Committee chairman reveals why Florida landed projected No. 1 seed over Tennessee

The NCAA Committee’s Top 16 reveal arrived on Saturday and there sure were some head-turning decisions, while others were pretty obvious. For Tennessee basketball fans, they were hoping that the Vols would be projected to land a No. 1 seed for the Big Dance.

That didn’t happen, though, as Tennessee was placed with a No. 2 seed in the East Region – Duke had the No. 1 seed there. The Blue Devils are joined by Auburn, Alabama and Florida as the projected No. 1 seeds. Yup, the same Florida that Tennessee recently beat by 20 points in Knoxville.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that the Gators also beat the Vols by 30 points when they faced off earlier in the campaign. When discussing how things shaped out here, NCAA Committee Chairman and UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham said Florida taking down No. 1 Auburn not long ago gave the Gators the edge:

Your Tennessee Volunteers are the top 2-seed, slated in the East Region with Duke! Committee chairman says difference between Vols and Florida was Florida’s win over Auburn. So far, no arguments here.

— RockyTopTalk (@RockyTopTalk) February 15, 2025

Bubba Cunningham explained why Tennessee missed out on a No. 1 seed in the committee’s Top 16 reveal

While Tennessee fans were dreaming of a No. 1 seed on Saturday, we can’t really argue with what the committee decided. UT and Florida are 1-1 on the year against one another, while the Vols lost to Auburn and the Gators took care of business against the Tigers.

Tennessee is set, for now, as the No. 5 overall seed, meaning it’s just missing out on the program’s first No. 1 seed ever. You know what, this can also be used as motivation for the locker room. There’s still plenty of time left in the regular season and then the SEC Tournament will provide plenty of opportunities for a statement to be made.

The Vols also have games against ranked opponents coming soon – No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 2 Alabama and No. 19 Ole Miss are still on the schedule. Rick Barnes and his guys will need to be focused and avoid any wild upset losses. Just because Saturday didn’t go as planned doesn’t mean the No. 1 seed dream is dead.