There are two things about Tennessee basketball that are true.

1. The Vols should've made the NCAA tournament this season.
2. The future is bright for Tennessee basketball.

Unless the Vols win the SEC Tournament next week in Nashville, they'll be playing in the NIT and not the NCAA Tournament.

But let's be clear — Tennessee absolutely should've made the tournament this season. They were basically three or four wins away from locking up a bid.

If the Vols don't blow a 17 point lead against Auburn, and hang on to beat South Carolina and Texas A&M, they're likely in the tourney. There are several other close losses this season that also kept the Vols out of the tournament.

Now, that's not to say that I expected Tennessee to repeat their success from last season. That would be silly. I expected Tennessee to finish at least 20-11 in the regular season and be a team that could possibly make a Sweet 16 run in the tournament.

Instead, we've seen an up and down team that's struggled to find its identity this season. And look, I get that UT has dealt with a lot of adversity this year. Losing Lamonte Turner to injury, inserting mid-year enrollee Santiago Vescovi into the starting lineup, and waiting until mid January to find out that Uros Plavsic was eligible was a lot to deal with this season.

But the Vols should still be a tournament team. They likely have more talent than some of the last at large teams that will get in the tournament.

Simply put, this year was a missed opportunity.

But the future is still bright for the Vols. Josiah-Jordan James flashed in the final few games of the year (minus the loss to Auburn on Saturday). Vescovi is going to be a star. And John Fulkerson proved he can be a go to player for Tennessee.

With a ton of young talent on the way, the expectations will be considerably higher next season for Rick Barnes and the Vols.

It's imperative that Tennessee finds it way this offseason. They have to figure out who they are as a team, which is something they seemingly never figured out this past season.

Barnes has been at this a long time. And he has a track record of success. No one with any sense has lost faith in Barnes because UT fell short this season. It's just something that happens sometimes (just ask Roy Williams and UNC).

But they better figure it out quickly before next season, because Tennessee certainly doesn't want to waste the senior seasons of Fulkerson and Yves Pons.

Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports