Arguably the best sporting event of the year just got started with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio as March Madnessis now officially under way, but the intensity is about to ramp up. The first round will get started in just a couple of hours on Thursday afternoon. The regular season and every conference tournament provided a lot of action and entertainment, but nothing compares to March Madness. It's the most wonderful time of the year, and #2 seed Tennessee basketball team is hoping to make some noise this tournament.
There is so much to love about March Madness, and the first week of the tournament is one of the best stretches in all of sports. Basketball begins at noon and there are countless good games all day and into the night. College basketball fans will be setting up multiple TVs to be able to take in as much March Madness action at once as humanly possible. Tennessee basketball fans won't have to wait for very long to see their Volunteers begin their run as they get going against 15 seed Saint Peter's on Thursday night at 8:20 ET. Still, there is plenty of action to take in before then.
The upsets are always special as well. It seems like every season there is at least one underdog team that captures America's heart and makes a surprise deep run in March Madness. For example, #16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson took down #1 seed Purdue last year and ended up putting up a good fight in the second round too. They lost to Florida Atlantic, however. Then, #9 said Florida Atlantic turned into the cinderella team as they marched all the way to the Final Four. Upsets are one of the best parts of college basketball, and something about March Madness brings them out. We will likely have a cinderella team to root for in the next week. Tennessee is a two seed this year and they are hoping to avoid losing to 15 seed Saint Peter's who made it to the Elite Eight the last time they were a 15 seed. The Volunteers are coming for a national title.
Another great part of March Madness are the historic performances put on by individual players. Every so often we will see a player completely take over a game and put their team on their back, and they sometimes carry their squad all the way to a national title. It's always fun to watch. When it gets to the later stages of the tournament, everyone knows that player is getting the ball, and still, no one can stop him. Those kind of take overs are always extremely fun to watch in March Madness, and Tennessee basketball has some players that are capable of making a run like this. If they want to win it all, they will need guys to step up and put the team on their back.
History isn't on the side of Tennessee
Tennessee basketball has been one of the best teams in college basketball all season long, but they have had a lot of good seasons recently, and none have translate to March success. Rick Barnes and the Volunteers have a March problem, and it needs to end. Here is Barnes' record against the spread in each month of the season since 2005:
November: 52-32-1
December: 48-43
January: 78-74-1
February: 73-80
March: 42-65-4
Not only is history not on their side there, but they are also playing a 15 seed that is familiar with making some noise in the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Peacocks went to the tournament, they took on #2 seed Purdue, and they beat them to advance to the round of 32. Like it was previously stated, they ended up going all the way to the Elite Eight, and they are the only 15 seed to make it that far. This school knows what it takes to make a run.
History might not be on the side of Tennessee, but trends are meant to be broken. The Volunteers put together an impressive season as they won the SEC regular season championship. They finished the regular season with a 24-7 overall record and 14-4 mark in SEC play. They did lose in their first SEC Tournament game in blowout fashion against Mississippi State (who has already been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament), and that game highlighted the postseason struggles that Tennessee has.
Tennessee basketball is a very good team, but they have to end their March woes. Here is why this could be the year that they break through and win a national title.
Dalton Knecht
One thing that is going to help Tennessee in March Madness this season is Dalton Knecht. Knecht transferred from Northern Colorado, and he has been a star this season. We discussed earlier in this article that there are players that have the capability of putting their team on their back taking them on a deep run. Dalton Knecht is that type of player. He has had multiple 30-point performances this season, and when he is on, Tennessee is extremely difficult to beat.
This season, Knecht is averaging 21.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 1.8 APG. He averaged less PPG last season for Northern Colorado. It would've made sense for him to take a step back after transferring into the SEC, but he has only gotten better. Knecht will be major difference maker in the NCAA Tournament for Tennessee.
Tennessee played a tough regular season schedule
One thing that bodes well for Tennessee basketball in March Madness is their schedule. The SEC was a very good conference this season and they had to play NCAA Tournament caliber teams all year long, and they are battle-tested because of it. Tennessee isn't going to run into any teams that are a lot better than the cream of the crop in the SEC. Playing against the best teams in the country during the regular season goes a long way in March.
Tennessee basketball needs to end their drought of not finding March success, and they are good enough to make it happen this year. Is this finally the season that the Volunteers go on a run?
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