This tournament trend could spell trouble for Tennessee in March
The Tennessee Volunteers are going dancing for the 24th time in program history. For head coach Rick Barnes, this marks his 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but his success in March, or lack thereof, has long been a concern for his tournament teams. While the Vols are certainly capable of making a deep run, […]
The Tennessee Volunteers are going dancing for the 24th time in program history. For head coach Rick Barnes, this marks his 26th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but his success in March, or lack thereof, has long been a concern for his tournament teams.
While the Vols are certainly capable of making a deep run, there is one troublesome trend for those contemplating putting money on Barnes-led teams this March.
In his last 13 NCAA Tournament Games, Barnes’ teams have just a 1-11-1 record against the spread. To Vols fans’ dismay, Barnes’ teams have made it past the first weekend only once in his last nine appearances in the tourney. The last time Barnes made it to the second weekend was the 2018-19 season, where Purdue proved to be too much to handle in the Sweet 16.
Barnes holds an underwhelming 24-25 record in the Big Dance during his 35-year coaching career. Highlighting the head coach’s shortcomings are two second round exits. One came during his time at Texas with Kevin Durant as a 4-seed in 2006-07. The other came in 2017-18 at Tennessee the last time the Vols were a 3-seed when they were bounced by Sister Jean and 11-seed Loyola Chicago.
After winning its first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979, the Vols were rewarded with a 3-seed in the Big Dance, where they are set to square off with 14-seed Longwood out of the Big South on Thursday 2:45pm ET.
Vols fans unleashed their fury upon the internet after feeling snubbed out of a 2-seed by the NCAA Selection Committee on Sunday. Arguably the hottest team in the SEC, Tennessee had secured wins over 2-seeds Auburn and Kentucky (twice) late in the season.
While the past will not determine the future for this year’s Vols team, it is certainly something to take into account when filling out those brackets and placing bets during the first weekend of the tournament.
Despite Barnes’ history in March, Tennessee is receiving quite a bit of Final Four love since the bracket was revealed.
The Vols are currently riding a seven-game win streak and look to carry that into Thursday’s matchup against Longwood. Tennessee currently stands as an 18-point favorite in the first round matchup, according to BetMGM. Should the Vols move on, they will await the winner of (11) Michigan and (6) Colorado State as they begin a journey that Rocky Top hopes will end in New Orleans.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK
