Explaining how Alabama road game could impact Tennessee's bid for No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

Andy Staples was joined by On3’s Bracketologist James Fletcher III on the latest episode of Andy Staples On3, where they discussed the potential of the Tennessee Volunteers.

Evidently, Fletcher III believes the Volunteers can ascend to become a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, even if any of the teams currently slated ahead of them don’t lose another game, and he specifically focused on their resume against a team like the Arizona Wildcats.

“Tennessee is the only team, at this point, who can catch Arizona without Arizona slipping up. If Tennessee runs the table — they knock off Alabama this weekend, they’re able to close out the regular season and then go on to win the SEC tournament, their resume will surpass what Arizona can put up,” Fletcher III said. “The PAC 12 is not as strong as the SEC, so there’s going to be more good wins. And like you said, I think that beating Alabama this weekend, would take Tennesse — right now, I’ve got them below North Carolina on the overall seed line —that’s not my belief, that’s what the Selection Committee told us, and so far nothing has happened to overturn that decision.

“Now this weekend, you pick up a win like out on the road against Alabama, that would flip that decision. That would bring you to the top overall No. 2 seed, and give you a chance to catch Arizona, whether they win out or not. It puts you right there, neck and neck, for the No. 1 seed.”

There’s a bevy of reasons Fletcher III believes it’s possible for the Volunteers, as he elaborated on Tennessee’s impressive roster, and the coaching job Rick Barnes has done with the team.

“I know that a lot of people when they talk about Tennessee, they talk about the NCAA Tournament failures. The struggles that they’ve had to get offense going. And that’s why they’ve been so streaky at times under Rick Barnes, is that you know what the defense is going to be. You know that a Rick Barnes team is going to play elite defense, and they’re going to come at you for 40 minutes. And he’s still got those guys. Those gritty guys, Zakai Zeigler, one of them, who’s just gonna go out there, and they want to make your life hard,” Fletcher III added. “Santiago Vescovi returns. Josiah-Jordan James, I mean, they’ve got the guys. They’ve got the veteran talent, and they’ve got people who know Rick Barnes’ system. But what they were able to do, that some people questioned whether it would work or not, but it undoubtedly has, is he brought in offensive players.

“Dalton Knect, not known for his defense at all. I mean, he’s improved defensively throughout the year by being in Rick Barnes’ system, and that’s part of what has made him such an interesting NBA Draft prospect beyond this. Then you bring in Jordan Gainey, another guy who offers you offensive punch off the bench, a guy who can be that spark plug and knock down shots when you need them. So this Tennessee has a balance that we have not seen in the Rick Barnes era between the offensive firepower and the defensive firepower. That’s what makes them so dangerous when we get into March.”

There’s a lot of reasons to believe in Tennessee. We’ll see if the Volunteers make good on their potential over the rest of the 2023-2024 season, into the SEC Tournament and eventually throughout March Madness.