Tennessee basketball had a golden opportunity to solidify their No. 1 seed hopes—but a catastrophic finish against Kentucky on Tuesday left the No. 5 Vols with more questions than answers. Now sitting at 20-5 and 7-5 in conference play, their dreams of a historic No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament may be slipping away.
With a rematch against Vanderbilt coming up on Saturday, Tennessee’s future is hanging in the balance. But as if the loss to Kentucky wasn’t enough, the NCAA Selection Committee’s Top 16 Reveal is about to drop some crushing news. According to Bleacher Report, Tennessee will now only secure a No. 2 seed, dashing their dreams of program history for now.
The Vols were once in a prime position to snag their first-ever No. 1 seed, but the recent slip-up changed everything. Now, Tennessee finds itself projected as the No. 2 seed in the East Region (Newark), with powerhouse Duke taking the No. 1 spot. Adding insult to injury, Texas Tech and Michigan are pegged as No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
The Top 16 reveal is set for Saturday at 12:30 PM on CBS, and the Vols won’t be at the top—Duke, Alabama, Auburn, and Florida claim those coveted spots. As Tennessee lands No. 5 overall, their No. 1 seed dream seems almost out of reach.
But it’s not over yet. The rankings will still see plenty of shakeups in the coming weeks, and Selection Sunday is right around the corner. The Vols still have time to bounce back, but Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler, and the rest of the team need to take care of business starting with a win over Vanderbilt. The race for a No. 1 seed is far from over, but the clock is ticking. Will Tennessee rise to the challenge, or will their hopes slip away for good?
