Mar 14, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Members of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrate defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
A huge part of any team’s run in the NCAA Tournament is how much they luck out from other results in their bracket. Tennessee basketball’s only Elite Eight run, back in 2010, was aided by them getting to avoid the No. 3 seed Georgetown Hoyas in the second round thanks to the Ohio Bobcats upsetting them.
However, it’s not necessarily upsets that aways help. Matchups are the story, regardless of the seeding, and there are plenty of teams in the Midwest Region that could pose matchup problems for the Vols.