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Tennessee basketball 1/15 bracketology: Vols seeding ranges from 3 to 7

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 13: Tennessee Volunteers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Texas A
KNOXVILLE, TN - JANUARY 13: Tennessee Volunteers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Texas A /
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Jan. 15 NCAA Tournament breakdowns had a wide range for Tennessee basketball. The Volunteers are in the midst of a three-game winning streak.

Related Story: Men's SEC Power Rankings for Monday, Jan. 15

Wins over the Vanderbilt Commodores and Texas A&M Aggies wouldn’t figure to do much for Tennessee basketball when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding. But with those coming on the heels of the Kentucky Wildcats and the Vols now at 12-4 and 3-2 in the SEC, respect is coming.

Ranked No. 21 in both polls, Tennessee’s No. 13 ranking in the RPI and No. 3 ranked strength of schedule is going a long way. Add in two Top 10 RPI wins over the Wildcats and the Purdue Boilermakers, along with a minor quality win against Texas A&M’s inflated ranking, and they’re looking pretty good.

However, it’s still hard to get a read on this team. According to BracketMatrix.com, which compiles numerous NCAA Tournament bracket projections across the country, Tennessee basketball is averaging out at about a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The actual average is 5.75, with some seedings as high as No. 3 and others as low as No. 7.

Among well-known site experts, the Vols are doing a bit better. That’s at least to the ones we take the most seriously.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN has Tennessee basketball as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest region. They would face South Dakota State in his projection. Ironically, the No. 1 seed in that region would be the Purdue Boilermakers, who lost to the Vols earlier this year.

Fellow FanSided site Busting Brackets also has the Vols as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest region, where Purdue is the No. 1 seed again. In this projection, they would face Missouri State.

Then there’s the Delphi Bracketology. In this one, the Vols are listed as a No. 6 seed, right were they average in BracketMatrix. For the past two years, this has been the most accurate projector for the NCAA Tournament, according to a report Yahoo Sports.

And speaking of Yahoo, Dave Ommen of NBC Sports on Yahoo has Tennessee basketball as a No. 5 seed facing Middle Tennessee in the first round. That projection has them in the South division, but Purdue is the No. 1 seed again.

Meanwhile, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports is giving the Vols a little more respect than others, listing them as a No. 4 seed. They would face Vermont in the Midwest division in these projections with the Oklahoma Sooners as the No. 1 seed.

Michael Beller of SI has Tennessee as a No. 5 seed and, like Lunardi, facing South Dakote State in the first round. But in this bracket, they would be in the East division with the Villanova Wildcats, who beat them earlier in the year, as the No. 1 seed.

CollegeSportsMadness.com has the Vols at a No. 5 seed. They would face Vermont in the first round in this projection, just like in Palm’s projection, with the West Virginia Mountaineers being the top seed in the division.

With three of their next four games on the road, Tennessee basketball is in a bit of a tough stretch. Their three road games are against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Missouri Tigers and Iowa State Cyclones. Meanwhile, their home game is against the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Mizzou is the only chance for a quality win among these games, with all the others being played with nothing to gain and everything to lose. However, RPI projections has them losing all three road games. As a result, this is a tough stretch for Tennessee basketball hat could kill their standing in bracket projections. They have a lot of work to do coming up.

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