March Madness is officially here. And just like last year, I want to provide a “by the numbers” look at the Vols’ NCAA Tournament draw each round of the tournament.
Tennessee starts their 2025 NCAA Tournament run on Thursday night when they take on 15-seed Wofford at 6:50 PM on TNT. The Vols enter this year’s tournament as a two-seed once again, and they’ll be looking to make it to the program’s first-ever Final Four as they begin their march through the tournament.
Here are some fun facts and interesting statistics as Tennessee gets set to take on Wofford in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
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2
The first number is not only indicative of Tennessee’s seeding for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but it also stands for the number of consecutive years the Vols have been a two-seed. For the first time in program history, UT has earned a two-seed in the NCAAT in back-to-back seasons. The Vols are also the top-rated two-seed in the tournament for the second-straight season according to the full seed list released by the selection committee on Selection Sunday. Tennessee is the fifth overall seed, just like last year, meaning they’re thought of as the “best” No. 2 seed in this year’s tournament.
5
This year marks the fifth time the Vols have been a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament, which means this is now the seed Tennessee has earned the most in their NCAA Tournament history. The Vols have been both a four-seed and eight-seed four times, but now a No. 2 seed is their most frequent seeding.
As a two-seed, Tennessee has gone 8-4 and has improved their tournament success on that seed line each time. The Vols were bounced in the second round as a two-seed in 2006, lost by 19 to three-seed Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen in 2008, lost in overtime to three-seed Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen in 2019, and advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to one-seed Purdue last season.
100
The Vols have a perfect 100% winning percentage against their first round opponent, Wofford, and they’re perfect against 15-seeds in the NCAA Tournament, too. Tennessee is 8-0 against the Terriers, and the two programs just played each other in mid-November last season, which resulted in an 82-61 victory for the Vols. Tennessee is 4-0 against 15-seeds all-time, having previously beaten Winthrop (2006), American (2008), Colgate (2019), and Saint Peter’s (2024).
99
Hailing from the Southern Conference, Wofford managed to surprise everyone with a run in the SoCon Tournament to earn the conference’s auto-bid into the NCAAT. But they face a program that has historically dominated the SoCon, as the Vols are seeking their 100th win over current Southern Conference teams. UT is 99-17 all-time against SoCon opponents, including their 84-36 beatdown of Western Carolina earlier this season.
2020
Wofford is currently the No. 120 team in the KenPom ratings. Tennessee hasn’t lost to a team ranked outside the top 100 on KenPom since 2020 when they lost 63-58 to a Texas A&M squad that finished the year ranked 131st on KenPom. The Vols are 10-0 this season against teams ranked 100 or worse on KenPom, which includes neutral site victories over Virginia (104th) and Miami (192nd).
231
While Wofford has a pretty efficient offense that’s adept at grabbing offensive rebounds, its defense will be the worst the Vols have faced since December 17, which ironically was against fellow SoCon member Western Carolina. Wofford’s defense ranks 231st on KenPom, marking just the eighth time this season the Vols will face a defense ranked 200 or worse on KenPom. Tennessee is 7-0 in those games and has scored an average of 82.7 points against those defenses.
70
On the flip side, Tennessee enters the NCAA Tournament with the No. 3 defense on KenPom, and that defense has limited opponents to just 63 PPG this season. The Vols are 23-1 this season when holding teams to 70 or fewer points, with the only loss coming on the road against Auburn. No non-conference team has scored more than 70 points against the Vols this season.
10
Staying on the defensive side one more time, the Vols are 22-2 this season when they force opponents into 10 or more turnovers. They’re 11-0 when they’ve gotten opponents to cough up the ball 12-plus times.
27
This year marks the 27th time Tennessee has earned a berth into the NCAA Tournament, and it’s the seventh year in a row the Vols have made it into the Big Dance when there’s been a NCAA Tournament (2020’s tournament was canceled due to COVID). Unfortunately, the Vols have yet to make it to the Final Four in their previous 26 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, which currently ranks as the fourth-most NCAAT bids without a Final Four appearance. Only BYU (32), Xavier (30), and Missouri (29) have made more NCAAT appearances without reaching the Final Four. All three of those teams earned NCAAT bids this year, too.
26.3
The good news is that this year might be Tennessee’s best shot at making the Final Four, at least according to pre-tournament odds. According to KenPom’s 2025 NCAA Tournament probabilities, the Vols have a 26.3% chance of advancing to the program’s first-ever Final Four, which are the fifth-best odds in the tournament and easily the best odds for any team that isn’t a one-seed. The historic rate of two-seeds making the Final Four is 20.5%, though a two-seed hasn’t reached the Final Four since 2022 when two advanced that far (Duke and Villanova).
715
Tennessee’s school record for career assists is 715. Zakai Zeigler should own that record early on in the Vols’ first round game this year. The two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year already holds the program record for career steals and assists in a season, and he enters into the 2025 NCAA Tournament with 714 career assists. He only needs two more to pass Johnny Darden’s record that’s stood since 1979.
18
When Chaz Lanier has scored at least 18 points this season, Tennessee hasn’t lost. The Vols are a perfect 19-0 when their All-American Honorable Mention has dropped 18 or more points in a game.
600
With his 11 points in Tennessee’s 86-77 loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament title game, Chaz Lanier joined the 600-point club at Tennessee. Lanier has 601 points as the Vols enter the NCAA Tournament, and he’s now registered the 25th season of 600-plus points by a Vol and is the 16th Vol to score 600 points in a season. For fun, here’s the full list of Vol players who have scored 600 or more points in a season: Allan Houston (x4), Bernard King (x3), Dale Ellis (x2), Ernie Grunfeld (x2), Tony White (x2), Dyron Nix (x2), Dalton Knecht, Reggie Johnson, Grant Williams, Jordan McRae, Chris Lofton, Michael Brooks, Ron Widby, Ron Slay, Admiral Schofield and Chaz Lanier.
