NCAA Basketball: Virginia Tech, BYU, Baylor and Tennessee headline Mailbag
By Bryan Mauro
2. What is the ceiling for Tennessee Basketball this season? – Busting Brackets (@BustingBrackets)
I have been on record saying I was not very high on the Volunteers heading into the season. They were just not a team that gave me much confidence heading into the season. Many experts did pick the Volunteers to finish near the top of the SEC. I however picked them to finish near the middle of the pack. In my preseason rankings, I had Tennessee ranked in the top 50 but far away from the top 25.
I have mentioned my skepticism on the Volunteers before and it all stems from their inability to put the ball in the basket with consistency. Head coach Rick Barnes has always had his teams play lockdown defense and this team is no different. They have great perimeter defense with Santiago Vescovi and Josiah Jordan James. If anyone gets past those two John Fulkerson and Yves Pons in the middle clean up everything else. The defense has never been the problem in Knoxville.
The offense is a different story. Fulkerson and Pons are the leading scorers where guards Vescovi and James average just under double figures. Freshman point guard Keon Johnson does everything but he is still young and makes his fair share of freshman mistakes. The Volunteers are going to make the NCAA tournament and are likely going to finish in the middle of the pack in the SEC.
Tennessee should have no trouble getting past the first couple of opponents and is likely to make the second weekend, but with the inconsistency of their offense who really knows. They are also a team that could be prime for an early-round exit.