Bubble Watch: Tennessee Volunteers Face Must Win Situation This Weekend With Missouri in Town

There should be no excuses for the Tennessee Volunteers this weekend.

Winners of seven of their last eight games overall, the Vols have soared up the conference standings and onto the bubble with just over a week remaining before Selection Sunday.

Given everything that they have accomplished over the past month or so, there should be no excuses for Tennessee this weekend when Missouri comes to town. It’s a do or die situation and having gone 7-1 since Feb. 10, the Vols certainly deserve a win and the reward of dancing in the coming weeks.

Jarnell Stokes continues to provide Cuonzo Martin‘s squad with leadership, but it’s the production of Jordan McRae that holds the key to the Vols’ most recent success. We will see just how McRae handles the heavy guard play that the Tigers have to offer this weekend. As for Stokes, he faces the difficult task of dealing with a veteran forward in Laurence Bowers, which undoubtedly provides fans with the top individual match-up to watch for in this one.

A win over Missouri is exactly what Tennessee needs at this point and with the opportunity to also earn a bye within the SEC Tournament, what other motivation could the Vols ask for?

It’s crunch time in college basketball, so there should be no reason as to why Tennessee wouldn’t leave it all on the court on Saturday afternoon.

Tip-off from Thompson-Boling Arena is scheduled for 4:00pm (EST) on Saturday.

 

Follow Paul Seaver on Twitter: @PaulSeaverRS