ESPN’s Joe Lunardi released the latest update to his Bracketology board on Monday morning, with Tennessee staying put as a 4-seed. Lunardi has the Vols in the West Region with a first-round matchup against UNC Wilmington, and a potential second-round matchup against either 5-seed North Carolina or the winner of the 12-seed play-in game between Georgetown and Georgia.
Before going any further, though, it’s important to note that this update came out before Tennessee’s run in the Players Era Tournament from Las Vegas, which has already seen the Vols defeat Rutgers and No. 3 Houston in back-to-back days. Tennessee will finish its tournament showing on Wednesday night in a third-place game against Kansas.
Back to Lunardi’s bracket, though. The ESPN expert has Tennessee in a loaded region with some familiar faces. Former Tennessee forward Tobe Awaka and Arizona land as the 1-seed, with Gonzaga coming in as the 2-seed. Illinois, a team that Tennessee will see on a neutral court in December, lands as the 3-seed. The bracket also has Texas Tech as a 6-seed, Ohio State as a 7-seed, and Texas as a play-in 11-seed alongside SMU.
Here’s a look at Tennessee’s ranking history for Lunardi’s bracketology updates:
- November 24: 4-seed, West Region
- November 11: 4-seed, Midwest Region
- *October: 3-seed, South Region
- *September: 3-seed, Midwest Region
- *August: 3-seed, Midwest Region
- *July: 3-seed, Midwest Region
- *June: 2-seed, West Region
* Indicates Offseason/Preseason
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Showed What It Lacked Last Season In Win Over Houston
Had this update come after Tennessee’s statement win over Houston, it’s easy to assume that Rick Barnes would be bumped up a spot. That’s not the way it came out, though, so we’ll have to wait for the next update here in a few weeks.
That does give Tennessee a chance to continue wrapping up some more non-conference games in the meantime. After the Players Era game against Kansas on Wednesday night, Tennessee still has some key games against Syracuse on Dec. 2, Illinois on Dec. 6, and Louisville on Dec. 16 before SEC play starts on Jan. 3 against Arkansas. That’s plenty of time for Tennessee to continue establishing itself as a competitive program before conference play begins.
A good win in November won’t guarantee you anything in March, but it sure does give some good vibes as the appetizer to SEC play continues forward. Tennessee’s win over Houston wasn’t just a quality win against a quality win, but it was also revenge for last season’s Elite Eight elimination at the hands of the Cougars in Indianapolis.
Tennessee showed a different type of style in the win over Houston that it didn’t have during the tournament game earlier in the year. As former RTI writer Reed Carringer pointed out on social media, Tennessee scored 14 points in the paint during last year’s game compared to Houston’s 30. The Cougars scored 30 in the paint again this year, but Tennessee upped its side to 38. The Vols’ front court is a different animal entirely this year.
Check out Joe Lunardi’s full bracketology report here and stay tuned to RTI on Wednesday night for live coverage of the Tennessee-Kansas game from Las Vegas.
