It has been a great last few days for Tennessee basketball, despite being snubbed of an AP Top 25 selection. The Vols knocked off Alabama, which had a professional basketball player on its roster.
Unexpected schedule shift changes Tennessee basketball's trip to Georgia
The most respected bracketologist around, ESPN's Joe Lunardi, took notice of the Vols' big win over Alabama last week, as Tennessee has moved up in his new bracket released today. Rick Barnes' squad has moved from a No. 7 seed to a No. 6 seed in the latest bracket reveal. Lunardi has Tennessee taking on the winner of a First Four matchup between New Mexico and Virginia Tech in San Diego. If Tennessee were to win, it would take on the winner of Texas Tech versus Portland State.
The region Lunardi has Tennessee in is the easiest, in my opinion. They have the weakest one-seed in Duke, and the Vols would have a potential rematch with Illinois, who they hung with until the Fighting Illini couldn't miss in the final ten minutes.
Could Tennessee basketball move up again next week?
Tennessee slipped in the rankings after a mixed week against Texas A&M and Kentucky. The Vols pulled off a huge comeback win over the Aggies, only to completely unravel against the Wildcats. As a result, many fans were starting to lose faith in this group. The lingering issues were a gut punch, as we have seen Barnes time and time again say things need to get fixed, but they don't. However, a statement road win at Alabama has quickly changed the outlook for many fans.
The Vols have a tough week ahead, as the SEC never stops the hard matchups. They will take on Georgia (an 8 seed) and Auburn (a 7 seed) this week, so it will be interesting to see how they stack up against teams Lunardi views as similar. If the Vols go 2-0 this week, they could potentially move up a seed, but I'd bet they probably stay on the No. 6 line for one more week.
Although, I could be wrong, but the only way to find out is if the Vols go 2-0 this week.