ESPN Bracketology update has Tennessee as No. 1 seed in Lexington
Joe Lunardi’s new NCAA Tournament projection has Tennessee Basketball as the No. 1 seed in the West Region and spending the first weekend in Lexington.
The ESPN Bracketology update from Lunardi on Sunday moved the Vols back up to a No. 1 seed after the 79-76 win over Alabama Saturday at Food City Center, bumping the Crimson Tide down to the first team on the No. 2-seed line.
Lunardi’s new bracket on Tuesday has Tennessee facing No. 16-seed Norfolk State at Rupp Arena in Lexington, across from No. 8 BYU and No. 9 New Mexico.
The Vols beat Norfolk State 67-52 at Food City Center on December 31, behind 24 points from Chaz Lanier and 10 points each from Zakai Zeigler, Jordan Gainey and Cade Phillips.
Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee at Ole Miss, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET
No. 4 Tennessee (24-5, 11-5 SEC) goes to Ole Miss (20-9, 9-7) on Wednesday in a 9 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN2 at The Pavilion at Ole Miss in Oxford.
The Vols host South Carolina (12-17, 2-14) Saturday on Senior Day in Knoxville in the regular-season finale.
Tennessee needs one win this week to clinch a top-four finish in the SEC and get a double-bye in the SEC Tournament, which begins next Wednesday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Michigan State is the No. 2 seed in Lunardi’s West Region, Texas Tech is the No. 3 and Michigan is the No. 4. Missouri is the No. 5, Marquette is the No. 6 and Mississippi State is the No. 7.
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Lunardi has Tennessee as the fourth and final No. 1 seed, behind Auburn, Duke and Houston. His No. 2 seeds are Alabama, Florida, Michigan State and Iowa State. The No. 3s are Texas Tech, Wisconsin, St. John’s and Kentucky and the No. 4s are Purdue, Arizona, Texas A&M and Michigan.
Vols are No. 5 in NET rankings, KenPom.com ratings
Tennessee dropped one spot in the NET rankings after Saturday’s games, moving down to No. 5 while Florida moved back up to No. 4. The Gators beat Texas A&M Saturday in Gainesville.
The Vols are now 10-5 in Quad 1 games, 4-0 in Quad 2, 4-0 in Quad 3 and 6-0 in Quad 4. Florida is 6-4 in Quad 1, 9-0 in Quad 2, 4-0 in Quad 3 and 6-0 in Quad 4.
Tennessee’s 10 Quad 1 wins are tied for the second most in the country. Auburn is 16-2 in Quad 1 games and Alabama is now 10-6. No other team has more than nine.
The road game at Ole Miss is another Quad 1 opportunity, while South Carolina is a Quad 3 game.
The Vols stayed at No. 5 in the KenPom.com ratings, staying No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 87.1 points per 100 possessions, and dropping three spots to No. 27 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 118.4 points per 100 possessions.
