Joe Lunardi keeps Tennessee as a No. 1 seed after Kentucky loss, but Vols have new competition

Tennessee basketball survived the 85-81 loss to Kentucky Saturday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena with its bid for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in tact. The Vols have new competition to be worried about, though. 

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi kept the Vols as his No. 4 overall seed on Sunday afternoon, sticking with Tennessee as the No. 1 seed in the West Region after Arizona lost 78-65 at USC late Saturday night. 

“Arizona has fallen to No. 6 overall,” Lunardi wrote, “opening the door for Tennessee and North Carolina to fight it out this week for the final No. 1 seed.”

Lunardi wrote earlier Saturday night that Arizona would’ve jumped past Tennessee (24-7) and back to the final No. 1 spot had the Wildcats beat the Trojans. Before the Arizona-USC game, Lunardi also wrote that Tennessee, Arizona and North Carolina were in a “virtual tie” with the fourth No. 1 seed up for grabs.

“Tennessee is back in a virtual tie with Arizona and surging North Carolina for the fourth and final No. 1 seed,” Lunardi wrote. “The Vols were in the driver’s seat before Saturday, but they will now carry a little extra burden at the SEC tournament.

Tennessee stays as Joe Lunardi’s No. 4 overall seed, ahead of No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Arizona

Now Arizona (24-8) is back down to the No. 6 overall seed and was jumped instead by North Carolina (25-6), which moved up to No. 5 overall after winning at Duke on Saturday. 

Tennessee stayed at No. 5 in the NET rankings on Sunday but is now 7-6 in Quad 1 games. The Kentucky loss was a Quad 1 game and the Vols lost another Quad 1 win from their resume when Florida lost at Vanderbilt Saturday, dropping Tennessee’s win over the Gators in January to Quad 2.

Arizona stayed at No. 4 in the NET with an 8-3 record in Quad 1 games, but now has a 6-3 record in Quad 2. The Wildcats are 8-1 in Quad 3, with a loss at Oregon State, and 2-0 in Quad 4.

Tennessee is 6-1 in Quad 2, with a home loss to South Carolina, and is a combined 11-0 in Quad 3 (6-0) and Quad 4 (5-0).

North Carolina moved up three spots in the NET after the win at Duke, moving to 7-4 in Quad 1. The Tar Heels are 6-2 in Quad 2, with losses at Georgia Tech and at Syracuse, and are a combined 12-0 in Quad 3 (7-0) and Quad 4 (5-0).

The Tar Heels won head-to-head against Tennessee in the ACC-SEC Challenge at the Dean Smith Center on November 29. North Carolina led by as many as 24 points before having to hold on for a 100-92 win.

North Carolina lost three times over a span of five games between January 30 and February 13, but have won six straight since then. The Tar Heels are the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and on Friday will play either No. 8 Virginia Tech or No. 9 Florida State. 

Up Next: SEC Tournament, Friday, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tennessee’s loss to Kentucky snapped a seven-game winning streak, which included three straight Quad 1 wins before the loss to the Wildcats. The Vols beat Auburn at home, then won road games at Alabama and South Carolina to clinch the outright SEC regular-season championship.

The Vols as the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament will play either No. 8 LSU or No. 9 Mississippi State on Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (TV: ESPN) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. 

Lunardi’s updated seed list on Sunday afternoon had Tennessee in the West Region alongside No. 2-seed Arizona (No. 6 overall), No. 3 seed Baylor (No. 11) and No. 4-seed Auburn (No. 16).

The other three No. 1 seeds were Purdue (Midwest), UConn (East) and Houston (South), with Purdue as the No. 1 overall seed and UConn and Houston tied for the second overall seed.

Lunardi’s other No. 2 seeds were North Carolina (No. 5), Marquette (No. 7) and Iowa State (No. 8). His other No. 3 seeds were Kansas (No. 13), Illinois (No. 14) and Alabama (No. 15).