Where the selection committee currently has Tennessee seeded in the NCAA Tournament

With two weeks left in the regular season, and three weeks away from Selection Sunday, Tennessee basketball is currently a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Alabama was the No. 1 overall seed, with Houston, Purdue and also on the top-seed line. Texas, Arizona, Baylor and UCLA are the current No. 2 seeds.

The NCAA Tournament selection committee on Saturday afternoon released its current top 16 seeds on the NCAA March Madness Bracket Breakdown Preview show. No. 10 Tennessee lost to Kentucky 66-54 Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.

The Vols, who took down No. 1 Alabama 68-59 at Thompson-Boling Arena Wednesday night, is No. 3 in the NET rankings, the metric the selection committee uses to seed the 68-team bracket.

“I look at Tennessee in the three spot here, close to being a two,” former Villanova head coach Jay Wright said during the show. “And they’ve just beaten the No. 1 team in the country this week, right? And they’re a three seed. So it shows you the balance and the depth of this tournament. 

“Tennessee is one of the best defensive teams in the country, which spurs their half court offense when they can’t get out in transition. They’re a scary team as a three seed.”

Tennessee has a 6-2 record in Quad 1 games, a 3-4 record in Quad 2 games and a combined 11-0 record in Quad 3 and Quad 4 games. 

The Vols have played three of the top five seeds — Alabama, Kansas and Kentucky — and went 3-0 in those games. They have a 3-1 record against the top eight seeds, with the loss coming on the road at Arizona.

“Tennessee, they could’ve easily been a two seed,” Chris Reynolds, the chairman of the NCAA Tournament selection committee said during the show, adding that there was “a lot of conversation” surrounding the Vols and their seeding.

“They struggled in the Quad 2, when you look at their Quad 2 record. But they have strong records in Quad 1.” 

A closer look at the Vols NCAA Tournament resume this season

The NET, which replaced the RPI in 2018, looks at team value index (opponent, location and winner), efficiency (offensive efficiency minus defensive efficiency), winning percentage and adjusted win percentage (weighted values for a road win, +1.4, a neutral-site win, +1.0, and home win, +0.6).

The Vols for the last three months have been No. 1 in KenPom.com‘s adjusted defensive efficiency rating, currently giving up 85.8 points per 100 possessions. They’re 55th in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 112.1 points per 100 possessions.

KenPom has Tennessee ranked No. 4 overall in total adjusted efficiency, at 26.33. Houston is No. 1, at 29.79, ahead of No. 2 Alabama (27.20) and No. 3 UCLA (26.66).

Tennessee’s best wins this season have come against Alabama, No. 2 in the NET, Kansas (No. 6), on a neutral floor in the Bahamas in the Battle 4 Atlantis in November, and Texas (No. 9) at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 28.

The Vols also three other top-50 NET wins over Maryland (No. 19), Auburn (No. 27) and Mississippi State (No. 44).

Tennessee basketball in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Rick Barnes

Tennessee under head coach Rick Barnes has been a No. 2 seed, a No. 3 seed (twice) and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

Last March the Vols, as a No. 3 seed, lost to No. 11-seed Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis. Tennessee lost as a No. 5 seed to Oregon State in Indianapolis in 2021 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen as a No. 2 seed in 2019, before losing to No. 3-seed Purdue in overtime in Louisville. 

No. 11-seed Loyola Chicago, the NCAA Tournament’s Cinderella team, made a run to the Final Four in the 2018, taking out No. 3-seed Tennessee in the second round.