Where Tennessee basketball stands with March Madness around the corner

ERIC WOODS Assistant Sports Editor

March is coming. Before you know it, the whole country will be complaining about busted brackets, upsets and unreached expectations.

For Tennessee fans, March hasn’t been kind to them as of late. Does Loyola Chicago ring a bell? Michigan? All the years in between?

All that is not to bring up painful memories, but Rocky Top is always skeptical when March rolls around. No matter how good the regular season has been for the Vols, something always seems to go wrong. The offense falls short, or Rick Barnes trusty defense seems to not show up.

However, the truth is that every season is different. Whether that be different players or some staff changes, the same goes for every team in the country. It’s time to look at this season through a new lens called the present and not the past.

So, where does Tennessee stand entering the madness?

Currently, they sit at No. 6 after dropping from No. 2 with a 19-4 record with wins over reigning national champs Kansas and current No. 5 Texas. It’s not anything to scoff at, but the Vols last two games are leaving fans reminiscent over past years.

Against Florida, Tennessee went on to Billy

Donovan Court and put up a dud against a struggling team. The Gators started with a 17-4 lead, and the Vols went into panic mode. Still, they fought back into the game and even took the lead late in the fourth quarter only to be silenced by a 13-0 run by Florida.

There was still a chance to get back in the game down six with four minutes left, but forced shots early in the shot clock quickly put the game out of reach. Tennessee ended their night 28% from the field, 20% from three and a 67-54 loss.

Back in Thompson Boling Arena four days later against Auburn, the Vols were 27% from the field and 10% from range in one of the ugliest games of the 2022-23 season. The difference is that the defense refused to let missed shots dictate its ability to get stops and gave way to a Santiago Vescovi four-point play dagger to put the game on ice in a 46-43 win.

“It’s February, you look around the country there’s a lot of teams that struggle this time of the year, especially in conference play because you know each other so well. Baskets are hard to come by,” Barnes said after the win. “The fire of a home crowd can help push when the season becomes a grind.”

In the past, the Vols haven’t been able to win when they can’t find the hoop. This year, they have been able to find ways to win and learn from the times they haven’t. In basketball, no matter what level, shots either fall or they don’t.

When shots are falling, few teams — if any — can compete with the Vols.