Today at 6:10 p.m. ET on TNT the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers will face the No. 14 Mercer Bears, perhaps the most surprising team still alive in this year's NCAA Tournament. Live stream the game by clicking this link; Vols fans can hear the game on WMNL The Sports Animal, while Mercer fans can find the radio broadcast on Peach 96.5.
This March has been particularly mad with several elite programs already biting the dust, but perhaps no win was more stunning than Mercer dispatching Jabari Parker and the Duke Blue Devils.
"Every time there's an upset in March, people tend to call it a Cinderella story," said forward Jakob Gollon. "But we know how good we are and in the past couple of years, we've beaten a lot of high major teams. So we expect to win a lot of these games."
Among the many good players on Mercer's roster, none are more crucial than guard Langston Hall, who averaged 14.6 points and 5.6 assists per game. He was relatively quiet vs. Coach K's crew, putting up 11 points, five assists and three rebounds, but could go off at anytime.
They're up against another crew that had become an afterthought-the Tennessee Volunteers. While most acknowledged their top talent, the Vols' inconsistent play shook almost everyone's faith. Now, though, they will be the big dogs with pressure on them. They also will not let Mercer's seeding affect their preparation. Mercer is an especially sore subject for Tennessee, who were upset during the regular season last year by the Bears.
"We didn't overlook them. We didn't take them for granted, either," Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin said. "Our guys watch a lot of basketball. They know good basketball when they see it."
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