Tennessee Learns First-Round Fate

The Tennessee Volunteers have officially learned their March Madness fate, as they will face Louisiana in the first round.

Missouri bounced the Tennessee Volunteers from the SEC quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. The Tigers were powered by forward Kobe Brown and guard D'Moi Hodge, who combined for 50 points. The loss underscored the internal frustration the Vols dealt with to close the regular season.

They don't have much time to sulk about their conference tournament performance, as March Madness begins this week. The Selection Committee has released the official bracket for the 2022-2023 NCAA Tournament, and the round of 64 begins on Thursday.

The Vols will face off against Louisana on Thursday. Tennessee is a No. 4 seed, lower than some were projecting midway through the season. While it's easy to be down on head coach Rick Barnes and his squad entering the tournament, they are undoubtedly one of the country's deepest teams.

They still are figuring out how to replace guard Zakai Zeigler's impact. Zeigler went down for the season with an ACL tear against Arkansas; the New York native was a semifinalist for the Wooden Award and has been dearly missed.

2022 was about setting new program standards, with one goal, in particular, standing out. The Vols have never made a Final Four, a surprising stat for a program with such rich history. Nonetheless, it's true, and they hope to rewrite that with a magical run during the next few weeks. Guard Santiago Vescovi found success in the SEC Tournament and will need to have a big stretch for the Vols to make their desired run.

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