DALLAS - Rick Barnes is expecting to see three sets of fans at the American Airlines Center on Saturday when his No. 3 seed Tennessee team takes on No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago in a second-round NCAA tournament game with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
Tipoff time is 6:10 EDT.
There will be Tennessee fans, Loyola-Chicago fans and also fans of Florida and Texas Tech, the teams playing the evening's second game. It's that third group that Barnes expects may flip the environment in the favor of Tennessee's opponent.
"Most of the time when you think about it, they go for the underdog or the team wearing the darker jersey," Barnes said of neutral fans at NCAA tournament games.
His Volunteers have worn a chip on their shoulder all season after being picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the Southeastern Conference. But tonight the roles will be reversed.
It's Loyola-Chicago that is the underdog and a budding Cinderella story. The Ramblers' last-second shot to beat Miami on Thursday and subsequent celebration with their 98-year-old team chaplain, a nun named Sister Jean, have endeared the team to the country. That feel-good story figures to make the Ramblers a favorite among the neutral fans in the building.
"You like teams like these, the ones that fight all odds and compete, and that's something that you love," Tennessee forward Grant Williams said. "We're a type of team like that. Not many people chose us. We're fighting for the same thing they are."
Williams sees parallels between Tennessee and Loyola-Chicago as both have embraced an underdog persona. The squads appear to have some similarities on the court as well.
With five players who average 9.9 points per game or more, Loyola's formula for success may sound familiar to Tennessee fans.
"It's just a team that, one, looking at them and watching them play, you enjoy watching them, the way they share the ball, the way they move the ball, and the way I think they really understand how to play together," Barnes said.
Tennessee's scoring is a bit more top-heavy with Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield shouldering a considerable load, but the Vols have five players averaging at least seven points per game.
Like the Ramblers, the Vols have embraced being willing to make an extra pass to an open teammate.
The Vols' physical aspect helped overwhelm their opening-round opponent, Wright State, by a final score of 73-47 on Thursday. The Ramblers appear better equipped to handle the bruising nature of Williams and Schofield and the shot-blocking prowess of Tennessee center Kyle Alexander.
Cameron Krutwig, a 6-foot-9, 260-pound freshman, has averaged 12.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this year. Loyola coach Porter Moser said he wants Krutwig and fellow post player Aundre Jackson to pull down 15 rebounds each against the Vols.
"We're going to need a tremendous effort on the glass," Moser said. "We're going to have to have a tremendous effort post defensive wise. They pound it inside. They duck you in. You've got to do your work early in the post. You just can't sit there and let them just post you up. So we're going to have to have the best rebounding and post defensive effort of the year tomorrow."
But the Ramblers won't be intimidated. They beat Florida earlier in the year, and Thursday's dramatic victory over Miami was their 11th straight win. Moser let his team enjoy the celebratory atmosphere until today. Then it was on to the Vols and scheming for what it will take to keep the Cinderella story alive.
"You're not going to compete against Tennessee just daydreaming about it," Moser said. "I mean, you're going to have to play physical. You're going to have to box out every possession. You're going to have to guard the post, because they have some of the best duck-in players in the country."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.