Tennessee has been here so many times that the Volunteers almost expect to go. Michigan State has never inhaled postseason air this rarefied.
Tennessee has talent that has been lauded since the players were barely in high school. Michigan State's roster would have been laughed at by recruiting gurus in 2001.
But both are here, in the Final Four, both do everything well, and both have reasons for optimism.
Only one, however, will find that optimism justified.