Tennessee basketball predicted to get bad news for NCAA Committee’s Top 16 reveal

The No. 5 Tennessee Vols had a great chance to make a statement against No. 15 Kentucky on Tuesday night, but a disastrous performance down the stretch proved to be costly. With that loss, Tennessee is 20-5 on the year, but a concerning 7-5 in conference play.

On Saturday, Tennessee will look to avenge a loss to Vanderbilt earlier in the season, as the two teams will face off in Knoxville. Also on Saturday, the NCAA Committee is set to reveal its first and only Top 16 of the campaign, giving an update (for now) on which teams will land top seeds.

Prior to the loss to Kentucky, plenty of people thought UT would be in great shape to potentially capture their first No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament in program history. Bleacher Report doesn’t see that happening anymore. BR came out with predictions for Saturday’s reveal and it has Tennessee as a No. 2 seed for the Big Dance.

This Saturday, CBS Sports & TNT Sports unveil the current top 16 seeds for the NCAA Men’s Tournament at 12:30 PM on CBS.

Committee Chair Bubba Cunningham joins Adam, Clark, Jay and Seth in studio.

Coverage continues at 1 PM on CBS Sports Network as Jerry Palm joins the show. pic.twitter.com/FXyoa4l5vi

— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) February 12, 2025

Tennessee is predicted to land a No. 2 seed for the 2025 NCAA Tournament

The Vols indeed are projected to land the No. 2 seed for the East Region (Newark). Duke will land the No. 1 seed for that side of the bracket, while Texas Tech and Michigan will be No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

Bleacher Report has Duke, Alabama, Auburn and Florida as its No. 1 seeds. Tennessee is projected to be No. 5 overall, meaning it will just miss out on making program history. It’s important to note, however, that there’s still a ton of basketball left to be played.

There will be a ton of movement in the rankings over the next few weeks. Then, Selection Sunday will get here before we know it. There’s still plenty of time for the Vols to go on an impressive run to earn a coveted No. 1 seed. First, Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler and others will need to take care of business this weekend and post a win over Vandy before we start thinking too much about the future.