If there’s one team that can’t wait for February to end, it’s Tennessee. Rick Barnes’ squad looked like it was in great shape when February began, carrying an 18-3 record and appearing on track for a possible No. 1 seed. But Tennessee has now lost four of its past six, falling to Kentucky, Missouri, Vanderbilt and Florida.
But year two of the Hubert Davis era hasn’t gone smoothly in Chapel Hill. Rather than building on that success, the Tar Heels have gotten stuck, finding themselves in major peril as March creeps closer. Carolina owns 16 wins on the season, but none are Quad 1 victories and only two have come in true road environments.
Opportunities don’t come much bigger for bubble teams than what Oklahoma State has in front of it Tuesday.