"Baby, breakdown, go ahead and give it to me."

- Tom Petty

As the college basketball season winds down, the questions and analysis heat up. From ESPN to Knoxville television, radio and print, Tennessee is being eye-balled to the extreme.

The Vols' wins over Alabama and Arkansas (a road win, finally) now seem to have them locked into an NCAA tournament slot. But could losses to Florida on Tuesday, at Georgia to end the regular season and yet another first-round flame-out in the SEC tournament put them back on the bubble?

Or out of the dance altogether?

Either way, this team has been pored over, analyzed, broken down, studied, and talk-show chatted to death. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their good wins (Memphis was a big one), their bad losses (South Carolina was mind-numbingly bad), all have been discussed.

Even after Wednesday night's win over Alabama, it was pointed out that the win wasn't a very inspiring win. This team, most folks see, has several holes.

"And though the holes were rather small, they had to count them all."

— The Beatles

Last season, I wrote on govolsxtra.com that there was a formula to beating the 2005-06 Vols. Judging from the online reaction, I'm pretty sure that someone somewhere burned me in effigy.

But there WAS a formula. And most basketball folks realized it.

"Don't run with Tennessee," which is easier said than done, and "Pound the ball inside," if you have a height advantage. Most teams did stand taller when they matched up with the undersized Vols.

That same formula hasn't been too far off this year, either.

So, do I have you sufficiently riled up now? I've said this team has some weaknesses, and opponents can help themselves by simply refusing to run and taking advantage of their height advantages.

Ticked? Think I'm being negative?

Think again.

"Everybody hurts sometimes. So hold on."

— REM

There's not a team in America that doesn't have some holes, some weaknesses.

There's a formula for beating every team out there. Every team. Not just Tennessee.

Vol fans have kept their eyes on this Tennessee basketball team for 29 games. From watching the Vols so closely, East Tennesseans just know more about the Vols' Kryptonite than they do the weaknesses of other teams.

But just as Tennessee doesn't have a lot of size, just as Dane Bradshaw and Chris Lofton need to finish hot, there are question marks in every hoops hotbed.

Depending on the poll you look at, Ohio State is either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation. But they're very young and they don't have a "signature" win on their resume.

How will they succeed in a one-and-done tournament setting? And did they look unbeatable when Tennessee let one slip away at a Columbus, Ohio, free-throw line?

North Carolina also is in the nation's top five. But according to one analyst at ESPN.com, "Tyler Hansbrough still reacts slowly to double teams, Brandan Wright can't make free throws, and Reyshawn Terry doesn't provide the intangibles a young team needs from its seniors." Yikes.

How about No. 6 Kansas? It's one of the few teams to beat Florida this season, but the Jayhawks also have losses to Oral Roberts, DePaul and Texas Tech, as well as a history of first-round upset losses in the NCAA tournament.

Texas? It's got a top-two NBA draft choice in Kevin Durant, but the Longhorns also have seven losses on their ledger, including one at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Florida? Until last season, there were still questions about Billy Donovan as a coach at tournament time. Five of the past eight years, the Gators have failed to make the Sweet 16 despite the appropriate talent to get there.

There isn't a team in the country that doesn't have holes. There isn't a team that doesn't have a formula or a scheme that can lead to their undoing.

And at tournament time, all it takes is one bad match-up. One cold night from the floor.

Fans should be concerned about Tennessee's shortcomings. But they shouldn't forget that fans around the country are having worries about their teams.

This is when it gets interesting. From here on out, which coach can do the best job of hiding his team's weaknesses and exposing the shortcomings of his opponents?

It's almost March. And if the Vols go dancing, they should just remember George Mason from a year ago. Think that team had some holes?

John Pennington hosts The Hall's Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.