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ESPN's Joe Lunardi moves Tennessee back to a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament Bracketology

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 9 hours•

GrantRamey

Cade Phillips, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics
Cade Phillips, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Basketball’s shorthanded, bounce-back 64-44 win over Florida on Saturday, paired with three straight losses by Iowa State, has the Vols back as a No. 1 seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology update from Joe Lunardi.

Lunardi on Monday, before Iowa State’s 69-52 loss at Kansas Monday night, moved Tennessee back up to the No. 1-seed line as the No. 4 overall seed in his 68-team NCAA Tournament projection. 

The Vols had dropped to a No. 2 seed after losing three of four games over the previous two weeks. 

The No. 1 seeds were Auburn, Alabama, Duke and Tennessee, in that order. The No. 2 seeds were Iowa State, Florida, Purdue and Houston. The No. 3s were Marquette, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Kansas and the No. 4s were Michigan State, Wisconsin, Memphis and Texas Tech. 

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Missouri

Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC), which moved up to No. 4 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the Coaches Poll on Monday, hosts No. 15 Missouri (17-4, 6-2) on Wednesday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network).

The Vols have made six straight NCAA Tournaments under Rick Barnes, seeded No. 5 or higher in all six. 

Tennessee was a No. 2 seed a year ago, advancing to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history before falling to No. 1 Purdue. There was another No. 2 seed in 2019, with the Vols losing to No. 3 Purdue in overtime in the Sweet 16. 

In 2023 Tennessee went to the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed, beating No. 13-seed Louisiana in the first round and No. 5 Duke in the second round. The Vols lost 62-55 to No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the third round. 

Tennessee was a No. 3 in 2022, beating Longwood in the first round before being upset by No. 11-seed Michigan in the second round. The Vols were also a No. 3 in 2018, beating Wright State before losing to No. 11-seed Loyola-Chicago.

Tennessee ranked No. 4 in NET, KenPom.com

Tennessee is still ranked No. 4 in the NET, with a 5-4 record in Quad 1 games and, 3-0 records in Quad 2 and Quad 3 and a 7-0 record in Quad 4.

Auburn is No. 1 in the NET, Duke is No. 2 and Houston is No. 3.

The Vols moved up two spots in the KenPom.com ratings after the win over Florida, going from No. 6 overall to No. 4. They went back up to No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 85.5 points per 100 possessions, and are No. 38 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 116.3 points per 100 possessions.

Tennessee’s next three games, and seven of the remaining nine games left on the regular-season schedule, are Quad 1 games. Vanderbilt at home on February 15 is a Quad 2 game and the home game against South Carolina on March 8 is a Quad 3 game.

The five Quad 1 wins for the Vols are Louisville, Baylor, Illinois, Texas and Florida.

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