The first week of this year's NCAA Tournaments is in the books and there were very few surprises. Both the Tennessee men and women have advanced to the Sweet 16 and for the Lady Vols, it's their 37th straight Sweet 16 appearance. Here are some other observations:
Tennessee faces Kentucky for the third time this season with the Wildcats owning wins in both regular season match-ups. Since it's hard to beat a good team three times in one
season, you figure the Vols have some extra incentive for a win.
The game will be played Friday night at 7:38 in Indianapolis. A Tennessee win gives them thirty for the season and the Vols are a 4.5 pint favorite.
The Volunteers have made three straight trips to the "Sweet 16" and 10 times altogether. Tennessee is still looking for its first ever trip to the Final Four.
For the fifth time ever, coaching legends Rick Petino and John Calipari faced off against each other. Calipari's Arkansas Razorbacks got the win over Petino's St. Johns squad and advanced to the Sweet 16 despite having a losing 8-10 record in SEC play this season.
The number one seed Florida Gators barely escaped against two-time defending national champion UConn, which means there will be no "three-peat".
Tennessee's Lady Vols fell behind by 11 points in the first quarter of their game on Sunday night at Ohio Sate, before rallying for a huge 82-67 win. They are getting red-hot at the right time.
Analysts on TV are very impressed with Coach Kim Caldwell's style of play....fast paced, full court run and gun and shooting a lot of three-pointers.
There are still seven SEC men's teams still alive in the "Sweet 16." As for the women, eight teams from the SEC are still dancing.
Chattanooga native Madison Hayes is having a great season with the N.C. State Wolfpack. Former UTC Coach Wes Moore, the ACC Coach of the Year has his team in the field of sixteen with a record of 28-6. They are 17-0 on their home court this season and are the second seed in the Spokane Region.
Auburn's Bruce Pearl is having great success with his Tigers. They're in the "Sweet 16" and will face Michigan Friday with a 6:39 tip time. Deep down, you have to pull for him just a little bit. He is always complimentary about Tennessee, the team he coached from 2005-2011.
UConn men's coach Dan Hurley drew some harsh criticism from some analysts after his berating of the officials following the Huskies' loss to Florida. Prior to that loss, UConn had won 13 straight NCAA Tournament games.
Who are the best players in the Big Dance so far? Duke's Cooper Flagg should be considered as well as Alabama's Mark Sears. Tennessee's Chaz Lanier has been awfully good as has his teammate Zachai Zeigler. And speaking of Zeigler, his relationship with Vols' coach Rick Barnes is really something special. It will be very sad when their season finally ends.
I wish the NCAA would not schedule games as late as 10 p.m. It's really hard for this old man to stay up that late.
* * *