Tennessee basketball’s run in the SEC Tournament came to a close Friday afternoon with a loss to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals. The Vols are now back in Knoxville where they await their draw in the NCAA Tournament. Where do the latest bracketology updates project the Vols to land?
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi moved Tennessee down to a six-seed following the SEC Tournament loss, projecting the Vols to face off against 11-seed Miami (Ohio) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. With a first round win, Tennessee would advance to face either three-seed Purdue or 14-seed Troy in the Round of 32.
Other top teams in the South Region include one-seed Florida, two-seed Houston, four-seed Virginia and five-seed Texas Tech.
CBS Sports’ latest bracketology has Tennessee as a five-seed in the West Region with a potential first round matchup against 12-seed Yale. With an opening round win, the Vols would face either four-seed Gonzaga or 13-seed Utah Valley.
Other top teams in the West Region include, one-seed Arizona, two-seed Michigan State, three-seed Virginia and six-seed BYU.
The Athletic’s Joe Rexrode has Tennessee as a six-seed in the West Region, facing off against 11-seed North Carolina State and Will Wade in Portland in the opening round of the tournament. The Wolfpack would be by far the most challenging first round matchup of the three projections.
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A win over NC State would pit the Vols against either three-seed Gonzaga or 14-seed Idaho State in the Round of 32. Other top teams in the West Region include one-seed Arizona, two-seed Michigan State, four-seed Alabama and five-seed Wisconsin.
What does Tennessee’s resume look like entering the NCAA Tournament? The Vols boast a 22-11 (11-7 SEC) record. Tennessee is 6-10 in Quad 1 games, 6-1 in Quad 2 games, 3-0 in Quad 3 games and 7-0 in Quad 4 games.
Tennessee ranks No. 19 in the NET Rankings but just No. 24 in Wins Above Bubble (WAB) a new popular metric for NCAA Tournament seeding. The Vols 4.46 WAB indicates that they have 4.46 more wins than a bubble team would have against their same schedule.
The Vols best wins of the season came against Houston on a neutral floor, on the road at Vanderbilt and Alabama and then at home against Louisville.
The NCAA Tournament selection committee will reveal its bracket on Sunday, March 15 at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.
