All for Tennessee
Fansided

NCAA Tournament 2021: Five reasons Tennessee basketball can make Final Four

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 16, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Victor Bailey Jr. (12) and guard Jaden Springer (11) and guard Santiago Vescovi (25) and guard Josiah-Jordan James (5) and guard Yves Pons (35) after a timeout against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Victor Bailey Jr. (12) and guard Jaden Springer (11) and guard Santiago Vescovi (25) and guard Josiah-Jordan James (5) and guard Yves Pons (35) after a timeout against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
Mar 13, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Oregon State Beavers cheer as head coach Wayne Tinkle presents the Pac-12 Tournament trophy after the Beavers defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 70-68 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2021; Las Vegas, NV, USA; The Oregon State Beavers cheer as head coach Wayne Tinkle presents the Pac-12 Tournament trophy after the Beavers defeated the Colorado Buffaloes 70-68 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Overrated bracket

Honestly, the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament probably has the largest collection of undeserving teams in the Big Dance. It is loaded with teams who either got in or boosted their seedings due to conference tournament luck.

More from All for Tennessee

UT’s first-round game is against a team, the Oregon State Beavers, that is only in the tournament because of a red-hot Pac-12 Tournament run. Oregon State had one of those wild rides where it won three games in three days to win the tournament title. The Drexel Dragons and Morehead State Eagles are also only in because they won their conference tournaments as underdogs.

Adding to this, there are no Power Five regular season conference champions in the bracket. The region’s No. 1 seed, the Illinois Fighting Illini, are the only No. 1 seed to not win the regular season conference title. Even the Houston Cougars, the No. 2 seed, didn’t win their regular season title. Both are in because they won the Big Ten and American Athletic Tournament titles respectively.

Only the San Diego State Aztecs, Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, Liberty Flames and Cleveland State Vikings won their regular season and conference tournament titles. The Clemson Tigers, Syracuse Orange and Rutgers Scarlet Knights are three unranked Power Five teams who backed in. Only the Oklahoma State Cowboys and West Virginia Mountaineers are quality at-large berths.

Next. 10 greatest made shots in Vol basketball history. dark

With only five top 25 teams in the AP, Coaches and NET Rankings when a region averages six or seven, this region is filled with inflated NCAA Tournament seedings. That’s a huge benefit to Tennessee basketball, and it gives the Vols a great shot at coming out of the bracket.

Home/Vols Basketball