Updating Tennessee basketball's odds to win the Midwest Region, advance to the Final Four
Tennessee basketball is tied for the sixth-best odds to win the national championship and has the second-best odds to win the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region and advance to the program’s first Final Four, according to updated numbers from BetOnline.
The Vols, the No. 2 seed in the Midwest, has 2/1 odds to win the region. No. 1-seed Purdue is the favorite at 13/10 (+130). No. 3 Creighton and No. 5 Gonzaga both have 5/1 odds.
UConn, the No. 1 overall seed, is the favorite to repeat as national champion at 11/5 odds, ahead of Houston (5/1), Purdue (13/2), Arizona (17/2) and North Carolina (10/1). Both Marquette and Tennessee have 14/1 odds.
Tennessee (26-8) and Creighton (25-9) meet in the Sweet 16 at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit on Friday (10:09 p.m. Eastern Time, TBS/truTV). Purdue faces Gonzaga at 7:39 p.m. ET and the winners will square off on Sunday with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
The Vols opened as a 2.5-point favorite against Creighton with the total set at 144. Creighton has 25/1 odds to win the national championship.
Tennessee advanced to the Sweet 16 with an 83-49 win over No. 15 Saint Peter’s in the first round on Thursday and a 62-58 win over No. 7 Texas in the second round Saturday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Creighton beat No. 14 Akron 77-60 in the first round on Thursday and got past No. 11 Oregon 86-73 on Saturday night in Pittsburgh.
The Vols are in the Sweet 16 for a second straight season and the third time since 2019. It’s their 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament’s third round in program history. Tennessee has been to one Elite Eight, losing to Michigan State 70-69 in 2010 in St. Louis.
Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament history under Rick Barnes
Tennessee under Rick Barnes has been a No. 2 seed twice, a No. 3 seed twice, a No. 4 seed and a No. 5 seed.
A year ago the Vols went to the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed, beating No. 13-seed Louisiana in the first round and No. 5 Duke in the second round. They lost 62-55 to No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the third round.
They were a No. 3 in 2022, beating Longwood in the first round before being upset by No. 11-seed Michigan in the second round, and lost in the first round as a No. 5 seed, falling against No. 12 Oregon State.
Tennessee was a No. 3 in 2018, beating Wright State before losing to No. 11-seed Loyola-Chicago.
Tennessee’s history as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament
Three times in program history Tennessee has been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament: 2006, 2008 and 2019.
In 2019, the Vols beat No. 15-seed Colgate 77-70 in the first round in Columbus, Ohio, survived No. 7-seed Iowa 83-77 in overtime in the second round, then lost to No. 3-seed Purdue 99-94 in overtime in Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen.
Tennessee in 2008 beat American 72-57 in the first round and Butler in the second round, 76-71 in overtime, before losing 79-60 to Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen.
The Vols in 2006 beat Winthrop 63-61 in the first round in Greensboro, then lost 80-73 to No. 7-seed Wichita State in the second round.
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