The Sweet 16 will bring together the winners of the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for an epic clash with a Final Four berth on the line by the end of the weekend.
The upcoming weekend will feature all four No. 1 seeds, three No. 2 seeds, two No. 3 seeds, three No. 4 seeds, one No. 5 seed, two No. 6 seeds, and one No. 10 seed.
Tennessee, a 2-seed from the Midwest Region, is still in the dance after beating 15-seed Wofford and 7-seed UCLA in Lexington, KY, during the first two rounds. The Vols will now face a familiar opponent – the Kentucky Wildcats – with a spot in the Elite Eight at stake on Friday in Indianapolis.
Yahoo Sports senior writer Jeff Eisenberg is looking at the broad picture in the aftermath of the first weekend, though. On Monday, Eisenberg released his rankings for teams with the best chances of winning the national championship in April.
Tennessee landed behind all four 1-seeds in Eisenberg’s rankings but is the best of the rest according to the senior writer.
“Tennessee ranks fourth on the list of programs with the most NCAA tournament appearances without a Final Four appearance,” Eisenberg wrote after slotting UT with the fifth-best chance to win a title this season. “Only BYU (32), Xavier (30) and Missouri (29) have come up short more often than the Vols (27). This year’s team is Final Four-caliber, but the path is far from easy. Up next is a Kentucky team that has already beaten Tennessee twice. Looming in a potential regional final is Houston or the Purdue team that eliminated the Vols in the Elite Eight last season.”
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Tennessee currently has odds to win the Midwest Region and odds to win the National Championship.
According to FanDuel, Tennessee has the sixth-highest National Championship odds behind Duke (+230), Florida (+390), Houston (+550), Auburn (+550), and Alabama (+1500).
With seven teams in the Sweet 16, the SEC is heavily featured in Eisenberg’s list. Behind Tennessee is No. 6 Alabama, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 15 Ole Miss, and No. 16 Arkansas.
Check out Eisenberg’s full list for Yahoo! Sports here.
2-seed Tennessee and 3-seed Kentucky will clash at 7:39 p.m. ET on Friday night in the Sweet 16 from Indianapolis’s Lucas Oil Stadium. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more coverage of the Vols’ postseason run.
