ESPN's Jay Bilas makes strong statement about Tennessee and the NCAA Tournament after Vols' loss to Florida
The Tennessee Vols dropped to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 rankings this week due to their 73-43 loss to the Florida Gators in Gainesville last week. Tennessee rebounded on Saturday night with a 74-70 road win against the Texas Longhorns, but that win wasn't enough to keep the Volunteers in the top five. […]
The Tennessee Vols dropped to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 rankings this week due to their 73-43 loss to the Florida Gators in Gainesville last week.
Tennessee rebounded on Saturday night with a 74-70 road win against the Texas Longhorns, but that win wasn't enough to keep the Volunteers in the top five.
Despite the blowout loss to Florida, ESPN's Jay Bilas says he isn't worried about Tennessee. In fact, Bilas still views the Vols as a "Final Four-caliber" team.
"I was shocked at the way Tennessee looked [against] Florida," said Bilas. "It was an amazing performance (by Florida). But I think rather than harping on what Tennessee didn't do, to me, I was just as impressed, if not more so, with what Florida did."
"I'm not worried about Tennessee," added Bilas. "I think they'll be fine. They're a Final Four-caliber team. I think they're just as good as they were last year. But they saw their own blood (against Florida). And there was a lot of blood on the floor in Gainesville. And it'll be interesting to see how they respond to that."
I think Bilas is spot on there. Ultimately, the loss against Florida was just an off night for the Vols. Shots weren't falling (12-of-56 from the floor), frustration built, and Tennessee didn't play its best game. Sometimes that just happens.
The Vols bounced back with a solid performance on the road against Texas. They didn't let the loss to the Gators linger. And to me, that shows that this team has the right mindset to make a deep tournament run in March/April.
Whether that happens, well, we'll see. It's far too early to predict how a team will perform in the NCAA Tournament. But the Vols are undoubtedly one of a handful of teams that have a legitimate shot at reaching the Final Four.
That loss to Florida, by the way, might not be a bad thing for the Vols. Sometimes teams need a loss like that to avoid complacency. No one in Knoxville is happy about the loss, but the Volunteers might as well turn it into a positive.
