National media outlet expresses major doubt in the Tennessee Vols ahead of March Madness
247Sports doesn't believe the Tennessee Vols are a legitimate "contender" to win the NCAA Tournament this spring. The national sports media outlet highlighted their "contenders" and "pretenders" ahead of March Madness and they have Tennessee labeled as a "pretender". From 247Sports: The deficiency of this Tennessee roster is the same one that tripped up many […]
247Sports doesn't believe the Tennessee Vols are a legitimate "contender" to win the NCAA Tournament this spring.
The national sports media outlet highlighted their "contenders" and "pretenders" ahead of March Madness and they have Tennessee labeled as a "pretender".
From 247Sports: The deficiency of this Tennessee roster is the same one that tripped up many Rick Barnes teams. That is, for as elite as the Vols may be on the defensive end, their propensity to go cold from the field leaves them vulnerable and makes them eerily inconsistent. Scoring 73 and 64 points in the two losses to a bad Kentucky defense was concerning, and the 43-point effort against Florida early in conference play was an eyesore. Tennessee is a Final Four team at its best, but to string together enough consecutive strong shooting nights to win a title feels like a tall ask for the Vols.
It's hard to argue against 247Sports' take. Tennessee, which is 21-5 so far this season, has the personnel to win a national championship. When the Vols are at their best, they can beat any program in the nation.
The problem is that Tennessee hasn't had a consistent stretch of looking their best this season. Since conference play started in early January, the Vols' longest winning streak is three games.
Tennessee's issues on offense, which mostly stem from bad shooting nights, are something the Vols are going to have to overcome to make a deep tournament run.
The Vols' stingy defense will keep them in most games, but Tennessee can't have a night where they shoot 25 percent from beyond the arc in the tourney. Those kind of nights lead to a quick tournament exit.
If Tennessee can find some consistency on offense, they could easily reach the Final Four. But until we see that consistency, the Vols are going to continue to be viewed as a pretender.
