With the final week of the 2023-2024 regular season upon us, we’re going to bring in another reliable source in our official bracketology report.
Tennessee has been on the two-line for pretty much the entirety of the conference schedule according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, except for a quick jump up to one on very short occasions. That being said, though, there was always a chance that Tennessee could make a late push to the one-line because of the intensity of their final regular-season games, all being Quad 1 opportunities. Tennessee’s final four games are all against ranked teams from the SEC.
Tennessee has begun that stretch with a pair of wins over Alabama state teams, including No. 11 Auburn last week in Knoxville and No. 14 Alabama this past Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. The Vols’ two Top 15 wins are enough for CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm to go ahead and move Tennessee to the one-line while Lunardi is still waiting to see how the Vols handle No. 17 South Carolina and No. 15 Kentucky to close down the season.
“Tennessee’s schedule puts them in the best position of the contenders chasing the No. 1 seed,” Palm wrote for CBS Sports after the weekend games. “The Volunteers finish the season with not just four Quad 1 opponents, but good Quad 1 games. North Carolina and especially Arizona do not have the schedules to hold Tennessee off if the Vols keep winning. Tennessee won the first two of those and for now, it is enough to earn a spot at the top.”
Palm has Tennessee as the one-seed in the West Region (Los Angeles), but we’ll circle back to the key topic of locations here in a minute. Palm’s projection has Tennessee taking on a First Four team in the first round with a potential matchup against either eight-seed FAU or nine-seed Texas, both of whom the Vols have seen in the last two years. The Owls ended the Vols’ tournament run last season in the Sweet 16.
ESPN’s Lunardi has Tennessee as the top two-seed in the South Region (Dallas). Lunardi has Tennessee taking on 15-seed Quinnipiac in the first round with a potential second-round matchup against either 7-seed Saint Mary’s or 10-seed TCU.
More from RTI: Analyzing Tennessee Basketball’s Hopes To Earn A One-Seed In The NCAA Tournament
Here’s where Tennessee stands when it comes to seeding and location.
With the one-seed, Tennessee would get shipped all the way over to the West Region after a likely first-round game in Charlotte, North Carolina. Los Angeles is a long way from Knoxville, after all.
With a two-seed, though, Tennessee would most likely land in the South Region. The projected first-round game would still be in Charlotte but the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds being in Dallas’s American Airlines Center would be an easier trip for most fans traveling. Tennessee also showed to have a strong North Texas contingent when the Vols’ baseball team kicked off the 2024 season in Arlington, TX, in February just a few weeks ago.
According to the NCAA website, one-seed teams have made a total of 60 Final Fours compared to just 32 appearances from two-seed teams. That’s a big difference. One-seed teams also have 24 National Championship victories compared to just five from the two-seeds. Again, a big difference.
There’s a reason the No. 1 seeds are the top seeds, obviously.
Tennessee still needs to get through South Carolina and Kentucky, too. The Gamecocks will host the Vols this Wednesday night in Columbia before Tennessee hosts Kentucky in the regular-season finale this upcoming Saturday night. There’s nothing Kentucky would love more than to ruin Tennessee’s one-seed bid before the clock strikes 12 on the regular season.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee basketball coverage with the postseason storylines quickly heating up.
