Tennessee basketball is a projected No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament after its win against Alabama on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.
The Vols are the fourth No. 1 seed following the 79-76 victory against the Crimson Tide on Jahmai Mashack’s buzzer-beating 35-footer. Tennessee is the top seed in the West Regional, which is in San Francisco. Auburn, Duke and Houston are the other No. 1 seeds.
UT has never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Vols (24-5, 11-5 SEC) close the regular season at Ole Miss (20-9, 9-7) on Wednesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and against South Carolina (12-17, 2-14) on Saturday (2 p.m., SEC Network).
Tennessee basketball’s NCAA Tournament résumé
The Vols have an 10-5 record in Quad 1 games.
Auburn leads the nation with 16 Quad 1 wins. Alabama and Tennessee are tied for second with 10 each.
Tennessee notched three Quad 1 wins with its road victories at Louisville and Illinois, as well as a neutral site win against Baylor in the Baha Mar Championship. Its home wins against Mississippi State, Florida, Missouri and Alabama were Quad 1 wins. Its road wins at Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M also were Quad 1 wins.
UT is 4-0 in Quad 2 games with home wins against Arkansas, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
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The Vols are 4-0 in Quad 3 games and 6-0 in Quad 4 games.
Tennessee basketball’s NCAA Tournament history under Rick Barnes
The Vols have reached six consecutive NCAA tournaments, a streak started in coach Rick Barnes’ third year in the 2017-18 season. Before he took over the program, UT hadn’t been to the tournament since 2014.
Tennessee reached the program’s second Elite Eight in the 2024 season.
Tennessee went to the Sweet 16 in 2019 and 2023, two of the 10 appearances in program history.
The Vols earned a top-5 seed in each of the six tournament appearances under Barnes. They were a No. 2 seed for the fourth time in program history in 2024. They also were a No. 2 seed when they reached the Sweet 16 in 2019. They were a No. 3 seed in the 2018 and 2021 tournaments. They lost in the second round in those seasons.
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Tennessee reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed in 2023 before falling to Florida Atlantic. It was a No. 5 seed in 2021 and was upset by Oregon State in the first round.
UT has 26 NCAA tournament appearances in program history. It has reached two Elite Eights and has never been to a Final Four.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee bracketology: Vols a No. 1 seed after Alabama win
