9/27/2023 basketball Edit

Where Tennessee men's and women's basketball land in early bracketologies

Mar 23, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Detail of the march madness sweet 16 and elite 8 logo on a basketball during a time out during the second half between the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Tennessee Volunteers at Madison Square Garden. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

Ryan Sylvia • VolReport

Assistant Managing Editor

@RyanTSylvia

Born in Knoxville, Tenn. and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Covering football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball and recruiting for VolReport.

While football is rightfully at the top of everyone's minds as the season is in full swing, basketball has quietly crept onto the horizon.

In just over a month, both men's and women's teams around the country will take to the hardwood to begin the 2023-24 campaigns.

Let's dive into where Tennessee's men's and women's teams are projected to be seeded in ESPN's early bracketologies.

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Vols: 2-seed in the Midwest Region

After earning a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, Tennessee men's basketball made an impressive run all the way to the Sweet 16 while taking down Louisiana and Duke before falling to FAU.

After the season, the Vols lost key contributors in Olivier Nkahmhoua, Uros Plavsic, Julian Phillips and Tyreke Key. However, they also return impactful players in Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler, Jonas Aidoo, Jahmai Mashack and Tobe Awaka.

Newcomers include redshirt freshmen Freddie Dillione and DJ Jefferson and true freshmen JP Estrella, Cameron Carr and Cade Phillips. Tennessee brings in Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey through the transfer portal, as well.

Due to this incoming talent mixing with already established pieces under Rick Barnes, ESPN projects the Vols to earn a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament. This would make them the best team in the SEC as the next highest-ranked conference member are Arkansas and Texas A&M as 4-seeds.

In Tennessee's Midwest Region would be 15-seed Radford in the first round then either 7-seed Memphis or 10-seed Xavier. The other top seeds that would be in the Vols' path to their first ever Final Four are 1-seed Purdue, 3-seed Texas, 4-seed UNC, 5-seed Villanova and 6-seed USC.

Lady Vols: 3-seed in the Portland 3 Region

Last year, Tennessee's women's basketball team had an up-and-down year but were able to reach the SEC Tournament Championship game and a Sweet 16 by taking down Saint Louis and Toledo.

Following the season, Tennessee lost possibly its most consistent player in Jordan Horston to the WNBA Draft. Justine Pissott, Marta Suarez and Brooklynn Miles also entered the transfer portal while Jordan Walker and Jasmine Franklin ran out of eligibility.

A load of talent returns, though. This includes Rickea Jackson, Tamari Key, Sara Puckett, Kaiya Wynn, Karoline Striplin, Tess Darby, Jillian Hollingshead and Jasmine Powell. Jewel Spear, Destinee Wells and Avery Strickland also join through the transfer portal with immediate eligibility.

With one of the better rosters in the country, ESPN projects the Lady Vols to earn home-court advantage for another season in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee clocks in as a 3-seed marking a tie for third-highest in the SEC.

The first round would feature a matchup with 14-seed Hawaii before facing either 6-seed Creighton or 11-seed Duke. Also in the Portland 3 Region are 1-seed UCLA, 2-seed Iowa, 4-seed Baylor and 5-seed Florida State.

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