‘Field of 68’ says Tennessee can make March Madness Final Four run behind Rick Barnes in 2024

With a few weeks remaining in the college basketball regular season, Tennessee basketball is in line to receive its best seeding in the NCAA Tournament in the Rick Barnes Era.

So what is the ceiling for the Vols (20-6, 10-3 SEC), who currently hold the top No. 2 seed (No. 5 overall seed) in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology and remain in contention for top four overall seed?

Will this be the year Barnes leads Tennessee past a Sweet 16? Or will this season be like last year when the Vols fell to mid-major Florida Atlantic as FAU made its own Cinderella run to the Final Four?

REQUIRED READING: Why Tennessee basketball is built for March Madness – and why Vols have some concerns

Former Clemson All-ACC guard and Bradley Central alum Terrence Oglesby believes Barnes and the Vols’ fortunes will change this year, as he picked Tennessee as his team that can make a run in March and appear in Final Four in Phoenix on Thursday’s episode of the Dauster, T.O. and Fanta podcast on the Field of 68 Media Network that he does alongside Rob Dauster and John Fanta.

The reason? Dalton Knecht.

“If I had to pick one (team), guys I gotta go home to East Tennessee because I do think this is the year Barnes breaks through and makes a Final Four,” Oglesby — who played high school basketball in Cleveland, Tennessee — said. “I really do. I think the crazy part is last year, they made it to the Sweet 16 and they lost to a Florida Atlantic team that just hit their stride at the perfect time.

“This year, they have the same team that made the Sweet 16 and they added the most elite offensive weapon in college basketball in Dalton Knecht.”

Consistency and roster retention in today’s landscape of college basketball is extremely valuable, and the Vols fit that as Oglesby noted. Barnes has pretty much the same roster he had last season when Tennessee lost to FAU at Madison Square Garden in the Sweet 16. Aside from the addition of Knecht, the only subtraction from last year’s team is Uros Plavsic,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/field-68-says-tennessee-march-203114946.html

Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-02-22 20:31:14

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