ESPN Bracketology: Tennessee moves up after win over Auburn, but won't be No. 1 seed
NASHVILLE — Tennessee Basketball moved up to the No. 2 seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology update Saturday night, but Florida is a lock to be the fourth and final No. 1 seed according to Joe Lunardi.
Lunardi wrote Saturday night the Gators “will be the fourth No. 1 seed” in the West Region, after Florida beat Alabama 104-82 and Tennessee beat Auburn 70-65 in the SEC Tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Vols will face Florida (29-4) in Sunday’s SEC Tournament championship game, scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN. The NCAA Tournament’s 68-team bracket will be revealed at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS.
Tennessee have been a No. 2 seed three times in program history
Tennessee (27-6) entered the Auburn game widely projected by ESPN as the second team on the No. 2-seed line for the NCAA Tournament, behind Alabama, the top No. 2 seed, and Florida, the final No. 1 seed.
Auburn will be the No. 1 overall seed, according to Lunardi, despite having now lost three of four.
Lunardi’s NCAA Tournament bracket projection on Saturday morning had Tennessee as the No. 2 seed in the East Region (Newark), where Duke is the No. 1 seed. He had the Vols facing No. 15 Bryant in Cleveland, opposite of No. 7 Gonzaga and No. 10 Arkansas.
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Tennessee’s win over Auburn and Alabama’s 22-point loss to Florida could mean the Vols staying closer to home in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Lunardi previously had Alabama projected to play in Lexington while the Vols were in Cleveland.
Vols dropped to No. 6 in NET rankings Friday night
The Vols have never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but have been a No. 2 seed three times, including twice under Rick Barnes. The 2019 team went to the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed, before losing to No. 3 Purdue in overtime, and last season’s team went on a run to the Elite Eight as a No. 2 seed, before losing to No. 1 Purdue in the Midwest Region.
Tennessee beat Texas 83-72 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal on Friday and Florida beat Missouri. Tennessee dropped to No. 6 in the NET rankings after Alabama’s 99-70 win over Kentucky late Friday night.
The KenPom ratings have the Vols at No. 5 overall. They dropped to No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency after the wins over Texas and Auburn but moved up to No. 18 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
