Tennessee basketball has made plenty of history in recent seasons under the direction of Rick Barnes. The Vols have claimed both SEC regular-season and tournament titles and reached three consecutive Elite Eights. While the focus is now on breaking through to the Final Four, there’s another piece of history yet to be made at UT.
In the program’s history, Tennessee has never been a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols have claimed multiple 2-seeds, but have finished just short of being one of those top four teams in the bracket. With the transfer portal haul Tennessee brings in next season, it could be as good a chance as any, though.
However, in Andy Katz’s first 76-team bracketology for next year’s NCAA Tournament, he has UT, again, finishing just short. He lists the Vols as a 2-seed in the Midwest Region. He also named Tennessee as the No. 5 team in the country in his top-44 rankings, meaning it’d be the first team not to be named a 1-seed.
🚨 FIRST 76-TEAM BRACKET PREDICTION 🚨@TheAndyKatz makes his first bracket prediction for the 2027 tournament, complete with matchup projections for the new Opening Round 🔮 pic.twitter.com/hNeK8q7QDe
Advertisement— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 8, 2026
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In Katz’s projection, the Vols would open with 15-seed Marshall in Louisville. The winner of that game would match up with the winner between 7-seed VCU and 10-seeds Marquette or Texas Tech for a spot in the Sweet 16.
The potential Sweet 16 matchup would then be 3-seed Virginia, 6-seed Gonzaga, 11-seed Kentucky, 11-seed Maryland or 14-seed UC Irvine. Likely Elite Eight matchups would be against 1-seed Michigan, 4-seed Kansas or 5-seed Nebraska. Those two rounds would be played in Kansas City.
Tennessee’s seeding is the second-highest among SEC teams. The Vols only trail Florida, which is projected to be a 1-seed in the South Region.
