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Tennessee basketball rankings and bracketology, Rick Barnes’ optimism encouraging after LSU loss

By Caleb Calhoun

Feb 10, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes points from the sidelines during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 10, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes points from the sidelines during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Another bad loss last weekend,78-65 at the LSU Tigers, had fans everywhere concerned about Tennessee basketball. This is a team with three five-star guards, two returning All-SEC seniors in the post and a ton of depth. How could it be struggling at at 14-5 and 7-5 in the SEC?

Well, what appears to be concerning on Rocky Top is not concerning among everybody else. Despite dropping in rankings they remained in the top 20 of all the polls people pay attention to. Meanwhile, they were still a top four seed in bracketology projections. Finally, Rick Barnes, always tough on his players, is still showing some optimism.

Falling only three spots to No. 19 in the AP Poll and five spots to No. 20 in the Coaches Poll was surprising.  More importantly, though, Tennessee basketball only dropped two spots in the NCAA NET Rankings, the top barometer for the NCAA Tournament, to No. 12. In fact, the Alabama Crimson Tide remain the only SEC team ahead of them.

What effect did this have on bracketology projections? Well, on Tuesday, Joe Lunardi of ESPN had the Vols as a No. 4 seed facing the No. 13 seed Colgate Raiders in the first round and in a first-weekend bracket with the No. 5 seed Wisconsin Badgers and No. 12 seed Belmont Bruins. The Baylor Bears were the No. 1 seed in their region.

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Jerry Palm of CBS Sports also had the Vols as a No. 4 seed. In his bracket, released Monday, UT would face the No. 13 seed South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the first round and be in a first-weekend bracket with the No. 5 seed Virginia Tech Hokies and No. 12 seed Utah State Aggies. Baylor again would be the top seed in their region.

College Sports Madness also had UT as a No. 4 seed in a region with Baylor as the No. 1 seed. In its bracket, the Vols would face the No. 13 seed Furman Paladins in the first round and be in a weekend-opening bracket with the No. 5 seed USC Trojans and No. 12 seed Vermont Catamounts.

So among all these, UT was a No. 4 seed in a region with Baylor as the top seed. Given the fact that the Vols were No. 11 overall in the NCAA Selection Committee’s midseason reveal Saturday before their loss to LSU, just barely a No. 3 seed, this wasn’t much of a drop-off.

Simply put, people still believe in Tennessee basketball. One of those people is Barnes himself. In his Monday press conference, Barnes said the team’s problems are fixable. He noted that they just need the more experienced players, particularly John Fulkerson, Yves Pons and Victor Bailey Jr., to be more consistent.

In addition to calling out the older guys, Barnes noted that the younger guys, Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson, are playing more minutes than they ever have before, which causes fatigue to set in defensively. However, he insists all of these issues can get better. Here’s a bit of his explanation.

"“We have coached teams that have been inconsistent. There’s a lot of teams that have gone through this because of the difference in the year. I think these guys have continued to work, and they know that we can get better and play better than we have in some situations.”"

It’s also worth noting that Pons was banged up on Saturday and couldn’t be as dominant with his half-court defense after missing last Wednesday’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Once he gets back to normal, this team could reach its potential.

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Altogether, the losses to LSU and Ole Miss were concerning for Tennessee basketball, but Ole Miss remains the only team to beat the Vols at full strength. When you consider how Kermit Davis’ matchup zone confuses young guards, that can be explained away too. Given the way Barnes and the national media looks at this team, the signs are still encouraging.

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