Tennessee College Basketball Round Up: Who Will Make it to March Madness?

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Tennessee has a few college hoops teams who have serious chances to play in the NCAA Tournament in March.

Whether it be on at-large bids or winning their conference, schools around the state show some potential. Below you can read an update on how your favorite college basketball team is doing so far this season.

Tennessee #22 (11-4) 

So far this season the Volunteers are having an impressive season. With a huge victory over then #6 ranked Arizona in December they really helped their case for an at large bid if they cannot win the SEC. Their next game is against #18 Kentucky (13-3) at 12:00 PM in Lexington.

Belmont (12-3)

They are leading the Ohio Valley Conference and have a very impressive record with only 3 losses. Drake (11-5), Iona (12-3), Saint Louis (10-5) and Chattanooga (13-3) are among some of their key wins.

Nick Muszynski, Ben Sheppard and Grayson Murphy are their veteran players who returned after their 26 win season last year. If they keep up this pace they could be a threat in March.

Memphis (9-5)

Memphis has one of the most talked about Freshman in Emoni Bates. He is averaging 10.9 points a game which compliments senior forward DeAndre Williams who provides an 11 point 5 rebound average.

They have a key victory over #6 Alabama. The Tigers are also 2nd in the American Conference. Currently they are on a 3 game win streak and play UCF (9-4) Wednesday, January 12th. They will also take on East Carolina (10-4) Saturday, January 15th. If they get these 2 victories this week they will hope to close the gap between 1st place Houston (14-2).

Chattanooga (13-3)

They started the year 5-0 and have wins over MTSU (9-6), UNC Asheville (10-5) and VCU (10-4). The Mocs are 3-0 so far in conference play as well.

Malachi Smith scores at a rate of 20 points a game which for college is staggering. Chattanooga looks to emulate Belmont and be a mid-major squad who can threaten anybody.

MTSU (9-6)

The Blue Raiders are currently ranked 5th in the Conference USA. They are on a 3 game losing streak and look to snap that with a win against Florida Atlantic (8-6) on Thursday, January 13th.

They have a win over Winthrop (8-6) who made the NCAA tournament last season.

Lipscomb (8-10)

The Bisons have some work to do as they have dug themselves in a hole with 2 conference losses already. They do have nice wins over Dayton (10-6) and Loyola (MD) (9-6). Junior center Ahsan Asadullah is averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds a game and will need his production for a late season turnaround.

Tennessee State (6-8)

TSU holds the 5th spot in the Ohio Valley Conference at the moment but still remain at striking distance. With it being this early in conference play anybody can get hot and win in bunches. They hope to reach post season play for the first time in nearly 5 seasons.

Austin Peay (4-9)

A 6 game losing streak is haunting APSU at the moment. They will need to have a serious makeover in their season if they wish to be playing in March. They also have a victory over (10-6) Dayton who will more than likely be competing for a top spot in the A10.

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