Despite a loss to Texas A&M in College Station over the weekend, Tennessee’s spot in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology rankings remains unchanged.
The Vols went 1-1 last week with a win over LSU in Knoxville and a loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. Tennessee will head to Fayetteville for a Wednesday night game against Arkansas on Valentine’s Day before returning to Knoxville for a weekend matchup as the Vols host in-state rival Vanderbilt in the Food City Center.
While No. 8 Tennessee does have the most losses among teams in the Top 10, the Vols are still holding on to a projected two-seed in Lunardi’s rankings. The ESPN expert had Tennessee as a two-seed in the Midwest Region last week but briefly moved Tennessee up to a one-seed in his quick bracketology update on social media following the Vols’ win over LSU. After the loss to Texas A&M, though, Tennessee moved back to where they started the week.
Lunardi’s Feb. 13 Bracketology Report has Tennessee as a two-seed in the Midwest Region (Detroit) with a first-round matchup against 15-seed Troy. That would set Tennessee up with a potential second-round matchup against either 7-seed Utah State or 10-seed Butler.
As usual, there are a few familiar foes in Tennessee’s projected region. Purdue, a team that Tennessee lost to in the Maui Invitational, is the No. 1 seed in the region and the No. 1 seed overall in the tournament. Florida, a team that Tennessee already beat in their lone matchup in the regular season, comes in as the eight-seed in the region after being on the bubble for the past month. And, lastly, Ole Miss has a projected play-in game to enter the Midwest Region as an 11-seed. The Vols handily defeated Chris Beard’s Rebels in the SEC opener in January.
More from RTI: WATCH: Tennessee HC Rick Barnes, G Jordan Gainey Preview Arkansas Game
The SEC has nine teams projected for the tournament for a second straight week after Florida played their way into the projection with wins over No. 12 Auburn and No. 10 Kentucky in the last three games.
Tennessee is the highest-ranked projected team from the SEC in Lunardi’s latest report:
Midwest Region (Detroit)
- 2-seed Tennessee
- 8-seed Florida
- 11-seed Ole Miss (play-in game)
West Region (Los Angeles)
- 3-seed Alabama
- 9-seed Mississippi State
East Region (Boston)
- 3-seed Auburn
- 5-seed South Carolina
South Region (Dallas)
- 6-seed Kentucky
- 7-seed Texas A&M
The SEC’s nine current projected tournament entrants are tied for the most alongside the Big 12 in the ESPN rankings.
To view Joe Lunardi’s full Feb. 13 Bracketology Report, click here.
