All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball bracketology: Vols now back to potential 3-seed

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 /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tennessee basketball is moving up in NCAA Tournament bracket projections. The Volunteers are now looking at a three-seed by most accounts.

After two big wins last week, Tennessee basketball is back to getting more respect. We mentioned their rise to No. 16 and No. 17 in the AP and Coaches’ Polls respectively Monday. Well, they are getting even more respect in their bracketology projections.

With these rankings, you would think that the Vols are on the cusp of a No. 4 seed or No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But that’s not the case at all. The Vols are now firmly a No. 3 seed by most projections.

With their 21-7 overall record, 11-5 SEC record and No. 19 ranked strength of schedule, their No. 12 ranking in the RPI probably has a lot to do with it. However, that’s still flirting with a No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

Across the board of major projectors, they are a unanimous 3-seed. That means they could be looking up at a No. 2 seed.

BracketMatrix has averaged the Vols out as a 3-seed, but with a 3.25 average they are at least closer to a 4-seed than a 2-seed. Still, that’s pretty high.

The most accurate projection the past couple of years, Delphi Bracketology, also has Tennessee basketball as a No. 3 seed. And the other experts are in the same field.

Fellow FanSided site Busting Brackets had the Vols as a No. 3 seed heading into last weekend. So their win over the Ole Miss Rebels, however ugly, was not going to change that. At the point of that projection, they were in the Midwest region set to face the Belmont Bruins in the first round with Xavier as the No. 1 seed.

Meanwhile, for other experts, nothing changed after the weekend in terms of their seeding number. Joe Lunardi of ESPN has the Vols as a No. 3 seed in the West Division set to face Northern Kentucky in the first round. The Kansas Jayhawks are the No. 1 seed in that bracket.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has Tennessee basketball as a 3-seed in the West Division with Kansas as well. However, they would face Bucknell in the first round in that bracket.

Dave Ommen of Yahoo Sports gives Tennessee basketball a 3-seed in the Midwest Division with Xavier just like Busting Brackets. However, like CBS Sports, they would face Bucknell in the first round.

Finally, CollegeSportsMadness.com has Tennessee basketball as a No. 3 seed facing Belmont in the first round like Busting Brackets. But they are in a bracket with the Michigan State Spartans as the No. 1 seed.

Simply put, expectations are now high for where the Vols will land. However, with a road game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs tonight followed by a home game against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, they have work to do to maintain their position. But with the SEC regular season championship still in play, they have an outside shot to increase their seeding.

Home/Vols Basketball