Tennessee basketball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight time under head coach Rick Barnes. The Vols landed as a two-seed in the Midwest Region where they’ll face 15-seed Wofford in the first round.
Rick Barnes’ 10th Tennessee team was the fifth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament but they have the sixth best odds to win the National Championship according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Vols are +2100 to win the National Championship, coming in behind Duke (+300), Florida (+380), Auburn (+500), Houston (+700) and Alabama (+1900). The drop off after Tennessee is relatively significant with Texas Tech (+2900), Michigan State (+3000) and St. John’s (+3100) coming in directly behind the Vols.
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Tennessee enters the NCAA Tournament 27-7 (12-6 SEC) after losing to Florida in the SEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday afternoon. All seven of the Vols losses came against teams that made the NCAA Tournament. They have 14 wins over teams in the NCAA Tournament including wins over one seeds Auburn and Florida as well as two-seed Alabama.
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The 2025 NCAA Tournament marks the third time in Barnes’ tenure that the Vols have been a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee lost in the Sweet 16 against Purdue in the 2019 tournament and lost in the Elite Eight against Purdue in the 2024 tournament.
Tennessee begins its NCAA Tournament run on Thursday night at 6:50 p.m. ET when they face 15-seed Wofford at Rupp Arena in Lexington. If the Vols get past the Terriers they’ll face either seven-seed UCLA or 10-seed Utah State in the Round of 32 on Saturday.
Other top seeds in the Midwest Region include one-seed Houston, three-seed Kentucky, four-seed Purdue, five-seed Clemson and six-seed Illinois. The Midwest Region Semifinals and Finals are in Indianapolis.
KenPom gives Tennessee a 71.7% chance of making the Sweet 16, a 50.4% chance of making the Elite Eight and a 26.3% chance of making its first ever Final Four.
