Tennessee basketball’s national title odds suggest a real shot at glory

After three straight Elite Eight runs, Barnes sought more from his team this offseason. Tennessee has always been known for its gritty, old-school style of basketball. The Vols are always one of the toughest teams in the country, as playing them has been like a 12-round heavyweight battle. Tennessee always crashes the offensive glass and plays great defense. Barnes’ team defends, rebounds, runs, and uses his old-school motion offense to create buckets.

Tennessee basketball takes a questionable hit in ESPN’s Bracketology update

However, after Tennessee fell to Michigan in the Elite Eight this March, Rick Barnes knew something needed to change. His style was working, very good in fact, but it wasn’t getting Tennessee over the edge.

This offseason Barnes completely changed his approach, going after some of the best guards in the nation. He did almost the opposite of Michigan, who won the national championship last year with a roster built around size. Barnes, however, has loaded Tennessee up with guards and wings who can create in isolation and get a bucket, something previous teams have lacked.

Given this, Tennessee is one of the top SEC teams and a favorite to compete for a national title. The Vols come in at No. 3 in the SEC odds and +2500 to win it all per Caesars.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Tennessee could win a national title next year

This could be the team that puts a banner up in the Food City Center. The roster from top to bottom is stacked, but there are plenty of good teams in the nation. March Madness will be insane next year. Tennessee would obviously love to win it all, but a Final Four trip to Detroit, the first in school history, would at least be a solid consolation prize.

Notably, Tennessee plays in probably the toughest league in the nation. The SEC should be extremely strong next year, with Florida returning a boatload of starters and adding to its already stacked roster. They are national title favorites next year, and then Tennessee, Arkansas, and LSU are all right in the same tier of teams.

Last year, Florida gave Tennessee a tough loss. It was a blowout on Saturday afternoon where Tennessee fell 91–67. Barnes can’t let that happen again, because if Tennessee can’t stack up against the best teams in the nation, confidence in the team’s chances will slowly slip away. However, playing such a tough schedule should help prepare Tennessee for a deep run. We saw it last year when they played Virginia, a No. 3 seed that wasn’t very battle-tested, and Tennessee got it done by pulling off the upset.

Overall, Tennessee has invested a lot of money into the team for next season, and with big money comes big expectations. They are firmly in the mix to win it all, and with this roster and staff, I see no reason why Tennessee can’t make a deep run. Next year at this time, the Vols could be known as champions.

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