Vanderbilt upsets Tennessee, shakes up race for No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament

The top three seeds have all fallen in the SEC Baseball Tournament, but the latest loss had some big-time NCAA Tournament implications. Tennessee dropped Wednesday’s game against Vanderbilt to not only head to the losers bracket, but also shake up the race for the No. 1 seed in the race to Omaha.

The Vanderbilt offense woke up in a huge way, scoring five runs in the second inning en route to the 13-6 victory. At one point, it looked like Tennessee would be able to mount a comeback when a Reese Chapman three-run homer made it a two-run deficit. But the Commodores responded with a run in the fifth inning before scoring two in the seventh, three in the eighth and one in the ninth to seal the victory.

The Vols are still in the SEC Tournament – the double elimination format started Wednesday – but things are getting interesting from a Field of 64 perspective.

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Tennessee dropped to No. 5 in the updated RPI after the game, meaning the Vols behind Texas A&M, North Carolina, Arkansas and Kentucky. That adds further uncertainty to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament with the selection show just a few days away.

Entering conference tournament weekend, On3’s Jonathan Wagner projected Tennessee as the top seed in his updated Field of 64, followed by Kentucky at No. 2, North Carolina at No. 3 and Texas A&M at No. 4. However, this week’s SEC Tournament isn’t making things easy for the selection committee.

The top three seeds in Hoover all lost their first games. Texas A&M plays in the nightcap against Mississippi State, fresh off its thrilling victory over Ole Miss in Tuesday’s single-elimination game. But because the top three teams all fell, none of them found a way to separate themselves from the pack in the race for the No. 1 spot.

North Carolina hasn’t yet played a game in the ACC Tournament, though. The Tar Heels will get things going from Charlotte on Thursday against Pitt as they look to perhaps move into that top overall seed.

There’s another interesting game looming in the SEC on Thursday, though. That’s when Kentucky and Arkansas will square off in an elimination game to open things up at Hoover Met – meaning they’ll not only be playing to keep their title hopes alive, but sit atop the NCAA Tournament field.

The picture is about to get clearer over the next few days as teams vie for their conference’s automatic bid. But entering Wednesday night, things are still blurry.