It was the textbook definition of an up and down week for Tennessee Vols basketball, but goodness, things sure did end with a bang. Following the loss to Kentucky, Vols fans were down in the dumps, as Rick Barnes and Co. had no business losing to Mark Pope and the Wildcats.
Thankfully, though, Tennessee was able to bounce back in the best way possible, handing then No. 5 Florida a 20-point loss, getting sweet revenge from the defeat to the Gators earlier in the season. Following that win, UT moved up to No. 4 in the country in the latest AP Top 25 rankings.
This team is riding high and people in Knoxville are once again dreaming of this team being able to go on a deep March Madness run. It looks like ESPN believes that can be the case for this squad in 2025, as the Vols have been given a 23.3 percent chance to reach the Final Four this campaign:
Chances of reaching the Final Four according to ESPN 👀 pic.twitter.com/pkb0tLhtYI
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) February 4, 2025
ESPN has given Tennessee a 23 percent chance to reach the Final Four
Obviously, there's still a lot of basketball left to be played, but the No. 4 Vols are surely going to be a team that will need to be taken seriously. When this team is playing at its best, they have proven they can go toe-to-toe with anyone.
The close loss at Auburn still stings, but Tennessee was a couple plays away from taking down the top team in the land. We won't bring up the controversial calls by the refs in that loss either. Nope, no need to discuss those...
Regardless, Zakai Zeigler was able to avoid a serious knee injury and Chaz Lanier proved in the win over Florida that he can be the go-to guy for this team once again. Barnes has a strong belief in his players and the same sentiment is shared among the fanbase. Once the SEC Tournament arrives too, look for the Vols to prove to all the haters that they'll mean business leading up to the big dance.