3 potential bracket busters to watch this weekend

Tennessee Volunteers (24-7) | Tournament Odds: 20/1

Prior to the season, members of the media picked the Vols to finish 13th of 16 teams in the SEC. They went 13-5 in conference and 24-7 overall to finish the regular season ranked 13th (in the country, not the conference) and tied Auburn for a share of the regular season SEC title.

In his third season at Tennessee, Rick Barnes took home SEC Coach of the Year as he led the fourth youngest team in Division 1 to the school’s best record since 2009-2010.

Tennessee’s roster features just one senior. They start two juniors and three sophomores, led by SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams. Williams, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, led the team in points, field goal percentage, minutes and was second in rebounds and blocks. The Charlotte native was only a three-star recruit and only received one ACC offer, none from North Carolina schools. Despite being only 6 foot 7, Williams is a dominant scorer in the post. At 240 pounds, he regularly abuses players with height advantages.

Tennessee’s leading rebounder, Admiral Schofield, is another overlooked, undersized player who overpowers opponents. The 6-foot-5 junior guard/forward is built like a tight end, can jump out of the building and is a beast in the post, with a decent mid-range and outside game that defenses have to respect. Schofield is the team’s second leading scorer and has averaged 20.2 points per game during the Vols’ current five-game win streak.

The third leading scorer on Barnes’ team, Lamonte Turner, was the SEC 6th Man of the Year.  Turner averaged 10.6 points a game while shooting over 40% from 3 point range.

The Vols are deep, play tenacious team defense, have a balanced inside/outside attack and in spite of their youth, they play with composure and aren’t rattled by opponents’ runs or high-pressure late game situations.

They play Arkansas on Saturday afternoon with the winner going on to face either Alabama or Kentucky for the SEC Tournament crown. Even with a regular season and tournament title, Tennessee will still be a long shot in the NCAA Tournament. Individually and as a team, it’s used to that and wouldn’t have it any other way.