Tennessee Basketball: What seed are the Vols in the NCAA Tournament?

Selection Sunday wrapped up last night, and the Volunteers dropped to the No. 4 seed due to the loss last week against Missouri. 

March Madness is finally here, the brackets were announced, and Tennessee basketball, shockingly, was ranked lower than I hoped they would be. Throughout most of the last month, the Vols were viewed as a locked-in three seed for the NCAA Tournament; however, after underperforming at the SEC championship, the committee was forced to drop them a spot in the NCAA Tournament to the No. 4 seed.

Recap of the SEC tournament and what caused their No. 4 seeding

Ole Miss beat South Carolina on the first day of the SEC tournament, so the Vols faced a challenge and had to take on the Rebels. Nonetheless, Tennessee basketball took care of business in their first game of the Tournament and beat Ole Miss 70-55.

However, the next challenge that the Vols faced ended differently than we had hoped. The Volunteers battled it out with Missouri but failed to execute at the end of the game and came up just short. The Vols lost 79-71 to the red-hot Tigers, and their chances at remaining a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament were gone.

NCAA Tournament historical data of No. 4 seeds

All historical data and information Is according to BracketResearch.com

The 4-seeds might be the trickiest to pick. One will likely lose in the first round, but 3 of the last 11 Final 4’s included a 4-seed.

Overall Performance

117 (of 148) 4-seeds advanced to the Second Round

70 went on to the Sweet 16

22 reached the Elite 8

13 reached the Final 4

3 made the championship game

1 won the Tournament

Performance Over the Last 10 Tournaments

32 (of 40) advanced to the Second Round

24 went on to the Sweet 16

7 reached the Elite 8

3 reached the Final 4

1 made it to the championship game and lost

Bracket Performance History and Advice

First Round: One of the 4-seeds will likely lose in the First Round. It’s not a foregone conclusion, however – all four 4-seeds have advanced to the Second Round 11 times (in 37 tournaments).

Second Round: 79% of 2’s reach this round.

Sweet 16: 47% of 2’s reach this round. There’s about a 50-50 chance of no 4-seed making it past the Sweet 16.

Elite 8: 15% of 2’s reach this round. Of the 22 4-seeds to make it this far, 13 advanced.

Final 4: 9% of 2’s reach this round. About a 31% chance of having a 4-seed in the Final Four.

Final: Three 4-seeds have reached the final game, and only one has won the national championship.

Record in the Second round

vs. 5-seeds: 42-34

vs. 12-seeds: 28-13

Feats of Strength

2014’s Tournament was the first to see all four 4-seeds reach the Sweet 16. They were UCLA, San Diego St, Michigan St, and Louisville.

Twice, the Final 4 had two 4-seeds in it

1990 – Arkansas and Georgia Tech (both teams lost)

2013 – Syracuse and Michigan faced off against each other

Arizona became the only team to win the Tournament as a 4-seed in 1997.