We’ve looked at more than 20 bracketology updates throughout the season, and there are only a few more in store before the tournament actually arrives in March. Tennessee will take on Missouri in Columbia on Tuesday night and will then only have three more regular-season games before the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament next month.
All that to say, now is the time to lock in. We’re basically in the home stretch on the road to the March Madness tournament, and every game will play a key role in shaping the Vols’ postseason seeding in both the conference and nationwide tournaments.
In Joe Lunardi’s latest update from Tuesday, Tennessee lands as the highest-ranked 5-seed in the projected field. The Vols are currently in the West Region with first weekend games being held in Philadelphia, PA. Tennessee’s projected first-round matchup is against 12-seed South Florida with a potential second-round matchup against either 4-seed Michigan State or 13-seed High Point.
Other notable teams in Tennessee’s West Region include 1-seed Arizona, 2-seed Illinois, 3-seed Gonzaga, and 10-seed Auburn.
Tennessee’s going to have a few big chances to improve its seeding in the final week of the regular season. The Vols have four games left on the slate, including a solid Missouri team on Tuesday night, two teams ranked inside the Top 25 with No. 17 Alabama and No. 25 Vanderbilt, and a road trip to South Carolina. Win these and Tennessee’s got a really solid resume heading into the conference tournament next month.
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After a loss to Kentucky dropped Tennessee to a 6-seed for a week, the Vols climbed back into the 5-seed slot after beating LSU at home two weekends ago. Tennessee kept its 5-seed projection after defeating Vanderbilt last Saturday afternoon.
Tennessee is one of 11 SEC teams currently in Lunardi’s projected March Madness field including 3-seed Florida, 4-seed Alabama, 5-seed Arkansas, 5-seed Vanderbilt, 8-seed Kentucky, 9-seed Georgia, 9-seed Texas A&M, 10-seed Texas, 10-seed Auburn, and 11-seed Missouri. Texas and Auburn are listed as two of the last teams to skip the First Four round, while Missouri is listed as one of the last four teams to make the tournament as a whole.
With Mizzou on the fringe of being in and out of the tournament, they’ll be looking to do anything they can over the next two weeks to improve their resume – starting with a game against Tennessee on Tuesday night in Columbia. The Tigers have some solid wins this season, including victories against Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. Missouri shouldn’t be overlooked heading into this late-night matchup.
Missouri will host Tennessee at 9:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday night in Columbia. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live coverage of the game, both online and on social media.
Check out Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology report here.
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