Skip to main content
Tennessee

Tennessee Basketball's odds to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey02/14/25GrantRamey
Rick Barnes, Tennessee Basketball | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
(Randy Sartin-Imagn Images) Jan 15, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes points to guard Chaz Lanier (2) during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.

Tennessee Basketball has the sixth-lowest odds to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to odds released by FanDuel. The Vols and Iowa State are both set +430 to get one of the four No. 1 seeds. 

Auburn is the favorite at -20000, ahead of Duke at -6000. Alabama is next at -180, then Houston at -130 and Florida at +145. Texas A&M is set at +1000, Purdue is +1600 and Texas Tech is +3500.

Tennessee has never been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but has been a No. 2 seed three times, including twice under Rick Barnes.

The Vols were previously projected as a No. 1 seed in ESPN Bracketology but slipped to the first No. 2 seed after the 75-64 loss to Kentucky at Rupp Arena Tuesday night. 

The new bracket projection from ESPN on Friday had Tennessee in the East Region, where Duke was the No .1 seed. The Vols were matched up against No. 15 Towson in Cleveland, opposite of No. 7 Louisville and No. 10 West Virginia.

Arizona was the No. 3 seed, Michigan was the No. 4 and Ole Miss was the No. 5.

Florida moves past Tennessee for final No. 1 seed in ESPN Bracketology

Florida jumped the Vols to become the new fourth No. 1 seed, behind No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Duke. Lunardi’s other No. 2 seeds were Houston, Purdue and Texas A&M, respectively.

Kentucky moved up from the No. 16 overall seed to the No. 11 overall seed, joining Iowa State, Texas Tech and Iowa State as No. 3 seeds

Tennessee (20-5, 7-5 SEC) returns home to host Vanderbilt (17-7, 5-6) on Saturday (1 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network). Vandy, which lost at home against Auburn Tuesday night, upset the Vols in Nashville, 76-75, on January 18. The Commodores have lost four of six games since beating Tennessee. 

After hosting Vanderbilt, Tennessee goes back on the road for two games, going to Texas A&M on February 22, then to LSU on February 25. The Vols close the regular-season schedule in March with home dates against Alabama (March 1) and South Carolina (March 8), sandwiched around a trip to Ole Miss (March 5). 

Tennessee has eight Quad 1 wins, three Quad 1 games left on schedule

Tennessee dropped to No. 5 in both the NET and the KenPom.com ratings after the loss at Kentucky, but the Vols moved back up to No. 4 in the NET on Thursday.

Tennessee is still rated No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 86.5 points per 100 possessions, and is No. 37 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 117.9 points per 100 possessions.

The Vols are 8-5 in Quad 1 games this season, with a 12-0 record ing Quad 2, 3 and 4 games. The eight Quad 1 wins are tied for second most in college basketball with Kentucky (8-6) and Alabama (8-3). Auburn leads the country in Quad 1 wins with 13.

There are currently three Quad 1 games remaining on Tennessee’s schedule, against Texas A&M, Alabama and Ole Miss. Vanderbilt and LSU are Quad 2 games and South Carolina is a Quad 3 game. 

You may also like