After winning the rubber match with Kentucky, Tennessee may be able to secure a no. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament by knocking off Auburn.
It may be hard to believe, but the Tennessee Volunteers are on the brink of claiming a top seed in March Madness once again. The Volunteers appeared to be a mortal lock for the top line during their 19-game winning streak, but losses to Kentucky and LSU knocked the Volunteers from the top of the polls.
A loss to Auburn at the end of the regular season sent Tennessee tumbling to the third seed in the SEC Tournament, but the Volunteers have taken care of business in Nashville, knocking off Mississippi State and Kentucky to advance to the finals. The win over Kentucky was particularly impressive, with Tennessee ending the game on an 18-6 run to steal a victory from the Wildcats.
The Volunteers will now look to exact some revenge on Auburn, which is led by former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl and the Tigers reached the title game by knocking off Florida 65-62, earning the school’s first trip to the SEC final since 2000.
Both schools are safely in the tournament, so the intrigue of the matchup concerns whether Tennessee can get to the one line. If they win they should be there, but if the Volunteers can’t get the job done there’s a chance the selection committee could put three ACC schools on the top line.
The easiest path to the top of the bracket for the Vols is to win this game, and coach Rick Barnes is definitely delivering that message to his team today.
How to watch Tennessee vs. Auburn
- Date: Sunday, March 17
- Time: 1:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Venue: Bridgestone Arena
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN