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What Tennessee's 73-43 loss at Florida means for its NCAA Tournament seeding

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•about 23 hours•

GrantRamey

Tennessee Basketball | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
(Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images) Jan 7, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Bishop Boswell (3), Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler (5) and Tennessee Volunteers forward Igor Milicic Jr. (7) talk during a timeout against the Florida Gators during the second half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

No. 1 Tennessee’s 73-43 loss at No. 8 Florida Tuesday night at Exactech Arena in Gainesville cost the Vols one spot in NCAA Tournament seeding, according to Wednesday’s update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Lunardi on Tuesday had the Vols (14-1, 1-1 SEC) as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and the No. 2 overall seed in the 68-team bracket, behind Auburn. 

On Wednesday he had Tennessee as the No. 3 overall seed, staying in the Midwest while getting jumped by Duke on the seed list. 

Florida moves up on No. 2-seed line after beating Vols

Florida (14-1, 1-1) moved up two spots on the seed list, from No. 8 overall to No. 6, and is currently a No. 2 seed in the West Region, according to Lunardi. 

Behind Auburn, Duke and Tennessee, the updated seeds had Iowa State as the fourth No. 1 seed. Alabama (No. 5), Florida (No. 6), Marquette (No. 7) and Mississippi State (No. 8) were the No. 2 seeds.

The No. 3 seeds were Kansas, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Illinois, respectively. Kentucky dropped from the No. 2-seed line after an 82-69 loss at Georgia Tuesday night. 

The No. 4 seeds were Oregon, Houston, Michigan and UConn. 

Lunardi currently has 13 SEC teams in the field and one team on the bubble: Auburn (No. 1 seed, No. 1 overall); Tennessee (No. 1 seed, No. 3); Alabama, No. 2 seed, No. 5); Florida (No. 2 seed, No. 6); Mississippi State (No. 2 seed, No. 8); Kentucky (No. 3 seed, No. 10); Texas A&M (No. 3 seed, No. 11); Ole Miss (No. 7 seed, No. 28); Georgia (No. 8 seed, No. 31); Arkansas (No. 9 seed, No. 36); Vanderbilt (No. 11 seed, Last Four In); Missouri (No. 11 seed, Last Four In).

Tennessee is No. 3 in the NET rankings with a 3-1 record in Quad 1 games, a 1-0 record in Quad 2 and a 10-0 record in Quad 3 and Quad 4. 

The Vols dropped to No. 6 overall in the KenPom.com ratings after the loss at Florida. They’re No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency and dropped to No. 33 in adjusted offensive efficiency.

Tennessee Basketball’s upcoming schedule

Texas (11-4, 0-2) is in the ‘First Four Out’ category as the No. 70 overall seed according to Lunardi. Tennessee faces the Longhorns on Saturday (6 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN2) at The Moody Center in Austin. 

Tennessee has never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the Vols have been a No. 2 seed multiple times, including last season when they went to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1 Purdue. 

After the Texas game on Saturday, the Vols host Georgia next Wednesday then go back on the road to Vanderbilt on January 18. Mississippi State comes to Knoxville on January 21, before Tennessee goes to No. 1 Auburn on January 25.

A home game against Kentucky closes the January schedule on January 28, before Florida makes the return trip to Knoxville on February 1. 

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