Given their past, Tennessee basketball is on the verge of making history as a program with its seventh trip to the Sweet 16 this century. Caleb Calhoun and Dave Hooker break down what that would mean for Rick Barnes on Off The Hook Sports’ Wednesday, March 22 podcast. Tennessee football’s 2024 opener also made news. Ron Slay joined the podcast as well.
Rick Barnes’ potential legacy with Tennessee basketball
If the Vols beat the Florida Atlantic Owls Thursday, Tennessee basketball will reach just its second Elite Eight in school history. Where would that place Rick Barnes among all-time head coaches with the program. Does he surpass Bruce Pearl as second all-time? Could he approach Ray Mears? If he takes the Vols to the Final Four, would that make him the greatest coach in school history?
Pat Forde ranks Vols 15th among Sweet 16 teams
Fueling the narrative that he has a bias against Tennessee basketball, Pat Forde ranked the Vols No. 15 among the 16 teams left in March Madness. The Vols are higher-seeded than half the teams, and they have beaten some of them pretty convincingly, but that didn’t stop Forde from putting together this ranking. What does he mean by doing something like that?
Ron Slay talks Tennessee basketball
Former Vol Ron Slay joined the show to talk about Rick Barnes’ place in history, the physical style of play that got the Vols to the Sweet 16 and the complaining done by Duke Blue Devil fans after Saturday’s games. Slay also previewed FAU and what UT needs to do to beat them, and he discussed his friend John Henderson, a two-time All-American and Oultand Trophy winner for Tennessee football who just made the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
Tennessee football to face N.C. State in 2024
After having to cancel their game against the Oklahoma Sooners due to OU joining the SEC, Tennessee football has a new opponent for 2024. The Vols will face the N.C. State Wolfpack at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., as part of the Duke’s Mayo Classic on Sept. 7, the second week of the season. Was this a good replacement? Should the Vols have just scheduled a home series with a random in-state foe instead?
