After the NCAA tournament bracket was revealed, some were surprised that Texas A&M didn’t make the field after a strong week in the SEC tournament, but much of the buzz surrounded the team that beat the Aggies in the conference title game—Tennessee.
The Volunteers were expected by many to end up as a No. 2 seed in Sunday’s bracket reveal, but instead ended up as a No. 3 seed. What complicated matters even more for fans and media alike was the fact that Duke, who lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC championship on Saturday night, was slotted as a No. 2 seed ahead of Tennessee.
The ACC has been widely regarded as a mediocre conference in 2022. The conference had five bids this season to the Big Dance, which is the fewest number of tournament picks since the ACC expanded to 15 in July 2014.
The fact that Duke didn’t win the conference in its weakest season in nearly a decade is telling. Meanwhile, Tennessee won the SEC on Sunday afternoon, which has been widely regarded as the toughest conference in college basketball in 2022.
Here’s some of the best reaction on social media to Tennessee’s seeding snub.
The full 2022 men’s NCAA tournament bracket can be found here.
