Tennessee basketball fell one-spot from No. 5 to No. 6 in this week’s AP Poll after losing in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals against Mississippi State.
It was a short and disappointing week for the Vols. Tennessee dropped its second straight game in perhaps its worst performance of the season as Mississippi State dominated the Vols in Nashville.
Despite the disappointing week in the SEC Tournament, Tennessee is still the highest ranked SEC team in the AP Poll coming in ahead of No. 7 Auburn, No. 16 Kentucky, No. 16 South Carolina and No. 19 Alabama. Florida and Mississippi State also received votes.
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But with the NCAA Tournament looming, the AP Poll means very little. The Vols are the two-seed in the Midwest Region where they’ll face 15-seed Saint Peter’s in the first round.
If Tennessee makes it past the Peacocks they’ll face one of Virginia, Colorado State or Texas in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The other top seeds in the Midwest Region include No. 1 seed Purdue, No. 3 Marquette, No. 4 Kansas, No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 6 South Carolina.
Tennessee played 18 games against NCAA Tournaments through the regular season and the SEC Tournament. The Vols went 10-8 in those games.
The Vols tipoff their NCAA Tournament run at 9:20 p.m. ET on Thursday night in Charlotte, North Carolina. TNT is broadcasting the matchup between Tennessee and Saint Peter’s.
One Response
They could make up for it by winning several games in a row now. They will need some better play and a whole lot of luck though. This is March.