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Tennessee
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
The Vols arrive red-faced, having collapsed since rising as high as fourth in the rankings in mid-January. They've gone from 16-1 to 22-10, playing themselves ingloriously out of contender territory and looking ripe for a first-weekend exit. Nobody doubts Tennessee's talent, from athletic wing player Vincent Yarbrough to gifted big men Ron Slay and Isiah Victor to super-quick point guard Tony Harris. But everybody doubts Tennessee's mettle and mental approach. Few teams gripe more often at the officials, fall asleep more often on defense or jack up more bad shots than the Vols -- all reasons why coach Jerry Green is said to be feeling the heat right now. "We haven't played great as a team in a long time," Yarbrough said. Even a modest three-game winning streak against the league's lesser teams to close the regular season did not carry over to the SEC Tournament. Tennessee wobbled past an undermanned Auburn and then quietly capitulated to Mississippi -- making the Vols the only school not to make the tournament semifinals since the league went to 12 teams in 1991-92. Harris, who has been miserable since spraining an ankle and hurting his wrist a few weeks back, went 2 for 15 in the two games. Player to Watch Harris is the barometer for this team. For the first half of the season he was playing with newfound prudence, shooting a decent percentage and taking good care of the basketball. But it's been a long time now since he lit it up -- and this hasn't been his time of year. In 12 career postseason games, he's shooting 22.9 percent. Not exactly a Mr. March number. With the Ball Yarbrough has the ability to shoot from deep (42 3-pointers) or take it to the rack, which makes him the first option and leading scorer. Slay brings a cornucopia of talents off the bench, able to score down low, from three-point range or when handling the ball on the fast break. Tennessee has plenty of three-point shooters, but does better working inside-out with its array of big men to get the open shots. Defending the Ball When sufficiently interested, the Vols can play spectacular defense. Shot blockers abound, and the perimeter players are quick enough to make penetration difficult. But sustaining interest seems to be a major problem for this team. Yarbrough is especially suspect to losing his man when he doesn't have the ball, and all the Vols surrender many more open shots than they should. Tennessee allows a whopping 75.8 points per game, a shameful number for a team this talented. Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed None. Playing to Expectations Falling Short BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: .750 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report1985-2000: The Vols have been to the last three tournaments after a nine-year absence, but have not played beyond their seed in any of those trips. A 30-point wipeout to Southwest Missouri State in 1999 was especially stark. Overall, Tennessee is 8-13 in 12 total NCAA appearances. The Vols have reached the Sweet 16 only once (1981) in their history. The odds of that changing as a No. 8 seed are long. Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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