JP Estrella missed this. He learned last season, it’s hard to feel fully immersed in March Madness when you’re sitting at the end of the bench in a suit.

The 6-foot-11 Estrella, who led South Portland to the Class AA state title in 2022, is a redshirt sophomore on the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team. Coming off a season lost to a foot injury, Estrella’s entire 2025-26 campaign has been building to this.

“I’m super excited about it. Pumped up and ready to go,” Estrella said during a media availability session Wednesday afternoon. “The intensity, I feel like, is definitely a huge difference. Everyone’s thinking win or go home. The season is super intense, but it’s not like that win-or-go-home situation. Being in that environment… brings the best out of everybody.”

This time of year conjures memories of filling out brackets with parents, Allie and Mark Estrella, and his brother, Cameron. The winner would get to pick a restaurant for a family dinner. When his brother won, he’d pick Texas Roadhouse (“You’ve got to get the rolls. You’ve got to,” Estrella said).

Estrella said he never won the family contest.

“My brother was really good at it. My mom was really good at it. My dad was good at it, and I wasn’t,” he said.

At the time he spoke, Estrella didn’t know who the Volunteers would be playing at 4:25 p.m. Friday at Philadelphia’s XFinity Mobile Arena. Now he and his teammates know it’s Miami of Ohio, the team that caused this year’s tempest in a teapot by rolling through the regular season undefeated, only to fall to UMass in the Mid-American Conference tournament, making the RedHawks the most talked about bubble team in years despite their 31-1 record.

The RedHawks squeaked into the tournament, then proved they belong with an 89-79 win over SMU in Wednesday night’s first four game, and are now 32-1. Now, Estrella and the Volunteers (22-11) get the first chance to shatter Miami’s glass slipper.

It won’t be easy. Miami is adept at controlling the pace, shooting well, and grabbing offensive rebounds, said Justin Gainey, Tennessee’s associate head coach, during a press conference Wednesday.

“They crash the glass relentlessly to get extra possessions, and they have a couple guys in there that do the dirty work to finish putbacks around the basket,” Gainey said. “Anytime you can go undefeated in a (regular) season, you’re a good team. Because you’re getting everybody’s best shot every single night, and they know what that feels like and they’re still able to walk out, whether it’s at home or on the road, with a win.”

This is where Estrella and the rest of the Volunteers’ big men need to be at their best, on the boards. Miami scored 17 points on second-chance buckets Wednesday, and had 12 offensive rebounds. The Vols need to be physical, and stay focused on doing their jobs, Estrella said.

As a freshman, Estrella was a reserve and played in 25 of Tennessee’s 36 games in a season that ended in the Elite Eight with a loss to Purdue. He was looking forward to a bigger role last season, but was derailed after three games with left foot surgery. He recovered while the Vols made another run to the Elite Eight, falling to eventual runner-up Houston.

This season, Estrella has played in 29 of Tennessee’s 33 games, missing a few with soreness in that left foot. He started nine, including both of the Volunteers’ games in the SEC tournament. He’s averaging just over 10 points and five rebounds per game.

It’s been an up-and-down season. Estrella ended the regular season with back-to-back 20-point games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt, then scored just four in a win over Auburn in the SEC tournament opener. Estrella had 12 points and six rebounds in the 75-68 loss to Vanderbilt in the conference quarterfinals.

Estrella said he’s getting that vibe again, that March basketball feeling that’s just different. Simply because of Miami’s gaudy record and path to the tournament, Friday’s game is one of the most anticipated in the Round of 64. Estrella said he’s focused on the things he can control: making sure he and his teammates are locked in, making the most of every practice and workout leading up to the game, and making sure they keep their bodies refreshed and rested.

Last season, Estrella could only watch March Madness. This season, he has a say, and that will help determine how long Tennessee’s Madness lasts.