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What Joe Lunardi said about Tennessee, Alabama and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 11 hours•

GrantRamey

Tennessee Basketball | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
(Randy Sartin-Imagn Images) Dec 31, 2024; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; A basketball lies on the floor before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Norfolk State Spartans at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

There’s only one No. 1 seed up for grabs between Tennessee and Alabama between now and Selection Sunday, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. The Vols and Crimson Tide won’t both be No. 1 seeds when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed on March 16.

“Only one of these teams is a likely 1-seed in two weeks,” Lunardi wrote Friday afternoon. 

His latest ESPN Bracketology has Alabama as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and the No. 3 overall seed. Tennessee is the No. 2 seed in the East Region and Lunardi’s No. 5 overall seed. 

No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 6 Alabama, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET

No. 5 Tennessee (23-5, 10-5 SEC) hosts No. 6 Alabama (23-5, 12-3) on Saturday (4 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) at a sold-out Food City Center in Knoxville, with both teams eying the top-seed line in the NCAA Tournament.

The Crimson Tide closes the regular-season schedule with three straight games against top-five opponents. They host No. 3 Florida on Wednesday and go to No. 1 Auburn on March 8. The Vols go to Ole Miss on Wednesday and host South Carolina on Senior Day on March 8 in Knoxville.

Lunardi’s bracket projection on Friday had Tennessee playing the opening weekend in Raleigh, N.C., facing No. 15 Norfolk State, opposite of No. 7 Memphis and No. 10 Arkansas. Alabama was the No. 1 seed in Lexington, facing No. 16 Bryant while paired with No. 8 Creighton and No. 9 Gonzaga.  

Houston, which hosts Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon, could move up to the No. 3 overall seed with a win and an Alabama loss at Tennessee.

Lunardi’s No. 1 overall seed is Auburn — “Auburn could forfeit its remaining games and still be a 1-seed,” Lunardi wrote — and Duke is the No. 2 overall seed. Houston took over as the fourth No. 1 seed with a win at Texas Tech Monday night, dropping Florida to the No. 2-seed line before the Gators lost at Georgia Tuesday night.

Vols have been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament three times

Michigan State is the No. 7 overall seed and Wisconsin is No. 8 overall, completing the No. 2-seed line. Lunardi’s No. 3 seeds are Iowa State, Kentucky, Texas A&M and St. John’s, in that order, and his No. 4 seeds are Texas Tech, Arizona, Michigan and Arizona. 

Tennessee moved up to No. 4 in the NET on Thursday, behind No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Duke and No. 3 Houston. The Vols have a 9-5 record in Quad 1 games and are a combined 14-0 in Quad 2, 3 and 4 games. KenPom.com also has Tennessee ranked No. 5 overall, with the Vols at No. 1 on defense and No. 25 on offense. 

Tennessee has been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament three times in program history, including twice under head coach Rick Barnes. The Vols have never been a No. 1 seed.

Last season Tennessee went to the Elite Eight as a No. 2 seed, losing to No. 1 Purdue. The 2019 team went to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to No. 3-seed Purdue and the Vols lost in the second round in 2006 against No. 7 Wichita State.

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