2019 NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga, Virginia, and Duke under most pressure to win
By Connor Hope
4) Tennessee Volunteers
Is Tennessee overrated or underrated? Depending on who you ask, the fifth overall seed is either too high for a team who didn’t win either conference championship or too low for a team that is 29-5 with wins over Kentucky, Gonzaga and Louisville. Either way, the Volunteers will be under a lot of pressure to avoid any sort of upset in the NCAA Tournament. It may not be easy with Cincinnati and Villanova looming on the road to the Elite Eight, but Rick Barnes will have to figure out a way to get it done.
Unlike the top three teams on this list, Tennessee is not under Final Four pressure, they just need to avoid an upset. If Virginia loses before the Elite Eight, that is when the Final Four pressure kicks in. Another point of pressure is the fact that Tennessee is likely to take a step back next season, with the graduation of Admiral Schofield and possible loss of Grant Williams to the NBA. Tennessee doesn’t need to prove the doubters wrong, they just need to avoid proving them right.
3) Duke Blue Devils
A handful of star freshman, a couple key experienced role players, and one of the greatest for Duke takes into the NCAA Tournament every single season. This season, however, the vulnerability they showed without some of their top players has people questioning their depth and ability to win close games if one or more of their players can’t stay on the court. Being the top overall seed, and boasting three potential lottery picks, the pressure is on Duke to prove to the world why they are the favorite to win the National Championship.
With Zion at full strength, Duke looks unstoppable. Any loss, even in the Final Four, would send fans into a frenzy about how they knew all along that Duke couldn’t win in March. Their ACC Tournament Championship won’t matter if the Blue Devils can’t cut down the nets in April. Why aren’t the Blue Devils under the most pressure to succeed? First, they already have recent National Championship banners. Second, there are a pair of teams that are under almost universal doubt this time of year.