I’ve been doing this a long time, which means I’ve been wrong a lot. Tennessee’s continual lineup fluctuations this season made them harder to predict in some ways, but we felt like their rebounding had moved to the forefront in playing taller lineups since Zakai Zeigler went down. The Vols […]

In basically six full games without Zakai Zeigler, the Vols still rate among the nation’s best teams. Bart Torvik has Tennessee ranked 13th since February 28; down from their full-season rank of fifth, but still plenty good enough to win. You’ll note that Duke is/was the fourth-best team in the […]

These are the days you enjoy the most, because later this week it’s gonna get stressful again. That’s the beauty of the beast, especially in a world where 16 seeds can win and 15 seeds are in the Sweet 16 again. The tournament only allows enough time to celebrate the […]

Yes sir. We’re no stranger to big wins these days; this team has three over one and two seeds this year alone. Rick Barnes and company have erased the ghosts of Rupp Arena, beat great Kentucky teams in Knoxville and Nashville, and took down top-ranked foes multiple times. In our […]

So maybe Tennessee and Duke will meet right away next year in the inaugural SEC/ACC Challenge. As your profile rises, more teams are willing to say yes. Consider this: the Vols and Kansas never met before 2009. And now we’ve seen the Jayhawks seven times in the last 15 seasons, […]

You might feel all kinds of different ways about KenPom; part of the beauty of the formula, of course, is that it doesn’t care about your feelings. If you’ve spent any time on this site or Rocky Top Talk over the years, you know we use it regularly. And you […]

I love the simplicity of the NCAA Tournament. It takes a minute to get there sometimes: last year the Vols rode an emotional wave on Selection Sunday, winning the SEC Tournament only to still be disappointed with a three seed. For better and for worse, no such drama is available […]

The Vols got more good reps without Zakai Zeigler yesterday, rolling past Ole Miss despite the Rebels’ hot shooting in the first ten minutes. Santiago Vescovi played 36 minutes, plus 39 at Auburn and 38 vs Arkansas when Zeigler went down. But while we may not want to do that […]

In Sunday’s Bracket Matrix, the Vols are holding on the three line. Following the loss to Auburn, Tennessee is the last of the three seeds there, 12th overall. Joe Lunardi’s bracket from Sunday evening agrees. And the Vols are still third in NET, one of only 10 teams with 7+ […]

Of the 52 entries in Wednesday’s Bracket Matrix, 50 had the Vols as a three seed. This chaos season has actually solidified the top of the tournament: Alabama, Houston, Kansas, and Purdue remain entrenched as the ones, with UCLA, Texas, Baylor, and Arizona firm on the two line. Should the […]