Lucas Panzica discusses what the Tennessee Vols need to do in the NCAA Tournament.
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00:00March Madness is here.
00:01The NCAA tournament bracket is set and the Tennessee volunteers have a very
00:07interesting path forward in the tournament.
00:10But today we're going to talk about what constitutes success for Tennessee
00:15in 2025 in the NCAA tournament.
00:21Hey, Lucas Panzeca here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports.
00:25So Tennessee is the two seed in the Midwest region matched up with 15 seed
00:31Wofford taking on the Terriers to open things up in the round of 64 after the
00:36Vols lost in the SEC championship game against Florida following an impressive
00:42win in the semifinal against the team that turned out to be the number one
00:46overall seed in the NCAA tournament, the Auburn Tigers.
00:50As you look at where Tennessee has landed in this bracket, a couple of
00:54things stick out.
00:55Number one, Tennessee fans don't have to go far.
00:58The Vols are playing in Lexington on the opening weekend, just over an hour
01:04drive from Knoxville.
01:05Tennessee will be in a very familiar venue in Rupp Arena to play Wofford and
01:11then either UCLA or Utah State.
01:14If it is chalk and UCLA is the team that moves into the second round to play
01:19Tennessee, then the Vols will be going up against the team that almost swiped
01:24away Rick Barnes a few years ago when UCLA tried to hire Barnes away and then
01:29Tennessee ad Phillip Fulmer was the one that had to talk out a contract extension
01:35to keep Barnes in Knoxville.
01:37You could argue it was Fulmer's best contribution for Tennessee as of course
01:42an athletic director, not as a football coach.
01:45If Tennessee is able to get the win against UCLA, they would likely be playing
01:50one of two teams, Kentucky or Illinois.
01:54Obviously that Kentucky matchup is one to keep an eye on if it does happen in
01:58the sweet 16, as it will be the third matchup against the cats this season.
02:03Tennessee is Owen two against Kentucky in the 2024 25 campaign.
02:08And then of course, there's Illinois who Tennessee faced during the
02:11non-conference slate and defeated on a coast to coast buzzer beating
02:15layup by Jordan Gainey.
02:17Either way, there are interesting matchups all around and Tennessee could
02:21very well be on a crash course with number one seed Houston in the Midwest
02:26region in the elite eight.
02:28So what would constitute success for the Vols in this tournament?
02:32In my opinion, it might be a lead eight or bust for the Tennessee Vols.
02:36The worst case scenario for Tennessee obviously would be to get bounced in
02:41the opening weekend in the first or second round.
02:44I don't think we can say that the worst case scenario is to lose on opening
02:48weekend and then say that the sweet 16 would constitute success just by
02:53winning one extra game to me, sweet 16 needs to be the absolute baseline,
02:58but elite eight should be the expectation for Tennessee to match the
03:03best run it has ever made in the NCAA tournament, the run that they made
03:07just last season.
03:08Of course with Dalton connect at the helm.
03:11Now, of course, the Vols are in pursuit of their first final four in men's
03:15basketball history, but Tennessee as a two seed, one of the best teams in
03:19the country, a team that spent five weeks as the number one team in the
03:23country, according to the AP poll, a team that was knocking on the door of
03:28a one seed throughout the course of the regular season.
03:31The expectation should absolutely be a lead eight or further, especially
03:36given the matchups that could stack up in front of Tennessee.
03:40And some of them could be pretty favorable for the Vols.
03:43It is March madness.
03:45Anything can happen.
03:46It's about survive and advance in for Tennessee for us to truly consider
03:51this a successful season.
03:53I think that tournament has to end up at least in the elite eight for the Vols.