After starting SEC play with two wins and three losses in its first five games, Tennessee has since rattled off three straight wins over the last week. The Vols went into Alabama and Georgia and picked up victories, and then returned home to defeat Auburn this past Saturday night. Tennessee enters the 13th week of the season ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll with a 15-6 overall record and a 5-3 mark in conference play.
Tennessee’s three-game winning streak has translated into a rise in Joe Lunardi’s recent bracketology reports for ESPN. In Lunardi’s latest update on Tuesday morning, Tennessee sits with the 5-seed spot in the East Region. The Vols previously held a 7-seed projection after the loss to Kentucky, but moved up to the 6-seed after wins over Alabama and Georgia. Tennessee’s win over Auburn has now moved Rick Barnes’ squad into the 5-seed slot.
Lunardi’s projection has Tennessee facing off against 12-seed Liberty in the first round from San Diego, CA. The Vols then have a potential second-round matchup against either 4-seed Texas Tech or 13-seed Utah Valley. Other notable projections in Lunardi’s report include 1-seed Duke, 2-seed Illinois, and 3-seed Florida – all of which Tennessee has seen and lost to at some point this year. The contest against the Blue Devils was a preseason exhibition, though.
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The development and growth of freshman wing Nate Ament has fueled Tennessee’s SEC turnaround. Ament wasn’t bad by any means during the start of conference play, but it was clear that he had another gear that he could still unlock. During the Vols’ last three wins, Ament is averaging 23.3 points per game while taking an average of 18 shots per game. Over the Vols’ last six games, he’s averaging 21.1 points per game. Ament is starting to be more assertive on the offensive end of the court, and it’s leading to more consistency for the Vols’ offense.
After a 77-69 win over Auburn last Saturday night, Tennessee will return to the Food City Center on Tuesday evening for a home game against Ole Miss. The game should provide a great opportunity for the Vols to keep their momentum going and advance their winning streak to four games. Tennessee will then have back-to-back road games the following week to Kentucky and Mississippi State.
Tennessee will enter Tuesday night’s game as a point favorite over Ole Miss in Knoxville. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage from the game.
