You have seen highlights of these teams over and over on SportsCenter since Sunday, or since Ali Farokmanesh made the world crazy with his gutsy 3 pointer against bracket favorite Kansas.
Because of the attention the "mid-majors" have garnered, one team hails from the SEC has fallen under the radar.
Bruce Pearl has his Tennessee Volunteers in a position for a surprise spot in the Final Four.
Pearl has been at Tennessee for 5 years, but it seems as though he has been in Knoxville much longer. That is probably because he has made 3 Sweet 16 appearances, not too shabby for a "women's basketball" school.
Pearl goes about it his way. A team full of athletic players groomed to full court press, but with the learning capacity to learn to play together on both ends of the floor. The Volunteers may not play a beautiful brand of basketball, but it is effective. Its especially effective considering the Vols tournament success.
Pearl's stay at Tennessee hasn't been without flaws. Earlier in the season Pearl was forced to suspend four players that were arrested on gun and drug charges. All four players, now back with the team and playing prominent roles, are back with the team contributing. But this just is a tribute to the job Pearl has done with this team, that does not have a single player averaging more than 12.5 points per game.
The Volunteers have been tested by controversy throughout the season and by the "mid-majors" in each of the first two rounds. Now is their turn to be the underdog against Evan Turner and the Ohio State Buckeyes. If there is any team that can contain and control Evan Turner, its the team defense and athleticism of the Vols. And if the Rocky Toppers get by Ohio State, then they will face either Cinderella (Northern Iowa) or injury hampered Michigan State.
Nobody is talking up the Vols who could slip in the Final Four as a number 6 seed. Bruce Pearl probably likes it that way.
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