Tennessee Basketball moves up to a No. 1 seed in ESPN Bracketology
UT Martin coach Jeremy Shulman on Wednesday night described Tennessee as one of the best college basketball teams in the country. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi agrees.
ESPN’s latest Bracketolgoy update this week moved Tennessee up to a No. 1 seed. Lunardi had the Vols as the top seed in the East Region, playing the opening weekend at Rupp Arena in Lexington, with Newark as the regional site.
“I think Tennessee might be the best team in the country,” Shulman said after UT Martin’s 78-35 loss to the Vols Wednesday at Food City Center. “I think Coach Barnes, if he’s not the best coach in the country, he’s one of the best, most underrated coaches in the country. It’s phenomenal with what he’s done.”
Quinnipiac was the No. 16 seed matched up with Tennessee, across form No. 8 Pittsburgh and No. 9 BYU. The other No. 1 seeds were Auburn (South), Kansas (Midwest) and Gonzaga (West).
The Vols started as a No. 3 seed in Lunardi’s preseason projections before moving up to the No. 2-seed line last week and No. 1 this week.
Lunardi’s current No. 2 seeds are Kentucky, Duke, UConn and Iowa State. The No. 3 seeds are Houston, Purdue, Alabama and Marquette.
Tennessee last season was battling North Carolina for the final No. 1 seed, but fell to a No. 2 after losing to Mississippi State in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament.
Vols up to No. 2 overall in KenPom.com ratings
Tennessee on Monday moved up three spots to No. 6 in the Coaches Poll and four spots to No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25. The jump came after wins over Virginia and Baylor last week to win the Baha Mar Championship in The Bahamas.
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The Vols are up to No. 2 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, ranked No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 9 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Tennessee (7-0) is off until Syracuse (4-2) comes to Knoxville on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) in the SEC-ACC Challenge at Food City Center.
Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament history under Rick Barnes
Tennessee under Barnes has been a No. 2 seed, a No. 3 seed twice, a No. 4 seed and a No. 5. The Vols are coming off back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances and last year went to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history.
Two years ago the Vols went to the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 4 seed, beating No. 13-seed Louisiana in the first round and No. 5 Duke in the second round. They lost 62-55 to No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the third round.
They were a No. 3 in 2022, beating Longwood in the first round before being upset by No. 11-seed Michigan in the second round. They were a No. 3 in 2018, beating Wright State before losing to No. 11-seed Loyola-Chicago.
