A wild season continues.
From losing three of four to beating Florida by 20 — Tennessee is back on Joe Lunardi’s one-seed line. The Volunteers slid into the final one spot of Lunardi’s bracket on Monday following the weekend’s results. Auburn, Duke and Alabama joined them.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 3, 2025
Tennessee fell as low as a projected No. 3 seed after losing to Kentucky last week. That loss followed losses to Auburn and Vanderbilt on the road, which created plenty of doubt for this team going forward. Then, shorthanded without Zakai Zeigler or Igor Milicic, Tennessee dismantled Florida to pick up a huge bounce-back win.
What’s next for Tennessee basketball?
The Volunteers climbed to No. 4 in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll despite the loss to Kentucky. Now it’s all about stacking wins. Tennessee will host No. 15 Missouri on Wednesday and should have Milicic and Zeigler back.
From there Tennessee is going to have to find ways to win on the road. The Volunteers will head to Oklahoma and Kentucky, then back home for Vanderbilt. At Texas A&M and at LSU will follow. That’s four of your next five on the road, following this Missouri matchup.
Tennessee currently ranks fourth in the NCAA NET rankings. They’re 5-4 in Quad 1 games and 3-3 on the road.
As good of shape as the Volunteers are in the NCAA Tournament projections, they’ve got some work to do in the SEC. Tennessee would currently be playing on Thursday of the conference tournament, failing to get the double bye. The Vols (5-4) are tied for sixth in the league with Ole Miss. Jumping each of Texas A&M (6-3), Florida (5-3) and Missouri (6-2) is within striking range, however.
We’ll get our first look at the projected top 16 seeds one week from Saturday.