challenge. However, Kansas wasn’t on either list for Katz despite being in the top 10.

Next. Vol basketball's top 10 storylines of 2020. dark

All signs suggest that this could be Tennessee basketball’s year. The Vols have more to prove, though, as that loss to Alabama and those first-half struggles against Arkansas raised some questions. Until then, while they get respect from one of college basketball’s top experts, they don’t get the peak of that respect.

Home/Vols Basketball