ESPN Bracketology drops Tennessee back to a No. 2 seed after loss at Ole Miss

Tennessee Basketball’s return to the No. 1-seed line didn’t last long. The Vols were back down to a No. 2 seed in ESPN’s Bracketology update from Joe Lunardi on Thursday, following the 78-76 loss at Ole Miss Wednesday night.

Lunardi now has the Vols as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region (Indianapolis) with Houston as the No. 1 seed. Texas A&M is the No. 3 and Purdue is No. 4.

Lunardi said earlier this week that Auburn, Duke and Houston have locked up the first three No. 1 seeds, with Florida, Tennessee and Alabama battling for the final spot as a No. 1.

Florida won 99-94 at Alabama on Wednesday and the Gators jumped back up to grab the fourth and final No. 1 seed on Thursday, while Tennessee fell to the top spot among the No. 2 seeds, as Lunardi’s No. 5 overall seed.

Vols ranked No. 5 in NET, KenPom

The Vols are ranked No. 5 in the NET with a 9-6 record in Quad 1 after losing a Quad 1 game at Ole Miss. They’re a combined 15-0 in Quad 2, Quad 3 and Quad 4.

KenPom.com has Tennessee at No. 5 overall, with the Vols moving up to No. 21 in adjusted offensive efficiency and staying at No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Lunardi moved Tennessee back up to a No. 1 seed on Sunday after the Vols beat Alabama 79-76 in Knoxville. Florida had dropped to the No. 6 overall seed after its 88-83 loss at Georgia last week. 

Tennessee (24-6, 11-6 SEC) on Wednesday led Ole Miss by as many as nine points in the first half and eight points early in the second half, but the Rebels rallied to win behind Jaemyn Brakefield’s 19 points, all of which were scored in the final 10 minutes, 24 seconds.  

“Just everybody on the team made some winning plays for us tonight,” Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said after the game, “and that’s what it takes against a 1-seed-type team like Tennessee. There’s no other way to be in these games unless everybody plays well.”

Jordan Gainey scored 17 points off the bench for Tennessee and Chaz Lanier had 13 of his 15 in the first half. Zakai Zeigler had eight points and 15 assists and Felix Okpara had 13 points and seven rebounds. 

“When Tennessee shoots like that and has balanced 3-point shooting,” Beard said, “I think they’ll be a tough out in the six-game (NCAA) tournament.”

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee vs. South Carolina, Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Igor Milicic Jr. tied the game with 26 seconds left on a four-point play, getting fouled on a made 3-pointer then hitting the foul shot that followed. He missed on the final possession with a look at the rim, appearing to lose grip of the ball on the way up.

Brakefield scored that game-winning points with 7.5 seconds left after grabbing an offensive rebound. 

Ole Miss out-rebounded Tennessee 24-13 in the second half, including 11-2 on the offensive glass, and out-scored the Vols 46-20 in points in the paint. The Rebels went 0-for-8 from the 3-point line after halftime, but rebounded 11 of their 21 missed shots in the second half, scoring 11 second-chance points. 

“I told our team I thought (Ole Miss) wanted the game more,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference, “which is always disappointing.”

“(That’s) a huge compliment coming from coach Barnes,” Beard said, “on a night where obviously Tennessee is playing for seeding. That means a lot coming from him. 

“I don’t know if we wanted it more. I’m not an expert on their locker room, but I would say our guys understood the opportunity that we were playing for tonight. We’ve never talked about making the (NCAA) tournament.”