Tournament season is almost here.
Tony Vitello’s Tennessee program just keeps rolling along, taking two out of three from the Vanderbilt Commodores over the weekend in Nashville. That result kept the Volunteers atop the top 25 rankings this week, edging out Kentucky and Arkansas.
Despite the top ranking, Tennessee isn’t the projected No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. That’s likely due to Tennessee’s 6th-ranked RPI number, weighted by a strength of schedule that ranks 40th in the country. The Volunteers are also 13-9 in Quad 1 matchups, compared to Kentucky’s 18-6 record.
Looking around the projections this morning, Tennessee is a lock for a top eight overall seed. They’re being projected as high as No. 2 overall and as low as No. 4 overall.
On3 projects Tennessee to land as the No. 4 seed, pairing up with Southern Miss, Illinois and Austin Peay.
Tennessee continues to move up, and the Vols are a serious contender for one of the top overall seeds in the NCAA Tournament. They are 42-10 overall, 19-8 in the SEC and No. 6 in RPI. The Vols finish the regular season against South Carolina in a pretty big series, though Tennessee is a safe host and likely safe top eight seed regardless. (On3)
College Sports Madness projects Tennessee as the No. 2 national seed. The Vols would be hosting NC State, Louisiana Tech and Austin Peay in that scenario.
Tennessee hosts No. 24 South Carolina this weekend — a chance to make some more noise to close out the regular season. Kentucky will host Vanderbilt, while Arkansas travels to Texas A&M for a massive series with huge seeding ramifications.
The SEC Tournament is set to begin a week from today, May 21st, in Hoover, Alabama. The NCAA Baseball Tournament field will be revealed in full on May 27th at 12 p.m. ET.