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Where Tennessee is ranked in AP Top 25, Coaches Poll entering NCAA Tournament

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey03/17/25GrantRamey
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson, Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee Basketball stayed at No. 6 in the updated Coaches Poll on Sunday night and moved up two spots in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday, following the release of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

Duke and Houston remain at No. 1 and No. 2 in the Coaches Poll, respectively, while Florida moved up one spot to No. 3 after winning the SEC Tournament championship, beating the Vols 86-77 on Sunday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena. 

Auburn dropped to No. 4 after losing 70-65 to Tennessee on Saturday in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Nashville. The Tigers enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed despite losing three of the last four.

No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Wofford, Thursday, 6:50 p.m. ET

Tennessee (27-7) is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region and will play No. 15 Wofford (19-15) on Thursday (6:50 p.m. Eastern Time, TNT) at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The Vols and Terriers are opposite of No. 7 UCLA and No. 10 Utah State. 

Houston is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest. Kentucky is the No. 3 seed, facing No. 14 Troy in Milwaukee, opposite of No. 6 Illinois, which will face either No. 11 Texas or No. 11 Xavier out of the First Four in Dayton.

Kentucky dropped two spots to No. 21 in the Coaches Poll and Illinois went from No. 25 to unranked after losing in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. 

Purdue is the No. 4 seed in the Midwest and is ranked No. 22 in the Coaches Poll. 

Tennessee has been ranked in the top 10 in the Coaches Poll for 19 straight weeks. The Vols were ranked No. 12 in the preseason Coaches Poll, moved up to No. 9 on November 11 and have been ranked in the top 10 ever since.

Tennessee was ranked No. 1 for five straight weeks while tying a program record with its 14-0 start to the season. The Vols have been ranked in the top five of the Coaches Poll 10 times this season. 

Vols ranked No. 5 in NET, KenPom ratings

The NCAA Tournament selection committee had Tennessee as the No. 5 overall seed in the 68-team field — Wofford is the No. 60 overall seed — after the Vols were ranked No. 5 in the NET on Selection Sunday. 

Tennessee is also ranked No. 5 overall in the KenPom.com ratings. The Vols are No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 18 in adjusted offensive efficiency.

KenPom predicts a 76-59 win over Wofford in Thursday’s first-round game in Lexington. KenPom also gives Tennessee a 71.7% chance to make the Sweet 16 and a 50.4% chance to make the Elite Eight. The Vols have a 26.3% chance to make the Final Four.

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