This season has been one for the ages for the Tennessee Volunteers. They have achieved some unimaginable heights, which were only dreams for most Big Orange fans. But, despite the accomplishments of the team this year, the Vols received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, which is exactly what they deserved.

After Tennessee beat Memphis on the road, I really believed history was going to be made on all levels for the basketball program. I anticipated they would become more than just another good Bruce Pearl team. 

I thought they would be a team to look back and say, "The first No. 1 seed? That was me; I did that." Instead, they are another team that missed out.

Last week, Tennessee fans could practically taste the sweetness of winning both the regular season and tournament championships of the South Eastern Conference.

Everything was laid out perfectly for the Vols to earn the highest seed in Tennessee history. Make it to the conference championship game and you will be one of the top seeded teams. Yet, the Vols could not close the deal.

At the end of the weekend, they sat back and watched the Georgia Bulldogs count down the final seconds of the championship game in victory. Yes, the No. 6 seeded Georgia Bulldogs, the worst team in the SEC East, hoisted the tournament championship. 

What does this say about the Vols? Besides the disappointment in losing to a team that had just barely finished above .500 in SEC play during the regular season, the realization that they should have steamrolled through the tournament is lingering in Tennessee fans' minds.

Everything was laid out perfectly for the Vols to earn the highest seed in Tennessee history. Make it to the conference championship game and you will be one of the top-seeded teams. 

Yet, the Vols could not close the deal. Their Achilles' heel of not making free throws, a lack of rebounding and the inability to completely put away teams cost them the chance to play for the tournament title. They lost in the semifinals to an inferior team and now they have to suffer the consequences.

Many people feel that UT deserved the No. 1 seed, but look at it this way. Kansas, the team that received the No. 1 seed, ended its season with one less loss than the Vols. 

Not only that, the Jayhawks won their conference tournament with a convincing win over the Texas Longhorns. Tennessee choked away their possible highest seed and now has one of the toughest roads to reach the Final Four.

If the Vols survive a potential upset bid from American, they will probably have to play Butler, a team that embarrassed the Vols last year in Madison Square Garden. If they end up winning that game, the Big Orange will most likely have a match-up with the red-hot Louisville Cardinals. 

These are just the first three games. If they end up making it to the first Elite 8 in Tennessee history, they will possibly have a match-up with the No. 1 seeded, tournament favorite, North Carolina Tar Heels. It is going to be rough for the Vols.

The historic run for the Vols is continuing, but one must wonder how long it will last. I hope this team will accept the seeding received as a deserved one, improve their free throw shooting and rebounding, and actually put away a team early. 

If these things do not happen, the Vols will be left with an even more sickening feeling than the heartbreaking loss to Ohio State one year ago.