The march to March continues with both Tennessee men's and women's basketball in great spots to make the NCAA Tournament field.
As SEC winds down, the seeding for the Vols and Lady Vols is also becoming clearer.
Here's where the programs sit in the latest edition of ESPN's bracketology.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Vols: 2-seed (East)
After moving back up to the 1-seed line, Tennessee's loss at Kentucky on Tuesday has bumped the Vols back down to a 2-seed in ESPN's projection. Tennessee is slotted in the East region where it would begin its run in Cleveland.
The Vols' first opponent is projected to be 15-seed Towson. If Tennessee can take care of business, it would then face the winner between 7-seed Louisville (who the Vols beat handily on the road at the beginning of the season) and 10-seed West Virginia.
A third-straight Sweet 16 birth would send Tennessee to Newark. Likely opponents in that round are 3-seed Arizona, 6-seed Maryland and 11-seed Texas (who the Vols beat on the road in SEC play).
Other top seeds in the region on the path to a Final Four are 1-seed Duke, 4-seed Michigan and 5-seed Ole Miss.
Tennessee is one of 14 SEC teams in the field. That means just two teams from the conference (South Carolina and LSU) are not projected to make the tournament.
Lady Vols: 4-seed (Region 2 Birmingham)
Following a string of success including a win over UConn, the Lady Vols are in the picture to host the opening two rounds as a 4-seed or better. Right now, Tennessee is exactly that, a 4-seed in ESPN's recent projection.
In Knoxville, the Lady Vols would start off with 13-seed Grand Canyon in the opening round. If Tennessee wins, it'd then host the winner between 5-seed Maryland and 12-seed James Madison.
A trip back to the Sweet 16 would send the Lady Vols to Birmingham. They would then likely play 1-seed South Carolina, 8-seed Creighton or 9-seed Minnesota.
Other top seeds on the path to a Final Four are 2-seed UConn and 3-seed North Carolina.
The Lady Vols are one of 10 SEC teams in the field. This is the second most of any conference behind the Big Ten's 12 teams.
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.
