Tennessee basketball: Can Vols get 1-seed with SEC Tournament title?

Tennessee basketball won their first SEC Tournament title since 1979. Does the big win put them in range of a No. 1 seed in March Madness?

After advancing to the final of the SEC Tournament for the third time in five years, the Volunteers finally broke through and took hold of the championship.

Tennessee got revenge on their SEC Tournament final losses to Auburn in 2019 and Kentucky in 2018 en route to the championship game against Texas A&M.

The Aggies didn’t pose much of a threat and the Volunteers ran away with a 65-50 victory.

Could the impressive run in the conference tournament give Tennessee a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament?

Could Tennessee basketball be a 1-seed in March Madness?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is Tennessee needed some help to clear the way to a No. 1 seed and they didn’t get it.

Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor and Kansas are set up to be the 1-seeds in this year’s tournament.  The Bulldogs won the WCC tournament. The Wildcats beat UCLA to win the Pac-12. Kansas Took the Big 12 tournament title. Baylor’s loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 tourney shouldn’t be enough to knock them out of the picture for a No. 1 seed.

While a top seed isn’t likely in the cards, the Volunteers could be in contention for a No. 2 seed.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN placed Auburn and Kentucky ahead of them in his final bracket projections but Tennessee’s wins over both of those programs in the tournament could give the selection committee a good reason to boost them over the top.

At worst, Tennessee can expect to command a No. 3 seed if the committee opts to favor the Tigers and Wildcats.

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