Tennessee moves back to Lexington in ESPN's updated NCAA Tournament projection

Tennessee Basketball’s 70-65 win over Auburn in the SEC Tournament semifinal Saturday at Bridgestone Arena, paired with Alabama’s 104-82 loss to Florida, has the Vols projected to play the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament closer to home.

ESPN’s Bracketology update Saturday night not only moved Tennessee to the top No. 2 seed, one spot ahead of Alabama, but also moved the Vols back to Lexington for the first weekend, where they would play at Rupp Arena in the first round on Thursday.

Tennessee also moved from the East Region in previous projections to the Midwest Region on Saturday night, swapping spots with Alabama. Houston is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest while Duke is the No. 1 in the East. 

Tennessee vs. Florida, SEC Tournament Championship, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tennessee (27-6) faces 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.

Joe Lunardi’s NCAA Tournament bracket projection had Tennessee facing No. 15 Montana in the first round, opposite of No. 7 Saint Mary’s and No. 10 Arkansas. 

Wisconsin is ESPN’s No. 3 seed in the Midwest, Texas A&M is the No. 4 seed, Purdue is the No. 5 and Louisville is the No. 6. Lunardi has Vanderbilt as a No. 11 seed, playing in the First Four with a spot in the Midwest on the line. 

Tennessee moved back up one spot to No. 5 in the NET rankings after Saturday’s games, swapping places with Alabama.

The Vols are No. 5 overall in the KenPom.com ratings. They’re No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 88.5 points per 100 possessions, and are up to No. 18 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 120.0 points per 100 possessions. 

Lunardi wrote on Saturday night that Florida will be the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament bracket and will be in the West Region, with Auburn as the No. 1 overall seed and in the South Region, along with Houston in the Midwest and Duke in the East. 

Florida is No. 4 in the NET, one spot ahead of Tennessee, with a 10-4 record in Quad 1 games and a 9-0 record in Quad 2. The Vols are 11-6 in Quad 1 and 5-0 in Quad 2. 

Florida coach Todd Golden: Gators ‘absolutely’ deserve final No. 1 seed

Florida coach Todd Golden said Saturday night that he believes his team “absolutely” will be and should be the final No. 1 seed in the 68-team field on Sunday night when the bracket is revealed.

“Absolutely,” Golden said. “Absolutely. Regardless of the result tomorrow, I would say yes. We have four losses — 29-4 right now. We’ve won I think 11 out of our last 12 or 10 out of our last 11, something along those lines. I think we have the best collection of high-level wins in college basketball across the board.”

Tennessee and Florida will play a rubber match in the SEC Tournament title game after splitting their regular-season series. The Gators won 73-43 on January 7 in Gainesville and the Vols won 64-44 in Knoxville three weeks later. 

“I don’t really think it’s a debate regardless of the result (on Sunday),” Golden said. “With that being said, another opportunity for us to get a really good win. Another big challenge. A team that I would argue is one of the most physical and just tough-minded winning programs in America. 

“Tennessee, obviously Rick Barnes is an amazing Hall of Fame coach. They got the best of us last time we played. Our guys will be excited. We’ll be ready to go. More than anything, it’s just a great opportunity for us to get a championship.”