After all the twists and turns of the SEC schedule, Tennessee can secure a double-bye and a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament by simply beating Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Volunteers took care of business on Tuesday against South Carolina, bouncing back from blowing another big lead against Alabama on Saturday.
Tennessee received some help from both Georgia and Texas A&M last night, each beating Alabama and Kentucky, respectively. The Volunteers moved up to the No. 4 seed outright with the results.
Other scenarios for Tennessee
Tennessee has a chance to move up to the No. 3 seed, but needs Arkansas to lose to both Texas and Missouri.
Should the Volunteers lose to Vanderbilt on Saturday, Tennessee would need Missouri to lose to Arkansas and Kentucky to lose to Florida to secure the double-bye.
Tennessee won the SEC Tournament back in 2022, which was their first since 1979. They’ve secured back to back double-byes in the tournament and six overall under Rick Barnes.
Vanderbilt and Tennessee are set for a 2 p.m. tip-off on ESPN to close the regular season. The SEC Tournament will begin in a week, March 11th, and run through Selection Sunday.
Florida, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee are the current top four seeds. Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Missouri are the next four, each tied up with 10-7 conference records. By Saturday night, all of this will be sorted out and we’ll have a final bracket.