There’s a new one-seed in town
It’s March 4, which means the long awaited Tennessee-Alabama game is two days old, and unless you’re living under a rock, you know the Vols pulled off one of their biggest wins in program history, and it’s ascended them to the top of the SEC standings and up a seed line after a long struggle with Arizona’s stranglehold on that final 1-seed.
Here is the breakdown:
With conference tournaments for some of the smaller conferences getting underway, we’re going to have a much clearer image of the lower seeds this time next week.
Tennessee on top
The Vols have been the top 2-seed for a while, nearly a month, in fact. However, with Arizona slipping up against Washington State again on February 22, Tennessee was able to creep up on them with a dominant win over Texas A&M followed by a big time home win over Auburn. I stated last week that regardless of Arizona’s result on Saturday, if Tennessee beat Alabama, they’d take over that last 1-seed, and that’s exactly what happened.
Tennessee did not play its best ball. In fact, the two things that have plagued the Vols in their losses — Aidoo foul trouble and stagnant guard play when Knecht doesn’t have a big game — were very prevalent in Tuscaloosa. However, despite trailing by six with under 10 minutes to play, the Vols turned to their stars. Knecht shook off a rough night plagued by foul trouble and buried a few big shots down the stretch. Zakai Zeigler shook off a rough first half and played much better ball in the second half, knocking down a pair of big triples as well as late free throws to ice the game.
Jahmai Mashack and Josiah-Jordan James played huge roles on both ends of the court with Mashack having a huge momentum sequence by himself, hitting a corner three and then making a Troy Polamalu-esque steal that led to another bucket that helped swing the game. James had his all-around best game of the season, posting a double-double with 11 points, including three triples, and 13 rebounds.
Tennessee got crushed on the offensive glass, in large part to Alabama’s cold shooting from deep leading to long rebounds but also due to Aidoo and Awaka both being in foul trouble. Nick Pringle had his way on the glass all second half, but Tennessee kept pace on offense with multiple key buckets, and they finally made clutch free throws to seal it on the road.
Of course, there’s still work to do for the Vols. They must win at South Carolina to remain atop the SEC as the Gamecocks are just a game behind them, and of course, they end the season with Kentucky at home. There’s still some meat on the bone to finish out the regular season, but this was a major win for Tennessee.
The Bubble
Last Four In
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Florida Atlantic: 22-7 | 35 NET | 30 BPI | 41st WAB | 1-2 Q1 | 6-3 Q2 | 15-2 Q3/4
↳ Remaining games: @ N. Texas (Q2) // vs. Memphis (Q2) -
Colorado: 20-9 | 30 NET | 52 BPI | 50th WAB | 1-5 Q1 | 7-4 Q2 | 12-0 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: @ Oregon (Q1) // @ Oregon State (Q3) -
Wake Forest: 18-11 | 31 NET | 25 BPI | 65th WAB | 1-6 Q1 | 6-5 Q2 | 11-0 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: vs. GA Tech (Q3) // vs. Clemson (Q1) -
Virginia: 21-9 | 49 NET | 56 BPI | 36th WAB | 2-6 Q1 | 6-3 Q2 | 13-0 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: vs. GA Tech (Q3)
First Four Out
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Utah: 18-11 | 46 NET | 46 BPI | 55th WAB | 4-7 Q1 | 4-3 Q2 | 10-1 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: @ Oregon State (Q3) // @ Oregon (Q1) -
New Mexico: 21-8 | 28 NET | 59 BPI | 51st WAB | 2-5 Q1 | 3-1 Q2 | 15-2 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: vs. Fresno State (Q4) // @ Utah State (Q1) -
Seton Hall: 18-11 | 68 NET | 72 BPI | 47th WAB | 5-7 Q1 | 3-3 Q2 | 10-1 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: vs. Villanova (Q1) // vs. DePaul (Q4) -
Pittsburgh: 19-10 | 44 NET | 35 BPI | 62nd WAB | 2-6 Q1 | 5-2 Q2 | 12-2 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: vs. Florida State (Q3) // vs. NC State (Q3)
Next Four Out
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Drake: 25-6 | 48 NET | 60 BPI | 45th WAB | 3-1 Q1 | 2-3 Q2 | 19-2 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: MVC Conference Tournament -
Iowa: 18-12 | 57 NET | 44 BPI | 52nd WAB | 3-8 Q1 | 5-3 Q2 | 10-1 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: vs. Illinois (Q1) -
Providence: 18-11 | 62 NET | 54 BPI | 56th WAB | 5-8 Q1 | 2-3 Q2 | 11-0 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: @ Georgetown (Q3) // vs. UConn (Q1) -
Texas A&M: 16-13 | 54 NET | 40 BPI | 72nd WAB | 5-6 Q1 | 4-3 Q2 | 7-4 Q3/4
↳ Remaining Games: vs. Mississippi State (Q2) // @ Ole Miss (Q2)