Bracketology: Tennessee sticking as Joe Lunardi's top No. 2 seed
No. 4 Arizona’s 77-74 home loss to No. 21 Washington State late Thursday night isn’t moving No. 5 Tennessee any closer to a spot on the No. 1-seed line in the NCAA Tournament projections.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi wrote Thursday afternoon that “the Wildcats would not fall off the top line with a loss” to the Cougars.
Tennessee (20-6, 10-3 SEC) remains Lunardi’s No. 5 overall seed in his latest Bracketology projections, as the highest-ranked No. 2 seed. He has the Vols slotted in the South Region with No. 1-seed Houston, his No. 3 overall seed, as well as No. 3-seed Duke (No. 10 overall) and No. 4-seed Illinois (No. 16 overall).
Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee vs. Texas A&M, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Vols are home to host Texas A&M (15-11, 6-7) on Saturday in an 8 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN at Thompson-Boling Arena. Auburn (20-6, 9-4) comes to Knoxville on Tuesday.
Tennessee then goes to Alabama next Saturday and goes to South Carolina on March 6. Kentucky is the Senior Day opponent at Thompson-Boling Arena on March 9 in the regular-season finale.
The Vols on Tuesday rallied from down seven points in the second half to win 72-67 at Missouri.
“Unbelievable team,” Missouri coach Dennis Gates said. “I think Rick Barnes‘ best team he’s ever had. They’re well balanced. They have everything you need. That’s characteristics of a national championship team.
“They have inside play, they have depth, they have shooting, they have a potential national player of the year, great point guard, assist-to-turnover ratio and they have veterans.”
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Vols ranked No. 6 in NET with 5-5 Quad 1 record
Tennessee is No. 6 in the NET rankings, with a 5-5 record in Quad 1 games. The Vols are 5-1 in Quad 2 and a combined 10-0 in Quad 3 and Quad 4.
Ahead of Tennessee in the NET, in order, is Houston, Purdue, UConn and Alabama. Houston, Purdue and UConn all have nine Quad 1 wins while Arizona has seven and Alabama has three.
Arizona is 7-4 in Quad 1, 3-1 in Quad 2, 7-1 in Quad 3 and 3-0 in Quad 4. Alabama is 3-6 in Quad 1, 7-1 in Quad 2 and a combined 9-0 in Quad 3 and Quad 4.
Tennessee’s final four games on the regular-season schedule are all Quad 1 opportunities — home against Auburn, at Alabama, at South Carolina and home versus Kentucky.
The other No. 2 seeds in Lunardi’s projections, in order, are North Carolina, Marquette and Kansas. Alabama leads the No. 3 seeds, ahead of Duke, Creighton and Iowa State. Baylor is the top No. 4 seed, alongside Auburn, San Diego State and Illinois.
