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The Tennessee Volunteers secured one of the top 12 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, landing as the South Region’s No. 3. The oddsmakers in Vegas and elsewhere disagree with that seeding — slightly.
Tennessee currently sits at +4000 to win the whole thing, per Bovada. If you’re confident enough, you could cash a nice 40-1 ticket if the Vols cut down the nets.
That’s a big if, obviously. The real story here is where the oddsmakers at Bovada value Tennessee. The Vols have the 17th best odds to win the tournament, trailing lower seeds like Kentucky, Gonzaga, Arizona, West Virginia and Wichita State.
As Conner noted earlier this week, Tennessee has a good shot at advancing to next week. They’ve got a decent shot to go even further, potentially drawing Cincinnati in what would be a toss-up matchup.
With Virginia losing a key piece, you could make a decent case for any of Cincinnati, Tennessee, Arizona or Kentucky to emerge victorious from the South. It is interesting that Tennessee has the 5th best odds to win the title in their own region, however.
Are they a longshot? Absolutely. But they’re also proven plenty capable of hanging in with top teams like Villanova and North Carolina. If you’re looking for some decent odds to throw a couple of bucks on, Tennessee and their top ranked defense does seem like a good value.