CBS Sports analyst takes a dig at Tennessee football while picking Vols to win the NCAA tournament
Even though former Alabama head coach Nick Saban referred to praise from outsiders as "rat poison", it still never hurts to have some folks who believe in you. The Tennessee Vols have one such person among those who cover college basketball for CBS Sports. Analyst Chris Walker pegged the Vols as his champion in the […]
Even though former Alabama head coach Nick Saban referred to praise from outsiders as "rat poison", it still never hurts to have some folks who believe in you.
The Tennessee Vols have one such person among those who cover college basketball for CBS Sports. Analyst Chris Walker pegged the Vols as his champion in the upcoming NCAA tournament among a heavy SEC Final Four group.
However, Walker couldn't manage to get through his explanation without taking a little dig at Tennessee's football program.
"Rick Barnes hangs the banner. The Tennessee Volunteers. They can't get it done in football, but they get it done in basketball," Wright said.
In reality, the football version of the Volunteers has been just as close to making a Final Four as the basketball team over the last two years. A win over the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2022 season's next to last game followed by a win over a terrible Vanderbilt team that Tennessee eventually defeated 56-0 would surely have put the Vols in the college football playoff. Unfortunately, a disastrous 63-38 loss to the Gamecocks ended all hopes of playing for the school's first national title since the 1998 season.
Likewise, a loss to Florida Atlantic in the Sweet 16 last year kept a very talented Tennessee hoops squad from playing for its first ever trip to the Final Four. Two programs with a massive goal just two games in front of them. Both wiped away.
As such, Walker's words really aren't totally fair. But hey, it's nice to get a compliment when you can. Even if it's of the backhanded variety.
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