March Madness: Tennessee to play Wofford in first round

Tennessee Basketball had a good showing in the SEC tournament in Nashville. Yes, they lost to Florida by 9 in the championship game, but beating Auburn on Saturday moved the needle enough to give them a better draw in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols avoided being put in Auburn or Duke’s region and instead are the 2-seed in the Midwest region, with Houston being the 1-seed.

Tennessee will kick things off in Lexington on Thursday as they will face the 15-seed Wofford Terriers. Wofford comes in ranked 120th in the KenPom rankings with an offensive efficiency that ranks 67th in the country and a defensive efficiency that ranks 231st in the country. Barring a complete disaster of a game, the Vols should move on to the 2nd round, where they would play either UCLA (ranked 27th in KenPom) or Utah State (ranked 52nd in KenPom).

However, the big-time potential matchup would be in the Sweet-16. Kentucky is the 3-seed in the Midwest region and a potential 3rd game on the year with Kentucky is certainly possible if not likely. While Kentucky has beaten Tennessee both times they’ve played this year, the Wildcats are limping into the tournament with a banged-up team. This doesn’t mean Kentucky can’t beat Tennessee but it certainly isn’t the same team that bested Tennessee twice. Also, Kentucky hasn’t made it to the Sweet-16 in 6 years, so it may be a moot point.

Overall, the draw for Tennessee is pretty good compared to some they’ve had in the past. When the scariest obstacle between Tennessee and back-to-back Elite 8 appearances is a streaky Kentucky team, you really can’t complain. With that being said, this is March, and crazy things happen. Tennessee can’t take anyone they play for granted and they will need to bring a good effort in every single game to make a deep run. It all starts Thursday Vol Nation!! Go BIG ORANGE!!