On Saturday morning, the official NCAA Tournament selection committee gave an insight into where things stand. The group gave a preview by naming its top-16 teams if the tournament started before today’s slate of games.
In the field, Tennessee basketball was left on the outside looking in. That lines up with most bracketologies at the moment, as well. Joe Lunardi of ESPN has the Vols at No. 20, slotting them on the 5-seed line.
The committee named Michigan, Duke, Iowa State and Arizona as 1-seeds. The 2-seeds are Houston, Illinois, UConn and Purdue. On the 3-seed line are Florida, Kansas, Nebraska and Gonzaga. The 4-seeds are Virginia Vanderbilt, Texas Tech and Michigan State.
The Top 16 seeds in bracket form 👀
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Advertisement— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 21, 2026
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Power Forward A ‘Game-Time Decision’ Against Vanderbilt
On Saturday afternoon, Tennessee has the chance to potentially break into that 4-seed conversation. The Vols are playing at Vanderbilt, which is a 4-seed itself at the moment. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN.
“Mark (Byington) has done a great job ever since he’s been at Vandy,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said before the game. “I’ve watched him put together his first team, then his second team. He knows what he’s looking for. He’s got a system and he believes in it. I think one of the big things with this year’s team, I love the improvement of the players that return. His returning players have certainly gotten better. And he’s had to deal with injuries like most of us do at some point in time. And he’s done just a terrific job. He really has.
“Got off to a great start, obviously, winning a preseason tournament and he carried it over into a league where his teams, like everybody, we go through the ups and downs. And I thought when they hit a little skid there, I thought it was the travel. It was a really wicked part of the schedule there. But he’s done a great job. He really has done a great job.”
The game will also mark the return of Vanderbilt transfer Jaylen Carey. He joined the Vols this offseason after spending one year under Mark Byington with the Commodores.
