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Tennessee basketball bracketology Feb. 5: Vols looking more like a 3-seed

By Caleb Calhoun

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team during the 67-65 win over the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 10, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball is looking more like a No. 3 seed. The Volunteers slowly improved ranks in the Feb. 5, 2018 bracketology projections.

They weren’t going to impress too many people by beating the LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels at home last week. Tennessee basketball simply ran the table and did what was expected of them.

However, Rick Barnes’s team is now 17-5 and 7-3 overall, and they remain a Top 20 team in both polls and the RPI. So while a No. 3 seed became a discussion last week, it’s become more real this week.

After facing their easiest week of the year, the Vols still have the No. 14 ranked strength of schedule. That allows them to have the No. 13 ranked RPI. And two road games against the Kentucky Wildcats and Alabama Crimson Tide this week given them a chance to even further boost their resume.

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The average is going up, though. Tennessee basketball now averages closer to a No. 3 seed according to BracketMatrix. They are at 3.41, so they lean more towards a No. 3 seed than a No. 4 seed.

Meanwhile, the most accurate bracketology projections the past three years, Delphi Bracketology, has also bumped the Vols up to a No. 3 seed. However, this feeling is not universal among most other major bracketology experts.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN still has the Vols as a No. 4 seed. In his bracket, they would be in the Midwest division and face the Buffalo Bulls in the first round of the tournament. They would be in the same bracket with the Purdue Boilermakers, a team they beat earlier in the year, as the No. 1 seed.

Dave Ommen of Yahoo Sports also has Tennessee basketball as a No. 4 seed in the Midwest bracket with Purdue as the No. 1 seed. In his bracket, the Vols would face the Belmont Bruins in the first round.

Michael Besser of SI has the Vols as a No. 4 seed in the South division, where the Virginia Cavaliers are the No. 1 seed. They would face the Vermont Catamounts in the first round of the tournament.

CollegeSportsMadness also has the Vols as a No. 4 seed playing in the bracket with Virginia as the No. 1 seed. In that bracket, they’d face the William & Mary Tribe in the first round.

Finally, there is Jerry Palm of CBS Sports. And Palm, like Delphi, has Tennessee basketball as a No. 3 seed. In that one, they’d play the Charleston Cougars in the first round and would be in the same bracket with the Villanova Wildcats as the No. 1 seed. Nova is a team who beat the Vols earlier in the year.

We’ll have a better read on where the Vols stand after this huge week of games. If they beat both Alabama and Kentucky, we have to start talking about a potential No. 2 seed. But if they split, they’ll still have a slight improvement over this past week. So keep an eye on what they do.

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