SEC play has arrived and Tennessee's pair of basketball teams are off to hot starts.
ESPN has updated its March Madness field projections to reflect this.
Here's where both the Vols and Lady Vols stand as of Jan. 19, 2024.
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Vols - 2 seed (Midwest)
Tennessee's men's team currently sits at No. 6 in the AP Poll and trends even higher in certain analytical rankings. This has resulted in a predicted 2-seed in the Midwest region.
Joe Lunardi has the Vols squaring off with recent Cinderella St. Peter's in Charlotte to get the tournament started. Then, they would face either 7-seed Clemson or 10-seed Northwestern if they managed to advance.
If Tennessee can notch back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances, it would then travel to Detroit where it would likely face either 3-seed Baylor or 6-seed Colorado State.
The other top seeds in the Vols' region are 1-seed Purdue (who Tennessee narrowly lost to on a neutral site this year), 4-seed Marquette and 5-seed Oklahoma.
The SEC is projected to be represented by eight teams in the tournament with the Vols at the highest mark.
Lady Vols - Next Four Out
After falling completely out of the picture, the Lady Vols have recently emerged as one of the first teams to miss the field according to Charlie Creme.
Tennessee is listed in the 'Next Four Out' as the fifth team to not make the tournament. Ahead of the Lady Vols are MTSU (who Tennessee lost to at a neutral site), Michigan, Villanova and California.
The final four teams projected to make the field who the Lady Vols will compete with for a spot are Mississippi State (who Tennessee beat on the road), Arizona, Washington and Arkansas (who Tennessee will face later this season).
The SEC is projected to be represented by eight teams.
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