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BetOnline sets odds for Tennessee to get the fourth No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•02/27/24•

GrantRamey

March Madness
Kirby Lee | USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee basketball has 7/4 odds to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to odds set recently by BetOnline. Only Arizona at 5/7 has better odds than the Vols.

Arizona is -140 and Tennessee is +175. Seven other teams were given odds for the fourth No. 1 seed: North Carolina (15/2; +750); Marquette (14/1; +1400); Alabama (16/1; +1600); Iowa State (22/1; +2200); Duke (33/1; +3300); Kansas (40/1; +4000); Auburn (100/1; +1000). 

BetOnline’s odds were for the last No. 1 seed on the top line of the NCAA Tournament, with Purdue, UConn and Houston “basically locked up” as the other three No. 1 seeds.

Tennessee has never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols have been a No. 2 seed three times (2006, 2008 and 2019) and a No. 3 seed twice (2018, 2022). 

Where the Vols stand in ESPN Bracketology 

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Tennessee as the top No. 2 seed in his latest NCAA Tournament on Monday, after moving the Vols between the No. 5 and No. 6 overall seeds over the weekend. 

Tennessee moved up to No. 4 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll on Monday, the team’s highest ranking of the season in the polls.

The Vols (21-6, 11-3 SEC), host No. 11 Auburn (21-6, 10-4) on Wednesday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN2) at Thompson-Boling Arena, will a big opportunity to earn a No. 1 seed over the next two weeks.

Tennessee’s final four games on the regular-season schedule are against all ranked teams and are all Quad 1 games. The Vols go to No. 14 Alabama on Saturday night, go to No. 18 South Carolina next Wednesday and host No. 16 Kentucky on March 9 for Senior Day in Knoxville. 

Alabama is a No. 3 seed in Lunardi’s Bracketology and Auburn is a No. 4. Kentucky on Monday night was listed as one of the next four teams beyond the top-16 seeds.

Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament under Rick Barnes 

The Vols have made five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Rick Barnes, playing as a No. 5 seed or hire in each of them.

Tennessee went to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago as a No. 4 seed, beating No. 13 Louisiana and No. 5 Duke before losing to No. 9 Florida Atlantic. 

The Vols were a No. 3 seed in 2022, losing to No. 11 Michigan in the second round and were a No. 5 seed in 2021, losing to No. 12 Oregon State in the first round. 

Tennessee went to the Sweet Sixteen in 2019 as a No. 2 seed, beating No. 15 Colgate and No. 10 Iowa before losing to No. 3 Purdue in overtime. In 2018 a No. 3-seed Tennessee beat No. 14 Wright State, then lost to No. 11 Loyola-Chicago. 

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