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Tennessee Basketball Bracketology: 3 of 4 Experts Have Vols in NCAA Tournament

By Caleb Calhoun

Feb 8, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan Bowden (23) and guard Robert Hubbs III (3) and forward Grant Williams (2) and guard Jordan Bone (0) and forward Kyle Alexander (11) huddle during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2017; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jordan Bowden (23) and guard Robert Hubbs III (3) and forward Grant Williams (2) and guard Jordan Bone (0) and forward Kyle Alexander (11) huddle during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee won 75-66. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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After Tennessee basketball’s win over the Ole Miss Rebels, three of four major Feb. 10 Bracketology predictions have the Volunteers in the NCAA Tournament.

They dropped four spots in the RPI to No. 39, but Tennessee basketball is still in great shape for the NCAA Tournament.

And after a crucial win at home over the Ole Miss Rebels, the Vols have gained significant traction for the NCAA Tournament.

If they could have just beaten the Mississippi State Bulldogs, they’d be in amazing shape. Still, they are 14-10 with the No. 5 ranked strength of schedule.

And bracketology experts are starting to see that. So three of the four major projections released on Friday, Feb. 10, put the Vols in the NCAA Tournament.

Joe Lunardi’s ESPN bracket has Tennessee basketball as a No. 12 seed and one of the last four teams in along with the Arkansas Razorbacks, Indiana Hoosiers, and Seton Hall Pirates. He has them playing Indiana in a play-in game.

The USA TODAY bracket has Tennessee basketball more firmly in, as a No. 10 seed.

The Fox Sports bracket is the same way, with the Vols as a No. 10 seed.

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Those two brackets don’t even have Tennessee in a play-in game or as one of the last four in. So they are firmly in.

Then there’s Jerry Palm of CBS Sports. Palm’s bracket shows an incredible bias to his Midwest and Big Ten roots, as he has the Michigan State Spartans and Ohio State Buckeyes both in over the Vols despite the fact that they both have similar records and a much worse strength of schedule.

Oh, he also even has the Michigan Wolverines in.

But the Vols, who have a significantly higher RPI ranking than all three of those teams, can’t even reach his First Four Out, which he has reserved for the Arkansas Razorbacks, Wichita State Shockers, Auburn Tigers, and Clemson Tigers.

Still, even with Palm’s anti-SEC bias, the Vols average out as a Last Four In team, and if you go by other metrics, they are somewhere between a Last Four In team and a firmly in team.

So they should be very happy about their NCAA Tournament standings as of right now.

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