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Bracketology: Joe Lunardi says Tennessee is one of five teams with 'the profile of a No. 1 seed'

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 12 hours•

GrantRamey

Jordan Gainey, Tennessee Basketball | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
(Randy Sartin-Imagn Images) Jan 15, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan Gainey (11) celebrates after a play against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

After spending a few days as a projected No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee has moved back up to the fourth and final No. 1 seed in ESPN’s Bracketology from Joe Lunardi. 

“The gap between the last 1-seed (Tennessee) and the first 2-seed (Alabama) is minimal,” Lunardi wrote on Thursday. “There are essentially five teams right now with the profile of a No. 1 seed.”

Tennessee moved up and Alabama dropped down after Ole Miss beat the Crimson Tide 74-64 in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday and the Vols beat Georgia 74-56 on Wednesday in Knoxville. 

Florida, which lost at home to Missouri on Tuesday, is also a No. 2 seed, along with Kentucky and Marquette. The other three No. 1 seeds are Auburn, Duke and Iowa State. 

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee at Vanderbilt, Saturday

No. 6 Tennessee (16-1, 3-1 SEC) plays at Vanderbilt (14-3, 2-2) on Saturday afternoon (3:30 Eastern Time, SEC Network) at Memorial Gym in Nashville. The Vols lost at Florida last week, but bounced back with a road win at Texas and the home win over Georgia. 

ESPN had Tennessee at No. 4 in its power rankings this week, the second of 10 SEC teams in ESPN’s top 25. 

“Tennessee returned to its early-season form in the second half against Georgia on Wednesday,” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote, “coming out of halftime on a 26-4 run and cruising to an 18-point win. Zakai Zeigler was terrific, hitting three 3s in a 70-second stretch and finishing with 16 points, 7 assists and 6 steals — while Jordan Gainey  came off the bench to score 19. 

“Meanwhile, Chaz Lanier continues to struggle. He shot just 2-for-16 against Georgia, bringing his totals over the past three games to 8.3 points on 18.6% shooting.”

Vols ranked No. 4 in ESPN College Basketball Power Rankings

Auburn topped the ESPN power rankings, ranked ahead of No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 6 Florida, No. 8 Alabama, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 18 Ole Miss, No. 19 Mississippi State, No. 21 Missouri and No. 25 Georgia. 

Lunardi’s projected NCAA Tournament bracket on Friday morning had 12 SEC teams in the 68-team field. Tennessee was the No. 1 seed in the West Region, matched up against No. 16 Omaha at Rupp Arena in Lexington, opposite of No. 8 Clemson and No. 9 UCLA.

Auburn was the No. 1 overall seed, playing in the South Region. Kentucky, Florida and Alabama were No. 2 seeds, Texas A&M was a No. 4 seed and Ole Miss and Mississippi State were No. 5 seeds. Missouri was a No. 8 seed, moving into the field after its win at Florida, and Georgia was a No. 7 seed.

Tennessee is No. 4 in the NET Ranking, the metric the NCAA Tournament selection committee uses to compile and seed the field. The Vols have a 5-1 Quad 1 record and are 1-0 in Quad 2, 3-0 in Quad 3 and 7-0 in Quad 4.

KenPom.com has Tennessee at No. 5 overall, ranked No. 4 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 88.2 points per 100 possessions, and No. 24 on offense, scoring 118.1 points per 100 possessions.

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