Tennessee basketball is Final Four contender, Ole Miss coach Chris Beard says
Add Chris Beard to the list of coaches who think Tennessee basketball is a Final Four team.
The first-year Ole Miss coach felt that way after his Rebels were dismantled by Rick Barnes' No. 5 Vols on Saturday.
"I'll start by saying this Tennessee team is really good: I don't know if Coach Barnes would agree with this, but I think they’re a Final Four contender," he said after Tennessee thrashed No. 19 Ole Miss 90-64.
Beard joined Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Lenoir-Rhyne coach Everick Sullivan in labeling the Vols good enough to reach the final weekend of the college basketball season for the first time in program history.
Izzo has been to eight Final Fours, and Beard took Texas Tech to the Final Four in 2019.
“They have experience, size, great point guard play," Beard said. "They have an identity, that’s their defense and rebounding. Offensively, they just have a lot of weapons. They can play a lot of different ways. So really, really impressed with them."
Barnes has taken UT to five straight NCAA Tournaments and has two Sweet 16 appearances.
Izzo and Sullivan made their remarks about Barnes' ninth Tennessee team during the preseason after UT won exhibitions against the respective schools.
Beard's estimation comes as the Vols opened SEC play in convincing fashion. They got double-doubles from Jonas Aidoo with 24 points and 10 rebounds and Zakai Zeigler with 17 points and 10 assists. UT outrebounded Ole Miss 47-24 and had 19 offensive rebounds.
Tennessee has won seven straight overall after losing three straight to top-10 opponents in Purdue, Kansas and North Carolina.
"You're literally looking at a team one basket away from beating, what, Kansas and Purdue, and we're sitting here today, they’re probably the No. 1 team in the country," Beard said.
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
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball: Chris Beard says Vols can reach Final Final
