After winning 12 out of the last 13 games, including Sunday’s SEC championship over Texas A&M, Tennessee earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Volunteers will play in the South region and will face No. 14 seed Longwood in the first round.
Many expected Tennessee to be a No. 2 seed at worst going into the tournament, so the Volunteers receiving a No. 3 seed instead was one of the surprises of Selection Sunday.
ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale was among the many who disagreed with Tennessee’s seeding.
“Come on, how in the world is [Tennessee] a No. 3 seed? They deserve and earned a spot on the 2nd line having won 12 of 13 in the toughest conference [SEC],” Vitale tweeted.
Tennessee was not the only team that Vitale had an issue with in terms of seeding. Vitale also mentioned on Twitter that Iowa, the Big 10 tournament champions, should have been at least a No. 4 seed.
Iowa ended up as a No. 5 seed in the Midwest and will take on Richmond, the Atlantic-10 tournament champions, in round one.
