NCAA Tournament 2019: Reranking the teams remaining in the Sweet 16

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 23: Brandon Clarke #15 and the Gonzaga Bulldogs celebrate after their win against the Baylor Bears in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 24: Schofield #5 of the Volunteers celebrate. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

13. Tennessee Volunteers

Results: Wins over Colgate (77-70) and Iowa (83-77, OT)

Tennessee entered the NCAA Tournament as one of the more highly-regarded teams in the nation. After running through most of the regular season as a top-5 team in the land, they were awarded a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance. The Volunteers, though, have not had an easy go of things in the postseason. In the first round, they were matched with Colgate and they were unable to really put them away until very late in the second half. Tennessee’s veteran leadership showed up down the stretch but it would have been nice to see them run through their initial game.

Then, it seemed as though the Volunteers returned to their normal level of play when they opened up a 25-point lead over Iowa (No. 10 seed) in the second round. But that was before the Vols allowed the Hawkeyes to storm back in the second half to force overtime. And while Tennessee was able to escape that comeback with a victory, the Volunteers simply haven’t looked that great in the NCAA Tournament so far. If they continue to play at their current level, I’m not sure I can see Tennessee cutting down the final nets. They do have the talent and coaching to get it done but they are not trending as high as the other teams remaining.

With that said, though, maybe we have seen the “worst” from Tennessee in the tournament. Now that they have gotten the early-round jitters out of the way, we could return to seeing the Volunteers’ team that held down the No. 1 ranking in the AP poll for four straight weeks earlier this season. This is arguably the most experienced team remaining and they are deep, poised, and talented.

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