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Tennessee basketball: Bracketology unchanged amid NCAA Tournament location news

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee basketball Volunteers still get no love in ESPN’s NCAA Tournament preseason bracket.

As news comes in about the Big Dance this year and preseason expectations pour in for the Vols, one expert still remains not as high on Tennessee basketball as everybody else. Recently proposed changes to the field didn’t change anything about the Vols either.

On Monday, the NCAA announced tentative plans to hold next year’s full 68-team NCAA Tournament in just one location to deal with the pandemic. Indianapolis, where the Final Four is scheduled to occur, was the leading choice.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN updated his bracketology with that news on Tuesday. Nothing changed for Tennessee basketball. The Vols remain a No. 5 seed in Lunardi’s bracket for the third straight time dating back to August.

Despite being the preseason favorites to win the SEC Championship by many outlets and the official favorites by coaches, having a top five recruiting class, adding two elite transfers and returning all but one player, including their leading scorer and the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Lunardi continues to disrespect Rick Barnes’ program. Nothing is changing.

While he has the Vols as a No. 5 seed, he has the Kentucky Wildcats as a No. 4 seed. That makes it pretty obvious that, at least for now, he is at least putting faith in John Calipari’s program to be the best team in the SEC. This race has come down to both teams in preseason projections.

Rocky Top was still set to face the No. 12 seed Loyola-Chicago Ramblers in the first round. That was the team that eliminated them in 2018 en route to a Cinderella Final Four run, largely due to Kyle Alexander’s absence.

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In October, the Virginia Cavaliers were the No. 1 seed in Tennessee basketball’s bracket. This time, Lunardi has the Villanova Wildcats as the top seed. The Vols first-round bracket, meanwhile, still included the No. 4 seed Illinois Fighting Illini, but the No. 13 seed changed from the Yale Bulldogs to the New Mexico State Aggies.

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