NCAA Tournament March Madness
#21 Tennessee
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Projected seed: 7
Tennessee’s résumé reads like a team squarely in the middle of the bracket because it pairs clear high-end wins with some damaging road losses, creating a case that is good but not bulletproof. The Volunteers have the kind of résumé-grabbing results that committees reward, highlighted by a neutral-site victory over Houston and resume-building wins away at Alabama and Georgia plus stout home wins over Texas and Louisville, yet those bright spots are balanced by neutral defeats to Kansas and Illinois and rough trips to Arkansas and Florida that raise concerns about consistency away from Knoxville. The nonconference slate already contains meaningful tests in Rutgers, Kansas, Illinois and Houston and the remainder of the conference schedule still offers obvious chances to flip the résumé with meaningful road and neutral wins at the likes of Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Missouri or with home statement games against Auburn, Mississippi, LSU and Oklahoma. In short, Tennessee’s profile looks like a mid-seed because it has the marquee victories committees want, it also carries a few bad losses that drag it down, and there are several clear opportunities left to improve before brackets are locked.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | Mercer | 141 | W76-61 |
| 11/8 | N Kentucky | 170 | W95-56 |
| 11/12 | North Florida | 340 | W99-66 |
| 11/17 | Rice | 237 | W91-66 |
| 11/20 | Tennessee St | 239 | W89-60 |
| 11/24 | (N)Rutgers | 155 | W85-60 |
| 11/25 | (N)Houston | 6 | W76-73 |
| 11/26 | (N)Kansas | 14 | L81-76 |
| 12/2 | @Syracuse | 77 | L62-60 |
| 12/6 | (N)Illinois | 4 | L75-62 |
| 12/16 | Louisville | 19 | W83-62 |
| 12/21 | Gardner Webb | 363 | W94-52 |
| 12/30 | S Carolina St | 361 | W105-54 |
| 1/3 | @Arkansas | 22 | L86-75 |
| 1/6 | Texas | 35 | W85-71 |
| 1/10 | @Florida | 8 | L91-67 |
| 1/13 | Texas A&M | 33 | W87-82 |
| 1/17 | Kentucky | 32 | L80-78 |
| 1/24 | @Alabama | 17 | W79-73 |
| 1/28 | @Georgia | 34 | W86-85 |
| 1/31 | Auburn | 26 | 68% |
| 2/3 | Mississippi | 73 | 86% |
| 2/7 | @Kentucky | 32 | 50% |
| 2/11 | @Mississippi St | 83 | 74% |
| 2/14 | LSU | 50 | 80% |
| 2/17 | Oklahoma | 61 | 84% |
| 2/18 | Oklahoma | 61 | 84% |
| 2/21 | @Vanderbilt | 12 | 30% |
| 2/24 | @Missouri | 59 | 67% |
| 2/28 | Alabama | 17 | 59% |
| 3/3 | @South Carolina | 87 | 75% |
| 3/7 | Vanderbilt | 12 | 52% |