Tennessee Vols morning report: Rick Barnes previews NCAA Tournament

March Madness is set! The Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team will play its first NCAA Tournament game on Friday, earning a No. 5 seed after losing to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Tournament semifinals.

Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with continued coverage of Sunday’s selection show. We have a press conference to cover involving the men’s team. There’s also a preview of another selection show related to the women’s basketball program. That’s not the only news, though. A disturbing football story broke last Friday that we have to cover.

Beyond those three things, we are loaded with previews and recaps. Baseball, softball, volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, rowing and indoor track and field all had weekend events. Men’s golf and cross country both have events beginning today. We’ll touch on all of them in addition to the NCAA Tournament news.

Rick Barnes discusses NCAA Tournament – Rob Lewis, VolQuest

On Selection Sunday, the Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team learned they would take on the No. 12 seed Oregon State Beavers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 4:30 p.m. ET Friday in the Midwest bracket. Rick Barnes discussed the tournament for his 18-8 team later that evening. Here’s a bit of what he said.

"“Oregon State finished as strong as any team in the country. They won their conference, beat Oregon, UCLA, and Colorado in that order, which shows how well they are playing. A team that’s been coached well, they’ve gotten better, and playing their best basketball right now. Most teams that are playing right now are capable of playing their best basketball, and I like to think that we’re on the verge of doing that as well.”"

Three football players involved in drug-related incident – SI.com

A police report revealed three Tennessee Vols football defenders, linebacker Aaron Willis, defensive lineman Isaac Washington and linebacker Martavius French, were arrested due to a March 9 incident. Simple Possession, Unlawful Drug Paraphernalia and Juvenile Incident were all listed. French is a redshirt freshman who didn’t play last year. The other two are early enrollees.

"Each player is expected to compete for the playing time at their respective position this spring. Willis and Washington were two of Tennessee’s top defensive signees in the 2021 class."

Women’s NCAA Tournament selection set for Monday – Charlie Creme, ESPN.com

Kellie Harper’s Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team, ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and No. 15 in the Coaches Poll, will find out where it will be seeded in the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament Monday with a 16-7 record. The selection show is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

"Competitively, this might be the most wide-open tournament in years, as perhaps eight or nine teams could win the national championship. Stanford, UConn, Texas A&M, South Carolina, NC State, Maryland and Baylor all have résumés worthy of a No. 1 seed."

Baseball sweeps UNC Greensboro – Wes Rucker, GoVols247

Starting with the return of Chad Dallas, who pitched a one-hitter in over five innings of play Friday, and ending with two home runs from Drew Gilbert and six innings pitched by Blade Tidwell Sunday, the No. 14 ranked Tennessee Vols baseball team swept a three-game series with the UNC Greensboro Spartans. They improved to 14-3 on the year while UNCG fell to 10-5.

"Gilbert, Tidwell and Vols coach Tony Vitello spoke with reporters after Sunday’s game, discussing the team’s big weekend and its excitement for next weekend’s start of SEC play — something that will happen after a midweek game against East Tennessee State.The Vols will host the Buccaneers on Tuesday night before traveling to Georgia over the weekend for a three-game series against the Bulldogs."

Softball wins one of three vs. LSU – Ken Lay, VolsWire.com

In their SEC opener this past weekend, the No. 22 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols softball team only one won game out of three at home against the No. 12 ranked LSU Tigers. They fell to 18-3 on the year after an 11-3 loss Sunday.

"LSU took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as Shelbi Sunseri had an RBI single and Georgia Clark clubbed a two-run home run.The Tigers added three more runs in the third as Amanda Doyle blasted a two-run shot and Morgan Cummins had a scoring single."

Volleyball splits weekend series at Arkansas – UT Daily Beacon

The Tennessee Lady Vols volleyball team’s first road trip of 2021 involved a win over the Razorbacks on Saturday and a loss to them on Sunday. Both matches went four sets. UT moved to 9-7, while Arkansas moved to 12-8.

"The Lady Vols continue their away stretch travelling to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama. The Crimson Tide have lost four of their last six and sit at 6-12 on the season, looking to bounce back after a weekend series loss at Texas A&M. The first match is set for 6 p.m. ET on Friday."

Men’s tennis sweeps Alabama road trip – UTSports

Visits to the Auburn Tigers on Friday and Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday resulted in two wins for the No. 4 ranked Tennessee Vols men’s tennis team. UT improved 17-2 on the year and 6-1 in the SEC.

"Tennessee will take nearly two weeks off before returning home to take on Vanderbilt on March 26 and Kentucky on March 28."

Women’s tennis falls at LSU – UTSports

Friday’s matchup between the No. 23 ranked Tennessee Lady Vols tennis team and the Texas A&M Aggies was postponed due to a COVID issue related to A&M. UT then faced the No. 19 ranked LSU Tigers on the road Sunday and lost 4-2, falling to 9-5 on the year and 3-3 in the SEC.

"Up next, the Lady Vols travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt on Friday and head to Lexington, Kentucky to face Kentucky on Sunday."

Rowing wraps up Cardinal Invitational – HereNow.com

The second event of 2021 for the Tennessee Lady Vols rowing program ended with a couple of impressive performances. UT came away with 10 first place finishes at the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite, hosted in Oak Ridge, Tenn. by the Louisville Cardinals.

Indoor track and field wraps up NCAAs – NCAA.com

A ninth place finish on the men’s side highlighted the Tennessee Vols indoor track and field program’s performance at the NCAA Championships over the weekend. The women finished tied in 40th place.

"Oregon put up crazy numbers in the men’s championship, going on to win the team title with 79 points — the second-most points in meet history.Arkansas went on to win the women’s team title with 68 points. It’s the Razorbacks’ second consecutive team title."

Cross country to begin NCAA Championships – NCAA.com

Monday marks the NCAA Cross Country Championships, hosted in Stillwater, Okla. by the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Junior Sydney Seymour will represent Rocky Top, taking part in the women’s 6K Monday afternoon.

"Thirty-one teams and 38 individuals will race for a title at the OSU cross country course. See the full list of participants here. The women’s race begins begins at 12:50 p.m. ET, while the men’s race starts at 1:40 p.m. ET."

Men’s golf to begin Tiger Invitational – GolfStat.com

Ranked No. 15 in the nation, the Tennessee Vols men’s golf team begins the Tiger Invitational in Alabama Monday, hosted by the Auburn Tigers at the Grant National Golf Course. The three-day tournament in Opelika, Ala. involves 15 teams.