Joe Lunardi of ESPN projects Tennessee as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and would face No. 11 seed Miami University at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The winner would advance to play either No. 3 seed Michigan State or No. 14 seed Portland State in the second round.

The Tennessee men’s basketball has fallen out of the Associated Press Top 25 rankings for the first time since 2021 following a last-minute loss to Kentucky on Saturday. The Vols had been ranked in 90 consecutive editions of the weekly AP Top 25 poll dating back to the 2021-2022 preseason,