Bracketology: Joe Lunardi says Tennessee 'in no way a lock' for a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

Tennessee basketball on Saturday afternoon has a chance to further solidify its current projected spot as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a win over Kentucky on Senior Day at Thompson-Boling Arena.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updated his seed list on Saturday, with the Vols stick as a No. 1 seed in the West Region, as Lunardi’s No. 4 overall seed.

“The Vols are in no way a lock for the top line,” Lunardi wrote, “but a win would preserve their spot and create added separation over Arizona heading into their conference tourneys.”

No. 8 Tennessee (24-6, 14-3) and No. 15 Kentucky (22-8, 12-5 SEC) are scheduled for a 4 p.m. Eastern Time start Saturday on CBS. The Wildcats are currently a No. 4 seed according to Lunardi, who has UK as his No. 13 overall seed. 

Tennessee will open SEC Tournament play as the No. 1 seed on Friday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. Tipoff will be at 1 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.

The Vols have picked up three straight Quad 1 wins, beating Auburn at home last week before back-to-back road wins at Alabama and South Carolina. The win at South Carolina clinched the outright SEC regular-season championship for Tennessee, the program’s first since 2007-08.

Tennessee moved up to a No. 1 seed in Lunardi’s projection late Wednesday night. CBS Sports bracket-logistics Jerry Palm moved the Vols to a No. 1 seed after their win at Alabama Saturday night.

Lunardi’s updated bracket on Friday morning had Tennessee in the West and playing the first weekend in Charlotte, awaiting the No. 16-seed winner between Norfolk State and Central Connecticut State in the First Four. 

Opposite of the Vols is No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Nebraska. Other top seeds in the West are No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Baylor, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 San Diego State, No. 6 Utah State and No. 7 Gonzaga.

Tennessee has never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols have been a No. 2 seed three times (2006, 2008 and 2019) and a No. 3 seed twice (2018, 2022).

Purdue remains the No. 1 overall in Lunardi’s Midwest Region (Detroit), UConn is the No. 2 overall seed and the No. 1 in the East Region (Boston) and Houston is No. 3 overall and the top seed in the South Region (Houston).

Arizona ‘very much in the hunt for a No. 1 seed’

Arizona bumped down to the No. 5 overall seed with Tennessee moving up one spot. The Wildcats joined the Vols in the West as the No. 2 seed. 

Lunardi wrote Thursday that Arizona remained “very much in the hunt for a No. 1 seed” but had to win Thursday night at UCLA “for any realistic shot at regaining a top-line seed.” Arizona beat UCLA 88-65 at Pauley Pavilion to clinch the PAC 12 regular-season championship.

Palm’s bracket has Tennessee as the No. 1 seed in the West awaiting a No. 16 seed out of the First Four. Palm’s four No. 16 seeds in the First Four in Dayton were Central Connecticut State, Grambling, Norfolk State and Stetson. 

The Vols beat Norfolk State 87-50 in Knoxville in December.

The other top seeds in the West in Palm’s bracket were No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 San Diego State and No. 5 BYU. 

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Kentucky, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS

Tennessee moved to 8-5 in Quad 1 games after the win at South Carolina. The Vols have picked up three Quad 1 wins over the last week, beating Auburn at home followed by road wins at Alabama and South Carolina.

They’ve won six of seven Quad 1 opportunities dating back to the home win over Florida in January and are a combined 16-1 in Quad 2, 3 and 4, with the one loss being a Quad 2 game at home against South Carolina in January. 

Arizona after the win at UCLA on Thursday night is 8-3 in Quad 1, 6-2 in Quad 2, 8-1 in Quad 3 and 2-0 in Quad 4. The Quad 2 losses were at home against Washington State and at Stanford and the Quad 3 loss was at Oregon State. The Quad 1 losses came against Purdue, Florida Atlantic and Washington State.