Following a tough opening SEC schedule, Tennessee has stabilized a bit over the last few weeks. The Volunteers now sit at 15-6 overall, rebounding to improve to a 6-3 mark in SEC play. They are now tied with Arkansas for third overall in the conference, as everyone continues to chase Auburn up top.
During Tennessee’s rough patch, the Volunteers tumbled down the NCAA Tournament projections list a bit. They seemed like they were destined for nothing better than a 6-10 seed at one time, but they’ve battled back and won some tough games to boost their stock.
As things stand now, here’s where Tennessee is projected to land.
SBNation: No. 5 seed
ESPN: No. 4 seed
CBS: No. 6 seed
Tennessee has a strong resume with no bad losses to this point. All of their losses have come to Quad 1 teams, while wins against Arizona and LSU really bolster their case. Of course, you’d like some more top-line wins, and Tennessee will have a chance to some in the final weeks of the season.
The Vols host Kentucky and Auburn in the coming weeks, and also have two games against Arkansas. Those four results will obvious play into their NCAA Tournament seeding.
Tennessee has a couple of tricky spots ahead, going on the road to face South Carolina on Saturday and then to Starkville to face Mississippi State on Wednesday. All of that leads into another showdown with Kentucky on February 15th.