Tennessee basketball ran into the buzzsaw known as Michigan Sunday, taking the 95-62 beatdown. The Wolverines' March Madness trouncing denied Rick Barnes a long-awaited Final Four return. Plus sealed a third straight Elite Eight defeat for the Vols.
ESPN social media director Brett Edgerton, however, sees this as a good omen in Knoxville. He dropped this history nugget now attached to the Vols.
“The bad news: Tennessee joins 2011-13 Florida as the only program to lose three straight Elite Eights. The good news: The 2014 Florida team went to the Final Four,” Edgerton posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
That means 2027 presents a strong chance to repeat history on Tennessee's side. Edgerton added another positive sign attached to the Vols.
“An additional fun fact: In its third straight Elite Eight loss, that 2013 Florida team got obliterated by Michigan just like this Tennessee team. And then went 36-3 the next year with a trip to the Final Four,” Edgerton posted. “As bad as today was, there’s always hope!”
Perhaps this is why Barnes is all in on returning. He's fully invested into leading the Vols next season.
Barnes must fix the 3-point shooting next season. Michigan bottled the Southeastern Conference power to 19.2% shooting there.
The 71-year-old head coach may need to address size too. The Wolverines swatted eight blocks thanks to having the frontcourt height advantage.
Barnes must capitalize on landing 2025 five-star signing Nate Ament. He currently has the nation's No. 25 recruiting class for 2026 per 247Sports. Now he could take cues from the '14 Gators about scaling past the regional finals.
