KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee men's basketball suffered a stunning 73-56 defeat in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against ninth-seeded Mississippi State in Nashville on Friday, which hurt the Vols' chances of earning their first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Vols have been mostly contending with North Carolina for the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which will almost certainly be in the West region, with the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight being played in Los Angeles.
ESPN Bracketology currently has that No. 1 bid going to North Carolina, with Tennessee earning the No. 2 seed in the South region. The regional semifinals and regional finals in the South will be played in Dallas. The biggest knock against the Vols is that UNC is still alive in the ACC Tournament, which means it has more opportunities to bolster its resume ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Currently, bracket projections for Tennessee are as follows:
- ESPN: No. 2 (South)
- NCAA.com: No. 1 (West)
- FOX: No. 1 (West)
- CBS: No. 1 (West)
The most important note for the outlets that still have Tennessee as a No. 1 seed is that those outlets have not yet updated their projections since the Vols' upset loss against Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament.
Regardless of seeding projections, the one constant across these four projections is that Tennessee is still predicted to begin play in Charlotte, N.C. at the Spectrum Center. The silver lining to the Vols earning a No. 2 seed in the South instead of the top seed in the West is that the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles is more than double the distance to the American Airlines Center in Dallas relative to Tennessee's home base in Knoxville, should the team advance past the first two rounds in Charlotte, N.C.
The Vols will find out their path through the NCAA Tournament during the 2024 Selection Sunday show on Sunday, March 17 at 6 p.m.
