March outlook: Latest bracketology for Tennessee men's, women's basketball

With SEC play getting into full swing, ESPN has updated its projected March Madness fields – and both Tennessee's men's and women's teams have made the cut.

Here is where both programs currently stand near mid-January.

Currently, the Vols sit as the No. 5 team in the country in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. Joe Lunardi of ESPN agrees that Tennessee sits just outside the top four, earning a No. 2 seed in March Madness.

Lunardi projects that the Vols will open up against 15-seeded Norfolk State in the opening round in Greensboro. Following that game would be a contest with either Missouri or Utah State/Utah.

Then, it would be likely that Tennessee would face either 3-seeded Texas or 6-seeded Marquette.

If the Vols were able to put together three wins and advance to their second-ever Elite Eight, it would likely either face 1-seeded Purdue in a rematch of the 2019 Sweet 16, 4-seeded Xavier or 5-seeded TCU.

The other No. 2 seeds in the field would be UConn, UCLA and Houston. Along with Purdue as a No. 1 seed, Lunardi also projects Alabama, Kansas and Arizona to earn spots as top seeds. The Vols have already faced – or will face – all three of those teams.

Tennessee would be joined by six other SEC teams in this model. This is good for third-most in the country by a conference.

For the Vols, a No. 2 seed would be the highest since they were a No. 2 seed in 2019. If Tennessee can move into a spot as a No. 1 seed, it would be the first time in school history.

For the Lady Vols, a slow start has left them outside of the current AP poll. However, a hot streak to begin SEC play has earned them a spot in Charlie Creme's projected March Madness field.

Creme currently projects that Tennessee will earn a No. 10 seed and face off with 7-seeded Illinois in the opening round. The winner would then face the winner of No. 2 UConn and No. 15 Fairfield. Because the Huskies would be the highest seed, the Lady Vols' opening two games would be played in Storrs, Connecticut.

If the Lady Vols managed to pull off a pair of upsets, they would then go on to likely face 3-seeded Duke or 6-seeded Baylor. Then, Tennessee would likely play 1-seeded Stanford, 4-seeded Kansas or 5-seeded Iowa in the Elite Eight. All of these games would be played in Seattle.

Tennessee would be one of seven SEC teams to make the big dance if this projection came to fruition. This mark is good for a tie for third-most in the country by a conference.

Throughout history, the Lady Vols have qualified for every single NCAA Tournament. However, Creme currently has them as just one of the final eight teams to make the cut. The No. 10 seed would be the second-worst in program history behind its No. 11 seed earned in 2019.

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