NCAA Basketball: UConn, Iowa State, Auburn rise in latest top 25 power rankings

6. Tennessee (24-8)

The SEC regular championship went Tennessee’s way this season and the offseason addition of Dalton Knecht has played a major role in that success. There’s been a lot of exciting moments in Knoxville this season, with the Volunteers racking up nice wins this season, especially during SEC play. While they showed toughness in recent road wins at Alabama and South Carolina, success is all going to come down to how Tennessee performs in March.

If their performance in the SEC Tournament is any indication, they’ve gotten the postseason started on the wrong foot. The Volunteers earned the league’s top-seed but were upset 73-56 in the quarterfinals by a Mississippi State team considered by some on the Tourney bubble. Zakai Zeigler had 20 points and Jonas Aidoo grabbed 10 rebounds, but Knecht had a poor outing and the Volunteers shot just 31% from the field.

Tennessee remains one of the best teams in the nation, but likely blew their chance at a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. There’s no reason to panic over one bad outing, especially with how much better their offense has been this season, but the Volunteers simply cannot play like that again in the NCAA Tournament. This team has been susceptible to upset in recent years and will leave March quickly with a second performance like that.