The Tennessee Vols, as expected, were rewarded in the polls on the heels of one of the most exciting finishes of the season. UT upended Alabama at the buzzer on Jahmai Mashack’s 35-foot three pointer to give the Vols a massive 79-76 win that could possibly land them their first-ever #1 NCAA tournament seed in program history. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has UT as the fourth overall team in his latest projections.
That’s right where the voters have them in the AP and Coaches Polls as well. Tennessee came in at #4, up one spot, in both sets of rankings.
POLL ALERT: Auburn and Duke remain 1-2 in men’s AP Top 25; No. 6 St. John’s has its highest ranking since 1990-91.
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/3MPQkWzfoI
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) March 3, 2025
Tennessee’s foe, Alabama, dropped to 7 in both polls. Florida fell from 4 to 5 after a loss to Georgia and a win over Texas A&M. Those schools face off on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, with the winner still on the Vols’ tail for a one seed in the big dance.
This is pretty much the end of any kind of relevance for the two in-season polls. Once Tennessee concludes its regular season on Sunday against South Carolina, seeding is the only thing that matters. Tennessee can lock up a double bye in the SEC tourney with a win over Ole Miss on Wednesday in Oxford. If Bama and Florida lose once more each, UT could climb as high as the two seed.
We’ll see if the Vols can hold up their end this week and put a bow on top of a very solid regular season on Rocky Top.