NCAA Tournament March Madness
#18 Tennessee
Bubble Watch | Bracketology
Chat with the Bracketologist | How does this work?
Projection: first four out
Tennessee’s résumé is anchored by a signature neutral win over Houston and a string of easy nonconference victories, but that bright moment is undercut by damaging losses at Kansas, at Syracuse and in a neutral game against Illinois, which leave the team looking uneven against top competition. The Vols have shown they can dominate lesser opponents and defend at a high level, yet they lack a body of road or neutral-site marquee wins beyond the Houston result, so those early setbacks loom large. The remaining slate offers clear opportunities to change the narrative with true resume-building wins on the road at Arkansas, at Florida, at Kentucky and at Vanderbilt and against high-profile opponents such as Louisville and Texas, while home dates like Kentucky and Alabama give chances to shore up the profile. Until Tennessee converts some of those chances into wins away from Knoxville and in neutral settings, the committee will view the team as talented and defensively stout but still marred by costly losses that require high-end wins to erase.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | Mercer | 159 | W76-61 |
| 11/8 | N Kentucky | 194 | W95-56 |
| 11/12 | North Florida | 334 | W99-66 |
| 11/17 | Rice | 213 | W91-66 |
| 11/20 | Tennessee St | 241 | W89-60 |
| 11/24 | (N)Rutgers | 145 | W85-60 |
| 11/25 | (N)Houston | 8 | W76-73 |
| 11/26 | (N)Kansas | 17 | L81-76 |
| 12/2 | @Syracuse | 75 | L62-60 |
| 12/6 | (N)Illinois | 14 | L75-62 |
| 12/16 | Louisville | 10 | 50% |
| 12/21 | Gardner Webb | 356 | 100% |
| 12/30 | S Carolina St | 363 | 100% |
| 1/3 | @Arkansas | 25 | 43% |
| 1/6 | Texas | 49 | 77% |
| 1/10 | @Florida | 13 | 31% |
| 1/13 | Texas A&M | 54 | 79% |
| 1/17 | Kentucky | 19 | 62% |
| 1/24 | @Alabama | 15 | 35% |
| 1/27 | @Georgia | 21 | 42% |
| 1/31 | Auburn | 29 | 68% |
| 2/3 | Mississippi | 57 | 80% |
| 2/7 | @Kentucky | 19 | 40% |
| 2/11 | @Mississippi St | 80 | 69% |
| 2/14 | LSU | 34 | 70% |
| 2/17 | Oklahoma | 48 | 77% |
| 2/18 | Oklahoma | 48 | 77% |
| 2/21 | @Vanderbilt | 11 | 29% |
| 2/24 | @Missouri | 53 | 59% |
| 2/28 | Alabama | 15 | 57% |
| 3/3 | @South Carolina | 88 | 73% |
| 3/7 | Vanderbilt | 11 | 50% |