Tennessee basketball had a huge season in 2023-24 and is chasing another one under coach Rick Barnes.
The No. 12 Vols open the regular season against Gardner-Webb on Monday (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Here are four bold predictions for Tennessee’s season:
Tennessee will make program history in the NCAA Tournament
Tennessee has been to the second weekend in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the second time in program history. It’ll reach three straight for first time in UT history by getting to the Sweet 16.
The Vols got to the Sweet 16 in 2023 before breaking through to the Elite Eight for the second time last season.
UT reached the Sweet 16 in 2007 and 2008, the first time it went to the second weekend in two straight seasons. UT lost in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament to fall short of a third consecutive second-weekend trip.
Zakai Zeigler joins the 4,000-minute club at Tennessee
Four players have played more than 4,000 career minutes at Tennessee. Zakai Zeigler will become the fifth during his final season.
The senior guard has played 2,769 minutes in three seasons, putting him 1,231 shy of the 4,000-minute mark. He played 1,135 minutes last season for an average of 31.5 minutes per game. He played 34.1 minutes per game in SEC play.
It’s easy to see Zeigler hitting those marks again and probably eclipsing them. He is the only point guard on Tennessee’s roster and the Vols don’t have Dalton Knecht to bring the ball up in some situations like they did last season.
Zeigler could finish third in all-time minutes played behind Allan Houston’s 4,606 and Santiago Vescovi’s 4,432.
LESSON: The message Rick Barnes sent to Chaz Lanier in Tennessee basketball’s loss to Indiana
Tennessee basketball will fall out of the AP top 25
Tennessee has been ranked in the Associated Press poll for three straight seasons, including landing at No. 12 in the preseason poll.
The Vols will fall out of the poll during this season either as they take a couple of early nonconference losses while figuring out the new roster or in the SEC gauntlet.
Tennessee has been ranked for 60 consecutive weeks in the AP poll, shattering the previous program record of 37. Its 60-week ranked streak is the third-longest active streak in the nation. UT has been ranked nonstop since the start of the 2021-22 season.
Felix Okpara wins SEC defensive player of the year
Tennessee has three of the best defensive players in the SEC − and all of college basketball − in Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Felix Okpara.
Okpara is the pick for SEC defensive player of the year, edging out Zeigler in his bid to repeat winning the award as the conference’s best defender. The 6-foot-11 forward is an elite shot-blocker, which he showed at Ohio State last season with 82 blocks. He’s surrounded by top-tier defensive players which will help him excel even more.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball bold predictions: Sweet 16 or letdown for Vols?
