After a blown-lead loss to Kentucky over the weekend, Tennessee Basketball fell out of the AP Poll for the first time in 90 straight weeks. The drop was expected and unsurprising when it came, considering Tennessee needed to fall only two spots to drop out completely. The loss made it plausible that the Vols could also be dropping in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology report, but that’s not what ended up happening on Tuesday.
After a week that saw Tennessee defeat Texas A&M in double overtime and blow a 17-point lead in a loss to Kentucky, Rick Barnes’ squad remains unchanged in Lunardi’s latest report. Tennessee still comes in as the 6-seed in the Midwest Region.
The Vols have been planted as a 6-seed for the last three weeks. Tennessee spent all of November as a 4-seed and has split time between the 5-seed and 6-seed in both December and January.
Tennessee’s current projection has the Vols taking on 11-seed Miami OH in the first round from Buffalo. The current path has Tennessee lined up for a game against 3-seed Michigan State or 15-seed Long Island in the second round. Other notable projected Midwest entries include former Vol Tobe Awaka and 1-seed Arizona, 2-seed Gonzaga, 4-seed Virginia, and 5-seed Alabama.
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Tennessee has a midweek bye this week but will return to action on Saturday night with a road trip at Alabama. It’s the first of two matchups against the Crimson Tide this season, with Alabama traveling to Knoxville on Saturday, Feb. 28.
The Vols are 2-3 in SEC play and 12-6 overall on the season. Tennessee began conference play with a road loss to Arkansas and a home win over Texas. The Vols then lost at Florida but won at home against Texas A&M the following week. Tennessee’s perfect 10-0 home start was snapped by Kentucky last Saturday. Following the midweek bye this week, Tennessee will go on the road for two straight games at Alabama and at Georgia. The Vols are entering a pivotal stretch in the season, but they will need to find some success away from Knoxville to avoid continuing their slide. Tennessee has yet to win in a true road environment this season.
Rick Barnes has taken the Vols into the second weekend of the tournament for three straight seasons. Tennessee lost in the Sweet 16 in 2023 and reached the Elite Eight in both 2024 and 2025. Barnes also led the team to the Sweet 16 during his fourth season in Knoxville in 2019.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Basketball news, including live coverage of the Vols’ upcoming game against Alabama on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
