March Madness: Vols’ only other No. 3 seed was their first NCAA Tournament under Rick Barnes

For just the second time in program history, Tennessee basketball will enter March Madness as a No. 3 seed. The first time ended in heartbreak in what should have been a Final Four run. Yes, Rick Barnes was coaching that team as well. In fact, John Fulkerson was on that team.

The year was 2018. Barnes was in his third season on Rocky Top. He went 15-19 his first year and 16-16 his second year then lost starter Robert Hubbs III to graduation. That set expectations very low entering 2017-2018, and the Vols were picked next to last in the SEC.

They shocked the world instead, capturing a share of the SEC Regular Season Championship, sweeping the Kentucky Wildcats in the regular season and reaching the SEC Tournament Championship. A core of Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Lamonte Turner, Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden and Kyle Alexander had emerged.

With a 25-8 record, the Vols received a No. 3 seed. However, they were upset in the second round by the No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago Ramblers on a last-second shot, who made a Final Four run that year. A catalyst for the upset was Alexander being hurt and Fulkerson, who was still young and raw, having to start in his place.

Honestly, there are tons of similarities. For starters, Loyola-Chicago is in the same March Madness region as the Vols once again. This time, they are a No. 10 seed in the South Region. Another UT opponent from 2018 in the tourney, the Wright State Raiders, are in the play-in game for the No. 16 seed. The Vols beat Wright State to open the tournament that year.

Also, the personnel is in a similar situation. Not only is John Fulkerson on both teams and Rick Barnes coaching both teams, but the Vols will have to navigate the tournament without one of their key post players, Olivier Nkamhoua, just like they had to without Alexander in 2018.

Thirdly, though, both UT teams enter the tournament off a conference championship. In 2018, it was a share of the regular season title with the Auburn Tigers. This year, it’s the tournament championship outright with a lot more momentum.

What really hurt about that year for the Vols is that a litany of upsets made the Final Four inevitable if they just did their part. The UMBC Retrievers upset the No. 1 seed Virginia Tech Hokies, the Nevada Wolf Pack upset the No. 2 seed Cincinnati Bearcats, the Buffalo Bulls upset the Arizona Wildcats, and the Kansas State Wildcats upset the Kentucky Wildcats.

UT’s path to the Final Four that year would have exemplified March Madness, as they would have faced Nevada in the third round and Kansas State in the fourth round, and no team they would have seen was above a No. 7 seed or ranked. They couldn’t have asked for a better situation.

This year, though, things seem different. That team was one built on lots of unheralded three-stars who just used their chemistry and Barnes’ coaching for success. However, four of the seven main rotational guys were sophomores or juniors, and Fulky had to start as a freshman. There’s a reason that best team came a year later. James Daniel III was the only senior.

Now, the Vols are made up of much more high-profile freshmen in guys like Kennedy Chandler. The experienced guys are on that same level in Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi and Uros Plavsic. Then, of course, there’s Fulky, a sixth-year senior and a much greater asset.

Simply put, this team is constructed for a deep run in March Madness. They have already proven that they can take advantage of upsets, evidenced by their SEC Tournament title, and they have shown they can adjust given Nkamhoua’s injury. As a result, this No. 3 seed team appears to be much better, evidenced why many thought they should be a No. 2 seed.