Joe Lunardi moves North Carolina to 1-seed line after Tennessee loss

Tennessee had an early exit in the 2024 SEC Tournament, getting blown out by Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the tourney on Friday. The Vols had worked their way up into the 1 seed conversation for the NCAA Tournament thanks to a strong showing during the regular season, including winning the SEC outright.

However, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi moved Tennessee down to the 2 seed line after Friday’s performance.

Lunardi now has North Carolina as the fourth No. 1 seed, joining Purdue, UConn and Houston, he announced on Twitter on Friday.

Up next, Lunardi has Arizona as the No. 5 overall seed and the top 2 seed, with Tennessee as the No. 6 seed overall seed and the second-best 2 seed.

With Tennessee’s run in its conference tournament over and Arizona and North Carolina still playing, the Vols seem destined to be a 2 seed. The final No. 1 seed could very well come down to who plays better over the next couple of days between UNC and Arizona.

North Carolina faces Pitt in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Friday. Arizona and Oregon will meet in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals on Friday, as well.

Joe Lunardi breaks down impact of Mississippi State win over Tennessee ahead of March Madness

While the Tennessee-Mississippi State result hurt the Vols’ chances of getting a 1 seed, it could lead to the Bulldogs getting into the Big Dance.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi took some time to break down the impact of Mississippi State’s win over Tennessee on Friday, and how it pertains to the NCAA Tournament.

Evidently, Lunardi believes the Bulldogs have solidified their spot in the bracket, and Mississippi State and coach Chris Jans will be very happy following their 73-56 win in the SEC Tournament.

“Mississippi State now out of the last four byes, solidly in the bracket,” Lunardi said. “I would say as a nine seed with a chance to move up further because at this point, they can only add good wins.

“They can’t add bad losses, that’s one of the great things about a conference tournament run that they’re on right now, and good for them.”

However, Lunardi did touch on the fact that South Florida is throwing a wrench into things with their performance, and how it could change the future for some SEC squads.

“In terms of the bigger picture,” Lunardi said, “the [more impactful] result was probably more South Florida in the American, because in staying alive, South Florida is occupying a spot and that’s more an issues for [bubble teams like] the Texas A&Ms and New Mexicos and whoever else you want to say is right on the cut line.”