For the third time in school history, Tennessee basketball enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed. They have never been a No. 1 seed, and although they failed to win the SEC regular season or tournament championship, optimism is high that this could be the first Vols team ever to reach the Final Four.
After all, Rick Barnes’s fourth team on Rocky Top did spend four weeks at No. 1 and went on a 19-game winning streak at one point. They have numerous quality wins, including the Kentucky Wildcats twice, the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Louisville Cardinals, the Florida Gators twice, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Ole Miss Rebels on the road.