Believe it: Tennessee is tournament central

"The Simpsons," America's interminable sitcom, once created a slogan for the state of Tennessee.

Tennesseein' is Tennebelievin'.

It had nothing to do with basketball until now. It was just some random phrase thrown into an episode in which Bart Simpson and his buddies took a comical escapade to Knoxville to see a world fair they didn't realize had occurred 14 years earlier. Today, we borrow those words to explain a March Madness quirk.

Crazy enough, Tennessee has the most NCAA tournament juice this season. Normally an insignificant hoops state, it possesses two bona fide national-title contenders in Memphis and Tennessee; another Sweet 16 favorite in Vanderbilt; and two more dance partners in Austin Peay and Belmont.

No state can boast a more impressive package. Not California. Not North Carolina. Not Kentucky. Not Indiana. It's weird. The only thing stranger would be to see hip-hop and country music converge.

Tennesseein' is Tennebelievin'.

On the road to the Final Four, teams just might encounter the Smoky Mountains. And if they haven't been warned of the perils, perhaps they should review the lyrics of that charmingly annoying song "Rocky Top."

Once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top,

Lookin' for a moonshine still.

Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top,

Reckon they never will.

I'm telling you this, Washingtonians, to capture an oddity and reflect on an important part of my life. I call myself a Kentuckian, but I was born in Madison, Tenn., spent the first four years of my life in that state and consider it a second home.

Growing up in Kentucky, I realized how much of a men's basketball afterthought Tennessee was. Tennessee was a football and women's basketball state. Kentuckians laughed at the suggestion that Tennessee would ever get its act together and compete in men's basketball.

Even my grandfather, who lives in Portland, Tenn., didn't believe in his state.

"Them boys can't play no ball," he would say.

For large portions of its history, Tennessee has been the Bermuda Triangle of basketball.

Want your promising coaching career to vanish? Go to Tennessee. Want your program to be burdened with underachieving talent? Go to Tennessee. Want your program to be embarrassed again and again by true basketball states? Go to Tennessee.

Consider these numbers. The University of Kentucky is making its 50th NCAA tournament appearance this season. The combined appearances of the five Tennessee schools in this year's tourney: 56.

UK has 100 all-time Big Dance victories. Tennessee's Fab Five: 47.

No Tennessee school has ever won the NCAA tournament. Memphis has easily the state's best tradition, appearing in two Final Fours, the only two in Tennessee's history.

You'd think Memphis would spur great basketball pride throughout the Volunteer State, but it doesn't. Tennessee is kind of funny that way. The rest of the state doesn't really claim Memphis, which is blacker and more urban.

The lack of love prompted Memphis coach John Calipari to say, "We should secede and become our own state."

Well, for the longest time, the school called itself Memphis State University, which was a silly designation. Now, though, the Tigers are one of the most respected teams in the country. They are a No. 1 seed filled with NBA talent. They are probably Tennessee's best hope for a championship.

The University of Tennessee could win it all, too. Before coach Bruce Pearl arrived, the Volunteers once had the ugly label of sleeping giant. So much potential, so few results. Then Pearl brought his aggressive brand of basketball to town, along with his goofy personality.

He once came to a women's game shirtless and wearing body paint. Whenever the Tennessee men's job used to come open, fans wondered whether Pat Summitt, the legendary women's coach, should be hired. After much debate, the conclusion always seemed to be that Summitt was too good to take such a lowly position.

Pearl has changed the tenor, however. You can win big there, just as you can win big across the state.

I asked my cousin, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Corey Brewer, why Tennessee has burst onto the college hoops scene. Corey is from Portland, Tenn., and spurned scholarship offers from state schools to go to Florida and win two national championships.

"It's easy," Corey said. "They're starting to keep all the talent in state. They're finally appealing."

It's that simple. Nashville and Memphis have always been hotbeds for talent. The Volunteers have been especially good at locking up in-state talent lately. Four of their top six players are from Tennessee.

Can the state sustain this level? Probably not. But this NCAA tournament could be Tennessee's chance to do something it has never done: place two teams in the Final Four.

Doubt them? Did you watch the Volunteers and Tigers play earlier this season, in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, the benchmark game of the regular season?

Even Bart Simpson can comprehend that those teams are for real.

Tennesseein' is Tennebelievin'.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com