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Where Jay Bilas ranks Tennessee Basketball in the 1-68 Bilas Index

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•02/20/25•

GrantRamey

Jay Bilas
© Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jay Bilas agrees with this week’s The Associated Press and the Coaches Poll. The ESPN college basketball analyst had Tennessee at No. 6 in his Bilas Index on Tuesday, ranking the 68 best teams in the country.

“As per usual,” Bilas wrote, “the Vols have the No. 1 defense in the country but are a bit up and down offensively. When Chaz Lanier is aggressive and Igor Milicic Jr. and Felix Okpara are assertive threats with the ball, Tennessee can beat anybody. 

“But offensive inconsistency has led to some frustrating losses, all of which have come in SEC play.”

Tennessee, which dropped one spot in the AP Top 25 and two spots in the Coaches Poll on Monday, is No. 1 in KenPom.com‘s adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up just 87.3 points per 100 possessions. The Vols are No. 30 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 118.3 points per 100 possessions.

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee at No. 7 Texas A&M, Saturday, Noon ET

Bilas had 14 of 16 SEC teams ranked in his top 68, with all 14 ranked No. 46 or higher: No. 1 Auburn; No. 4 Florida; No. 5 Alabama; No. 6 Tennessee; No. 9 Texas A&M; No. 14 Missouri; No. 17 Kentucky ; No. 22 Ole Miss; No. 28 Mississippi State; No. 33 Oklahoma; No. 34 Texas; No. 42 Vanderbilt; No. 43 Georgia; No. 46 Arkansas.

Tennessee (21-5, 8-5 SEC) goes back on the road at Texas A&M (20-6, 9-4) on Saturday (Noon Eastern Time, ESPN) at Reed Arena in College Station. The Vols go to LSU next Tuesday, then return home to host Alabama on March 1 at Food City Center. 

The regular-season schedule closes with a road game at Ole Miss (March 5) and a home date against South Carolina (March 8).

Tennessee has 11 wins against teams ranked in the Bilas Index: No. 4 Florida; No. 14 Missouri; No. 23 Louisville; No. 25 Baylor; No. 26 Illinois; No. 28  Mississippi State; No. 33 Oklahoma; No. 34 Texas ; No. 42 Vanderbilt; No. 43 Georgia; No. 46 Arkansas.

Vols currently projected as No. 2 seed in NCAA Tournament

Tennessee is currently projected as the top No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to the tournament selection committee, which released its current top-16 seeds on Saturday. The Vols came in as the No. 5 overall seed and was in the East Region with No. 1-seed Duke.

Auburn, Alabama, Duke and Florida were the No. 1 seeds, in that order. 

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi also has Tennessee as his No. 5 overall seed and the No. 2 seed in the East Region in his latest ESPN Bracketology update. 

Lunardi’s Bracketology update on Tuesday had the Vols as the No. 2 in the East Region — Duke was the No. 1 seed in the East — facing No. 15 Central Connecticut in the first round, opposite of No. 7 Louisville and No. 10 West Virginia.

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