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Where Tennessee Basketball is currently seeded by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•02/15/25•

GrantRamey

Jahmai Mashack, Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Tennessee Athletics
Jahmai Mashack, Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Basketball is currently projected to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and is the No. 5 overall seed, according to the in-season bracket preview revealed by the tournament selection committee Saturday afternoon on CBS.

The selection committee revealed its current top-16 seeds, with No. 1 Auburn leading the way, ahead of Alabama, Duke and Florida.

Tennessee was in the East Region, where Duke was the No. 1 seed. Arizona was the No. 3 seed and St. John’s No. 4 seed.

The other No. 2 seeds were Texas A&M, Purdue and Houston. The No. 3 seeds were Iowa State, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Arizona. The No. 4 seeds were Texas Tech, Michigan, Kansas and St. John’s.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi on Saturday morning had Tennessee as the top No. 2 seed and his No. 5 overall seed. Vols were previously projected as a No. 1 seed in ESPN Bracketology but slipped to the first No. 2 seed after the 75-64 loss to Kentucky at Rupp Arena Tuesday night. 

The new bracket projection from ESPN on Friday had Tennessee in the East Region, where Duke was the No .1 seed. The Vols were matched up against No. 15 Towson in Cleveland, opposite of No. 7 Louisville and No. 10 West Virginia.

Tennessee has never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but has been a No. 2 seed three times, including twice under Rick Barnes.

Florida moves past Tennessee for final No. 1 seed in ESPN Bracketology

Florida jumped the Vols to become the new fourth No. 1 seed, behind No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Duke. Lunardi’s other No. 2 seeds were Houston, Purdue and Texas A&M, respectively.

Kentucky moved up from the No. 16 overall seed to the No. 11 overall seed, joining Iowa State, Texas Tech and Iowa State as No. 3 seeds

Tennessee (20-5, 7-5 SEC) is hosting Vanderbilt (17-7, 5-6) on Saturday (1 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network). Vandy, which lost at home against Auburn Tuesday night, upset the Vols in Nashville, 76-75, on January 18. The Commodores have lost four of six games since beating Tennessee. 

After hosting Vanderbilt, Tennessee goes back on the road for two games, going to Texas A&M on February 22, then to LSU on February 25. The Vols close the regular-season schedule in March with home dates against Alabama (March 1) and South Carolina (March 8), sandwiched around a trip to Ole Miss (March 5). 

Tennessee has eight Quad 1 wins, three Quad 1 games left on schedule

Tennessee dropped to No. 5 in both the NET and the KenPom.com ratings after the loss at Kentucky, but the Vols moved back up to No. 4 in the NET on Thursday.

Tennessee is still rated No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 86.5 points per 100 possessions, and is No. 37 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 117.9 points per 100 possessions.

The Vols are 8-5 in Quad 1 games this season, with a 12-0 record ing Quad 2, 3 and 4 games. The eight Quad 1 wins are tied for second most in college basketball with Kentucky (8-6) and Alabama (8-3). Auburn leads the country in Quad 1 wins with 13.

There are currently three Quad 1 games remaining on Tennessee’s schedule, against Texas A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss. Vanderbilt and LSU are Quad 2 games and South Carolina is a Quad 3 game. 

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