If the postseason was able to continue, Rick Barnes’ fifth Tennessee basketball team may not have fallen into this category. After all, the Vols were about to start the SEC Tournament with 17 wins, just three short of that 20-win mark.
To just make the NCAA Tournament, hey would have likely had to make it to Sunday in the SEC Tournament, which would mean three wins right there. Even if they didn’t playing the Alabama Crimson Tide on Thursday plus being a lock for the NIT would give them plenty of chances to get those three wins.