Tennessee Could Bounce First #1 Seed

Tennessee vs. Houston, 2:20 ET

Typically, they say that you save the best for last. Well, in my case, I've saved the worst for last. I am on an 0-6 streak in my last six NCAA Tournament Plays. This is not ideal, to say the least. It has still been a winning season, and I've built up a lot of good faith, but this has been a brutal stretch where basically everything I am thinking about a game goes the opposite way. I still won't give up, but feel free to fade me these last four total games we have for College Basketball this season. I'm trying to turn it around here as Tennessee takes on Houston.

If I were to talk about the best conference in the sport, the conversation would start with the SEC, where the Tennessee Volunteers play. Now, to be clear, the Volunteers did not win the SEC in the regular season, and they didn't win the SEC Tournament. However, make no mistake, Tennessee was very good in conference games going 12-6 and finishing fourth. In the SEC Tournament, they were able to secure an easy win over Texas, led most of the way and beat Auburn, but were beaten fairly easily by Florida. Florida actually accounts for two of the seven Tennessee losses this season. So far in the big dance, Tennessee hasn't had to sweat much. They beat Wofford with ease, as expected. They beat UCLA by nine in a closer game, but still not one they were sweating much in. The most recent win was over Kentucky. I picked Kentucky to cover and potentially upset. They lost twice to Kentucky this year and I thought it was a bad matchup. This game gave them no trouble as the team seems to be clicking right now.

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 28: L.J. Cryer #4, J'Wan Roberts #13, and Milos Uzan #7 of the Houston Cougars celebrate after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 62-60 in the Midwest Regional Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 28, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

While the SEC may be the better conference, I think it is fair to assume that the Houston Cougars would've been competitive in that. They also don't play in a slouch of a conference. They are in the Big 12 where they won the regular season title and the Big 12 Tournament Championship. One of my favorite things about this team that has gone 33-4 to this point in the campaign is that their four losses are by a combined total of 14 points. Meaning that even when they do lose, they are as competitive as they can be. Things haven't been quite as smooth for them in the tournament. They blew out SIU Edwardsville in the opener, but it was a tight game with Gonzaga. Against Purdue they were on the ropes and they were able to escape with a two point win. If you haven't seen the inbound play that they scored on, you're missing out. It is one every coach needs in their playbook and every team should try and run.

Now against each other, this is going to be a tough matchup for both squads. It is funny to me that yesterday we had a Duke and Arizona game that had a total in the 170s, and today we get this one with a 50 point lower total. That's really a reflection of Houston's defensive prowess. Both teams are willing to play in the halfcourt and be methodical with their gameplan. If I look at this objectively, I think Tennessee is actually playing better right now. They are also more likely to have a pro-Tennessee crowd than Houston is. Their team stats are almost identical, and when you have that, it is often best to just take the points, so that's what I'm doing for this one. Back Tennessee with the points, but just know that I'm shooting bricks right now. 

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