NASHVILLE − Tennessee basketball improved its standing in March Madness with its win against Auburn on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to vault the Vols to a No. 1 seed.
The Vols moved to the No. 5 overall seed following their 70-65 win against the Tigers, according ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Lunardi placed the Vols ahead of Alabama, which lost 104-82 to Florida. Lunardi indicated that win secured Florida the fourth No. 1 seed regardless of what happens in the SEC tournament title game at Bridgestone Arena.
The No. 4 seed Vols (27-6) play the No. 2 seed Gators (29-4) in the title game Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
How Tennessee’s bracketology changed with win vs Auburn
Tennessee’s biggest advantage gained with its win against Auburn was leaping Alabama in the overall seed.
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That positions the Vols to potentially play the opening weekend in Lexington, Kentucky, instead of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland was the popular pick for the Vols when they were seeded behind the Crimson Tide. It appeared the SEC tournament would settle which team received the favorable first-weekend location.
Tennessee basketball’s NCAA Tournament résumé
The Vols have an 11-6 record in Quad 1 games.
Tennessee notched three Quad 1 wins with road victories at Louisville and Illinois, as well as a neutral site win against Baylor in the Baha Mar Championship. Its home wins against Florida, Missouri and Alabama were Quad 1 wins. Its road wins at Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M also were Quad 1 wins. Its win against Texas and Auburn in the SEC Tournament gave UT two more.
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UT is 5-0 in Quad 2 games with a road win at LSU and home wins against Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
The Vols are 5-0 in Quad 3 games and 6-0 in Quad 4 games.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
