Tennessee Basketball is fresh off a Top-10 loss to the Arizona Wildcats over the weekend. After the road loss, the Vols dropped just two spots from No. 6 to No. 8 in the AP Top-25 Poll.
The Vols and Wildcats fought for a full 40 minutes, as neither team ever had a lead over 10 points. Despite Tennessee suffering their second loss of the season, Tennessee is still a team with the potential to earn a high seed in the 2023 NCAA March Madness Tournament.
With new Bracketology updates coming out on Tuesday morning from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm, let’s take a look at where Tennessee stands after the loss.
CBS Sports: Jerry Palm
Midwest Region:
Sacramento:
No. 3 Tennessee vs. No. 14 UMass Lowell
No. 6 Virginia Tech vs. No. 11 Oregon
In Palm’s projection, Tennessee files in at the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region behind No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Arizona. The Vols have already seen both of those teams, going 1-1. Arguably the Vols best win of the young season came against the defending National Champions in Kansas. The Big Orange defeated the Jayhawks, 64-50, in late November to win the Battle4Atlantis in The Bahamas.
Tennessee is the lone SEC team in Palm’s Midwest Region, and they are tied with Alabama for the highest seed by an SEC team in the bracket.
ESPN: Joe Lunardi
South Region:
Greensboro:
No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Furman
No. 7 Maryland vs. No. 10 TCU
In Lunardi’s projection, Tennessee comes in as the No. 2 seed in the South region behind No. 1 Purdue. Tennessee would potentially see Maryland again with this projection, as the Vols and Terrapins have already met once this season. The Big Orange bested Maryland, 56-53, with a strong defensive performance in the Hall of Fame Invitational in Brooklyn, New York.
Tennessee is the lone SEC team in Lunardi’s projected South region, and they are tied with Alabama for the highest seed by an SEC team in the bracket.
More From RTI: Santiago Vescovi Reaches Career Milestone
As for the Lady Vols, Charlie Creme’s latest ESPN Bracketology update has the Lady Vols fourth in the “First Four Out” list. Tennessee is 7-6 on the season, with all six losses coming to teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. All but two opponents were ranked at the time of the matchup, and a whopping four of Tennessee’s losses came to current Top-8 teams in the Top 25 rankings (Stanford, Ohio State, Indiana, Virginia Tech).
The Vols are back in action Wednesday night against Austin Peay in Thompson-Boling Arena, and the Lady Vols return to Knoxville on Tuesday, December 27, to host Wofford.
