LOOK: Multiple basketball insiders predict Vols to win the national championship
We all know Tennessee is playing like one of the best college basketball teams in America right now. They rolled to a dominant SEC Tournament Championship win and are ranked No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. Obviously, we as Vol fans are predisposed to think that UT is always destined for greatness […]
We all know Tennessee is playing like one of the best college basketball teams in America right now. They rolled to a dominant SEC Tournament Championship win and are ranked No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 poll.
Obviously, we as Vol fans are predisposed to think that UT is always destined for greatness but oftentimes, folks outside of Knoxville don't agree with our rosy view of things. But this Tennessee basketball squad is different.
Not only do the Big Orange faithful believe Rick Barnes and his team can reach a Final Four or win a national championship but so do outside observers. According to a story from ESPN, people within the basketball industry have seen the Vols' accomplishments and think that they could walk away with a national title in 2022.
ESPN's Jeff Borzello polled 25 "college coaches from all levels — high-major, mid-major, low-major — and NBA scouts" and had them give their predictions for what school will win the national championship. 2 of the 25 respondents chose Tennessee to walk away with college basketball's top prize.
Now, 2 people out of 25 might not seem like that many but to put that in better context, Gonzaga had the most predictions to win the tournament of any team at 8. Arizona got 6 votes, Kansas got the same amount of votes as the Vols at 2, and no other team in the tournament got more than one vote.
Tennessee got more votes predicting them to win a national title than each of Kentucky (1), Duke (1), Villanova (1), and Auburn (0). The bottom line is that the Vols made some serious noise in the college basketball world by winning the SEC Championship in impressive fashion.
And if you're not convinced that UT is considered a real contender, there's also the fact that Tennessee is one of the betting favorites to win it all in 2022…
The Vols already have one championship under their belt this season and now all they have to do is win six more games to grab the biggest championship of all. Here's hoping the predictions are correct and the Big Orange will be hoisting a trophy on April 4th.
Make sure to also check out A to Z's analysis of the Vols' NCAA Tournament draw…
Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
