After Tuesday night's loss to Texas A&M, the Tennessee Vols probably aren't making the NCAA tournament.

Not when they have four games remaining against Kentucky and Auburn.

At this point, it feels like Tennessee has to go 7-4 the rest of the regular season to have any shot at reaching the tournament. After watching the loss to the Aggies, it seems unlikely they'll go 7-4 to finish the season.

And even if they finish the regular season with a 19-12 record (which could turn into 19-13 with an early exit from the SEC tournament), there's no guarantee they'd get in the tournament.

A trip to the NIT will certainly be disappointing for the Vols after winning 31 games last season and advancing to the Sweet 16.

But just because Tennessee is down this season doesn't mean it's time to panic over UT basketball.

Sure, Tuesday night's loss was a low point. Texas A&M isn't a good basketball team. But they outplayed Tennessee. The Aggies played with more effort (46 to 21 rebounding edge tells the story). They wanted to win more than the Vols wanted to win.

But this is still a Tennessee team with plenty of talent. And they're still learning how to play together, as well. The mid-year additions of Santiago Vescovi and Uros Plasvic, and the loss of Lamonte Turner, have to be taken into consideration.

Then there's a slumping Jordan Bowden, which hasn't helped matters. Whatever is wrong with Bowden has majorly affected Tennessee's ability to win games.

And let's not forget about Josiah-Jordan James, who hasn't exactly lived up to expectations yet.

But were those expectations even fair? At least in his freshman season?

I know the feeling is that five-star players are always suppose to make an immediate impact, but it doesn't always happen that way.

James is going to get better. And he should return for his sophomore season after a less-than-stellar freshman season.

The Vols are going through a mini-rebuild right now. They lost a ton of talent from last season's 31 win team. This team is still discovering its new identity while trying to let go of what's left of last year's identity.

Tennessee basketball has a solid foundation moving forward. Barnes has recruited well. The talent will be there. It's just a matter of putting the edges of the puzzle together to create a cohesive team that can win the SEC. That's not going to happen this season. It was never going to happen this season.

The Vols are a throwback to how college basketball programs used to operate. Build a team, find success, lose players, rebuild (it didn't used to be instant) and find success again. Repeat.

Barnes didn't suddenly forget how to coach after last season. Tennessee basketball will get back to where it was last year. They have the talent.

They just need a bit more time to figure out how to put it all together.

Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports