Tennessee basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament for an eighth straight time. But landing as a six-seed in the Midwest Region, the Vols are the lowest seed that they’ve been over that stretch.
Despite Tennessee losing four of its final six games entering the NCAA Tournament, ESPN’s Jay Bilas is high on the Vols entering the Big Dance. ESPN’s leading college basketball commentator projects Tennessee to make the Sweet 16 for a fourth straight year before losing to Iowa State.
A six-seed, the Vols will face the winner of the First Four game between 11-seeds SMU and Miami (Ohio). Bilas has Tennessee facing SMU and getting by the Mustangs to advance to the Round of 32.
“Take SMU in the First Four, but neither will get past Tennessee in the first round,” Bilas wrote. “Ja’Kobi Gillespie has been a great addition to that team, and as long as the Vols play with the kind of defensive intensity that they usually do under coach Rick Barnes, I think they get past either team.”
If it wins its first game, Tennessee will face the winner of three-seed Virginia and 14-seed Wright State in the Round of 32. Bilas has the resurgent Cavaliers taking care of business in the first round to set up a three-six matchup between Virginia and Tennessee.
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Bilas likes Tennessee to upset Virginia in Philadelphia to advance to the Midwest Region Semifinal in Chicago.
“Virginia can protect the paint and the 3-point line, but Tennessee is physical and pounds the offensive glass,” Bilas wrote. “The Vols are better with Nate Ament in the lineup, and he returned for the SEC tournament. If he can approach his season averages of 17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, alongside Gillespie’s talent, they should take it.”
The former Duke forward has Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament run ending in the Sweet 16 when they face off against an Iowa State team that enters the tournament 27-7 (12-6 Big 12) with star forward Joshua Jefferson and wins over Houston, Kansas, Purdue and St. John’s.
“Coach Rick Barnes’ Volunteers are always standouts on defense, but here, they meet their match,” Bilas said. “The Cyclones are one of the five best defensive teams in the nation. If they can force Tennessee into turnovers — the Vols have not been great at taking care of the basketball late — they’ll win this game. Iowa State is the real deal.”
Bilas has a Final Four including Florida, Michigan State, Arizona and Iowa State with the Wildcats knocking off Michigan State in the championship game to win its first title since 1998 when they took down Kentucky in the title game.
More to follow: SEC Tournament
