Where Tennessee Basketball is seeded in ESPN's preseason bracketology
Tennessee Basketball will start the new season projected to be a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. His bracket update this week had the Vols as the No. 3 in the West Region, facing No. 14 Samford in Cleveland and matched up with No. 6 Indiana and No. 11 Dayton.
Lunardi’s four No. 1 seeds were Duke (East), Alabama (South), Kansas (Midwest) and Houston (West). His No. 2 seeds were UConn (East), Iowa State (South), Auburn (Midwest) and Gonzaga. The other No. 3s alongside Tennessee were Baylor (East), North Carolina (South) and Arizona (Midwest).
The new-look Vols host Indiana in a charity exhibition game on Sunday afternoon at Food City Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Eastern Time and will be available as an online live stream via SEC Network+.
Tennessee opens the regular-season schedule at home against Gardner-Webb on November 4.
Lunardi had 10 SEC teams in his field of 68: No. 1-seed Alabama, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Mississippi State and No. 10 Ole Miss.
Vols ranked No. 12 in AP Top 25, Coaches Poll
Tennessee on Wednesday came in at No. 12 in the preseason Coaches Poll, the same spot the Vols were ranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 earlier this month.
Alabama was No. 2 in the Coaches Poll, which had Auburn at No. 11. Five other SEC teams were ranked behind Tennessee at No. 12: No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Texas, No. 21 Florida and No. 23 Kentucky.
The AP Top 25 also had Alabama at No. 2, ahead of No. 11 Auburn, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Texas, No. 21 Florida, No. 23 Kentucky and No .24 UCLA.
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Tennessee is No. 13 overall in the new KenPom.com ratings for the 2024-25 season. The KenPom numbers have the Vols at No. 4 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 35 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament history under Rick Barnes
Tennessee under Barnes has been a No. 2 seed, a No. 3 seed twice, a No. 4 seed and a No. 5. The Vols are coming off back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances and last year went to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history.
Two years ago the Vols went to the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 4 seed, beating No. 13-seed Louisiana in the first round and No. 5 Duke in the second round. They lost 62-55 to No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the third round.
They were a No. 3 in 2022, beating Longwood in the first round before being upset by No. 11-seed Michigan in the second round. They were a No. 3 in 2018, beating Wright State before losing to No. 11-seed Loyola-Chicago.
