Another month, another edition of Joe Lunardi’s way-too-early bracketology report for ESPN. We’re drawing closer by the day to the start of the Tennessee basketball season, with the Volunteers officially set to tip off their 2025-2026 campaign in 69 days against Mercer on Nov. 3, 2025.
The lights will shine bright well before the official regular-season tip-off, though. Tennessee will host NCAA powerhouse Duke in a sold-out exhibition game on Oct. 26 in the Food City Center before the season begins.
Lunardi has posted a new bracketology each month of the summer so far. There hasn’t been a ton of movement on the Tennessee side of things, but the ESPN expert has been high on Rick Barnes’ upcoming team despite all the roster turnover during the offseason.
In the June update, Lunardi had Tennessee as a 2-seed in the West Region. Then, at the end of July, he had Tennessee as a 3-seed in the Midwest Region.
In the latest update on Aug. 26, Lunardi has Tennessee unchanged from the previous report. The Volunteers still land as the 3-seed in the Midwest Region (Chicago), taking on 14-seed UNC Wilmington in the first round from Greenville. Tennessee would then play the winner of 6-seed Texas Tech and 11-seed San Diego State in the second round from the same location.
As usual, there are plenty of familiar foes listed in Tennessee’s projected region, including 1-seed Houston. The Cougars eliminated the Volunteers in the Elite Eight from Indianapolis last season, but Tennessee will have a chance at revenge when the two teams square off during the Players Era Tournament this November. Other notable names in Lunardi’s Midwest quadrant include 2-seed UConn, 4-seed Illinois, 5-seed Alabama, 8-seed Missouri, 9-seed Creighton, and 10-seed Oklahoma.
All of those teams, except UConn and Creighton, are on Tennessee’s 2025-2026 regular-season slate. Tennessee will play Illinois in Nashville on Dec. 6, Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 24, Oklahoma in Knoxville on Feb. 17/18, Missouri in Columbia on Feb. 24, and Alabama once more on Feb. 28 in Knoxville. Tennessee most recently played Creighton in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, defeating the Bluejays 82-75 in Detroit.
Here’s a look at where each of the SEC’s entrants land in Lunardi’s bracketology roundup:
Midwest: No. 3 Tennessee, No. 5 Alabama, No. 8 Missouri, No. 10 Oklahoma
West: No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Arkansas, No. 8 Missouri (duplicate), No. 10 Georgia
East: No. 4 Auburn, No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Texas A&M (play-in)
South: No. 1 Florida, No. 8 Texas, No. 10 Ole Miss
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Tennessee has put together an exciting roster for the upcoming season after losing stars such as Zakai Zeigler, Chaz Lanier, Jordan Gainey, Jahmai Mashack, and Igor Milicic Jr. during the offseason. The Vols’ five-star freshman phenom, Nate Ament, has already been turning heads during summer workouts with his athleticism and polish, while former Maryland transfer guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie looks to be a gamer in every sense of the word. Tennessee’s other portal additions include Vanderbilt’s Jaylen Carey and Louisiana Tech’s Amaree Abram.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Basketball coverage leading into the Vols’ 2025-2026 campaign this November.
Check out Joe Lunardi’s latest way-too-early bracketology report here.
