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Monday, March 4, 2013
 Volunteers to dance?
By Luke Lapinski

 Last week, we detailed the rapid rise of Tennessee. The Volunteers were nowhere near NCAA Tournament discussion after a Feb. 6 loss to Georgia at home, yet rallied in a big way to get back onto the bubble. Then they lost to the struggling Bulldogs again on Saturday. Is the Big Dance still a possibility?

As it turns out, yes. In fact, resident bracketologist Joe Lunardi has them in at the moment. The other bubble teams keep slipping up, and the Vols' have a slight edge on some of their SEC rivals who are also fighting for a spot in the Field of 68. Up next for Cuonzo Martin's squad is a matchup they should -- and probably need to -- win in Auburn. Then, the regular season wraps up against tourney-bound Missouri. If Tennessee gets the job done in those two contests, it should be in a good spot heading into conference tournament play.


Joe Lunardi
Why Tennessee gets the edge
"Pay close attention to the following sentence and you'll have a better understanding of why Tennessee sits in the final at-large spot: Not all conference schedules are created equal, and the Vols (No. 69) are a good bit ahead of league brethren Alabama (No. 123), Kentucky (No. 103), Ole Miss (No. 121) and Arkansas (No. 93) in that category."