With one game left on the regular season schedule, teams around the country are fighting for a final win to potentially improve their seeding for their respective conference tournament and the upcoming NCAA tournament across the nation.
With three straight Top 10 wins, Tennessee is in a great position to land as the fourth and final 1-seed in the NCAA tournament after locking up the top spot for the upcoming SEC tournament in Nashville next week. Tennessee moved up to the West Region’s No. 1 seed according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi after winning the SEC regular season championship outright this past week against No. 17 South Carolina.
Tennessee’s first-round projected matchup is against the winner of the play-in game between Norfolk State and Central Connecticut with a potential second-round matchup against either eight-seed Texas or nine-seed Nebraska.
The Southeastern Conference currently is projected to have seven teams in the NCAA tournament, including Tennessee as a one-seed.
Kentucky, Auburn, and Alabama currently sit at the four-line in Lunardi’s most recent rankings. The Wildcats are in the Midwest Region, the Tigers are in the East Region, and the Crimson Tide land in the South Region. Tennessee is the only SEC team in the West Region while the other three sites all have two teams from the conference.
Florida and South Carolina both land on the six-seed line, in the South Region and the East Region, respectively. With Texas A&M and Ole Miss falling out of the projections in the last month, Mississippi State slides into the projections as the 10-seed in the Midwest Region alongside Kentucky.
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Here’s a look at how the SEC’s seven teams shake out in Joe Lunardi’s projections with one game left on the conference schedule for all:
Midwest Region (Detroit)
- 4-seed Kentucky
- Projected first-round opponent: 13-seed Appalachian State
- 10-seed Mississippi State
- Projected first-round opponent: 7-seed Nevada
West Region (Los Angeles)
- 1-seed Tennessee
- Projected first-round opponent: 16-seed Norfolk State/Central Connecticut
East Region (Boston)
- 4-seed Auburn
- Projected first-round opponent: 13-seed Samford
- 6-seed South Carolina
- Projected first-round opponent: 11-seed Villanova/New Mexico
South Region (Dallas)
- 4-seed Alabama
- Projected first-round opponent: 13-seed Charleston
- 6-seed Florida
- Projected first-round opponent: 11-seed South Florida
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Here’s a look at the schedule for the final day of SEC regular season basketball on Saturday:
Saturday, March 9 (All times Eastern)
Arkansas (15-15, 6-11 SEC) at No. 16 Alabama (20-10, 12-5 SEC) – 12:00 p.m. on ESPN
Texas A&M (17-13, 8-9 SEC) at Ole Miss (20-10, 12-5 SEC) – 2:00 p.m. on CBS
No. 17 South Carolina (24-6, 12-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (19-11, 8-9 SEC) – 2:30 p.m. on SEC Network
No. 15 Kentucky (22-8, 12-5 SEC) at No. 4 Tennessee (24-6, 14-3 SEC) – 4:00 p.m. on CBS
Florida (21-9, 11-6 SEC) at Vanderbilt (8-22, 3-14 SEC) – 4:30 p.m. on SEC Network
Georgia (16-14, 6-11 SEC) at No. 13 Auburn (23-7, 12-5 SEC) – 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network
Missouri (8-22, 0-17 SEC) at LSU (16-14, 8-9 SEC) – 8:30 p.m. on SEC Network
