Joe Lunardi: Tennessee will lose No. 1 seed in ESPN Bracketology after loss at Kentucky

Tennessee Basketball will be losing its No. 1 seed projection in ESPN Bracketology after the 75-64 loss at Kentucky Tuesday night, according to Joe Lunardi. 

Lunardi wrote before the Tennessee-Kentucky game that the loser at Rupp Arena would be dropping off its current NCAA Tournament seed line, with the Vols as a No. 1 seed and Kentucky as a No. 4 seed.

Tennessee (20-5, 7-5 SEC) was Lunardi’s fourth and final No. 1 seed in recent updates while Kentucky (17-6, 6-5) entered Tuesday’s game as Lunardi’s last No. 4 seed, the No. 16 overall seed. 

The Vols have never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve been a No. 2 seed three times, including twice under Rick Barnes, last season and in 2019.

Florida to jump Tennessee for final No. 1 seed

Florida will jump Tennessee to the No. 1-seed line, becoming Lunardi’s new No. 4 overall seed after the Gators won Tuesday night at Mississippi State.

Auburn remains the No. 1 overall seed, ahead of No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Duke. Alabama won at Texas Tuesday night and hosts Auburn Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.

Tennessee entered the Kentucky game ranked No. 4 in the NET. The loss dropped the Vols to 8-5 in Quad 1 games, while they are a combined 12-0 in Quad 2, 3 and 4 games. 

Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

Tennessee returns home to host Vanderbilt (17-7, 5-6) on Saturday (1 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network). Vandy, which lost at home against Auburn Tuesday night, upset the Vols in Nashville, 76-75, on January 18. The Commodores have lost four of six games since beating Tennessee. 

After hosting Vanderbilt, Tennessee goes back on the road for two games, going to Texas A&M on February 22, then to LSU on February 25. The Vols close the regular-season schedule in March with home dates against Alabama (March 1) and South Carolina (March 8), sandwiched around a trip to Ole Miss (March 5). 

There are currently three Quad 1 games remaining on schedule, against Texas A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss. Vanderbilt and LSU are Quad 2 games and South Carolina is a Quad 3 game. 

KenPom.com dropped Tennessee one spot to No. 5 overall in its rankings. The Vols are still rated No. 1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 86.0 points per 100 possessions, and are 39 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 117.2 points per 100 possessions. 

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