Where Tennessee basketball could play the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament

Tennessee basketball is getting ready to compete for an SEC Tournament championship, but I would be lying if I told you I wasn't looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament at least a little bit.

The Vols are firmly in the West region, which gives Tennessee four host cities to choose from if they are the one-seed over Arizona. Even if they fall to the two-seed, the Vols should still be able to play in their first-choice location.

In the West, the host cities for the tournament's first two rounds are Charlotte, Salt Lake City, and Omaha. Arizona is believed to prefer to play in Salt Lake City, giving the Vols the opportunity to play in Charlotte during their first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

While Tennessee is currently projected to be in the West in most brackets, that doesn't mean it's guaranteed. Andy Katz has North Carolina jumping Tennessee and Arizona to get the West's No. 1 seed. The Vols will still likely play in Charlotte even if North Carolina miraculously jumps the Vols and Tennessee falls to the East region.

The host cities in the East are Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, and Omaha. UCONN is the No. 1 seed in the East and would likely choose to play the first weekend in Brooklyn, giving the Vols the opportunity to play in Charlotte.

The remaining host cities in this year's tournament are Indianapolis, Spokane, and Memphis. Tennessee would have to fall to the two-seed in the South region to have the opportunity to play in Memphis during the first weekend of the tournament.

There is still a lot of basketball to be played before the NCAA Tournament bracket is set, but it looks like all roads are leading to Tennessee playing the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament a few hours from Knoxville in Charlotte, North Carolina.