Tennessee Basketball drops in ESPN Bracketology after three straight losses

Tennessee Basketball dropped down to a No. 5 seed in the updated ESPN Bracketology on Tuesday, with the Vols in the midst of a three-game losing streak. 

Tennessee (7-3) dropped to No. 20 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and Coaches Poll on Monday after back-to-back-to-back losses to Kansas, at Syracuse and against Illinois over the last two weeks. 

The Vols are now off until they host No. 11 Louisville next Tuesday (7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) at Food City Center. 

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi on Monday had Tennessee as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region, facing No. 12 Utah Valley in the first round in San Diego, opposite of No. 4 Kansas and No. 13 East Tennessee State. 

NCAA Tournament sites

The sites for the first and second rounds of this year’s NCAA Tournament are Greenville, S.C., Oklahoma City, Portland, Tampa, Philadelphia, San Diego and St. Louis. 

The regional sites are Houston (South Region), San Jose, Calif. (West Region), Chicago (Midwest Region) and Washington, D.C. (East Region). 

The Final Four will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, where Tennessee’s 2024-25 season ended in an Elite Eight loss to Houston.

Tennessee started this season with seven straight wins, including a win over Houston in Las Vegas, before the current three-game skid.

ESPN’s current top-16 seeds

ESPN’s current No. 1 seeds are Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Iowa State, respectively. The No. 2 seeds are UConn, Gonzaga, Purdue and Michigan State. 

The No. 3s are BYU, Alabama, Houston and Vanderbilt and the No. 4s are Louisville, Illinois, North Carolina and Kansas. 

Lunardi’s next teams up behind the top 16 seeds are Florida, Texas Tech, St. John’s and Arkansas. 

Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament history under Rick Barnes

Tennessee has been to seven straight NCAA Tournament under Rick Barnes and has never been lower than a No. 5 seed during the Barnes era.

The No. 5 seed was in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, when Tennessee was upset by No. 12 Oregon State in the first round.

The Vols are coming off back-to-back Elite Eight appearances as No. 2 seeds and were a No. 4 seed that advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2023.

Tennessee lost as No. 3 seed in 2022 to No. 11 seed Michigan and lost as a No. 3 seed in 2018 to No. 11 Loyola Chicago. The Vols went to the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed in 2019 before being upset by No. 3-seed Purdue in overtime.