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Tennessee drops to No. 5 overall seed in latest ESPN Bracketology update

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 9 hours•

GrantRamey

NCAA Basketball: Tennessee at Kentucky
Feb 11, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Chaz Lanier (2) shoots the ball against Kentucky Wildcats guard Travis Perry (11) during the first half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Tennessee Basketball dropped to the No. 5 overall seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology update from Joe Lunardi after the Vols lost 75-64 loss at Kentucky Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

Lunardi previously had Tennessee (20-5, 7-5 SEC) as the last No. 1 seed, as the No. 4 overall seed. The Vols dropped down to the first team on the No. 2-seed line after the Kentucky loss. 

Tennessee is the No. 2 seed in the East Region in the new ESPN projection, with Duke as the No. 1 seed, Arizona as the No. 3 seed and Michigan as the No. 4 seed.

Florida jumps Tennessee for final No. 1 seed

Florida jumped the Vols to become the new fourth No. 1 seed, behind No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Duke. Lunardi’s other No. 2 seeds were Houston, Purdue and Texas A&M, respectively.

Kentucky moved up from the No. 16 overall seed to the No. 11 overall seed, joining Iowa State, Texas Tech and Iowa State as No. 3 seeds. The No. 4 seeds are Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and St. John’s. 

Tennessee dropped to No. 5 in both the NET and the KenPom.com ratings. 

The Vols are still rated No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 86.2 points per 100 possessions, and are No. 38 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 117.5 points per 100 possessions.

Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET 

Tennessee returns home to host Vanderbilt (17-7, 5-6) on Saturday (1 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network). Vandy, which lost at home against Auburn Tuesday night, upset the Vols in Nashville, 76-75, on January 18. The Commodores have lost four of six games since beating Tennessee. 

After hosting Vanderbilt, Tennessee goes back on the road for two games, going to Texas A&M on February 22, then to LSU on February 25. The Vols close the regular-season schedule in March with home dates against Alabama (March 1) and South Carolina (March 8), sandwiched around a trip to Ole Miss (March 5). 

There are currently three Quad 1 games remaining on schedule, against Texas A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss. Vanderbilt and LSU are Quad 2 games and South Carolina is a Quad 3 game. 

Tennessee is 8-5 in Quad 1 games this season, with a 12-0 record ing Quad 2, 3 and 4 games. The eight Quad 1 wins are tied for second most in college basketball with Kentucky (8-6) and Alabama (8-3). Auburn leads the country in Quad 1 wins with 13.

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