Tennessee basketball a No. 3 seed in analyst’s bracket prediction
The 2020-2021 Tennessee basketball Volunteers could get another high NCAA Tournament seed.
Ever since the news of Yves Pons’ return to stay for his senior season projections for Tennessee basketball have moved from being a preseason top 20 team to being a preseason top 10 team and going far in the NCAA Tournament. More projections Tuesday demonstrated that to be the case.
NCAA analyst and March Madness host Andy Katz listed the Vols as a No. 3 seed in his 2021 NCAA Tournament bracket prediction. This came a week after he had UT at No. 10 in his Power 36, one spot behind the Kentucky Wildcats, the highest two teams in the SEC.
In his bracketology, Katz had Tennessee basketball facing the No. 14 seed Akron Zips in the Minneapolis region with the Illinois Fighting Illini as the No. 1 seed and the Virginia Cavaliers as the No. 2 seed. UT also would be in a bracket with the No. 6 seed Houston Cougars and No. 11 seed Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first round.
If that were to be the case, may Vol fans would likely enjoy their team’s road to the Final Four, should they make it that far. Having to get through Minnesota to get there when Illinois is the top seed is certainly manageable.
Overall, though, it’s fair to expect higher things for this team. Two years ago, Rick Barnes’ team was a No. 2 seed and spent nearly a month at No. 1 in the nation. They return almost as much talent this time while adding a top five recruiting class.
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Taking all of that into account, it’s still odd for UT to be ranked below UK in Katz’s Power 36. Speaking of UK, the Vols would be playing the first round in Lexington, Ky., ironically, while the Wildcats were a No. 3 seed in the Memphis region set to face the North Texas Mean Green in Raleigh, N.C. in the first round in Katz’s prediction.