Bracketology 2023: Kansas, Houston among potential top seeds on watch

Bracketology 2023: Kansas, Houston among top seeds with big games

Apr 4, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; The Kansas Jayhawks place their name as national champions on the bracket after their win against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four championship game at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

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Bracketology Tennessee Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 10 Tennessee 20-6 (9-4) at Kentucky 17-9 (8-5)

Saturday, February 18, Lexington, KY, 1:00 PM ET, CBS

The hopes of Tennessee may have been on life support after three of five entering this game in Lexington to face Kentucky on Saturday, but a convincing win over No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday has kept them in the conversation for a No. 1 seed. Since beating Texas handily on Jan. 28 to move to 18-3, the Volunteers have won two games, Wednesday night and an ugly 46-43 win over Auburn.

Admittedly they have run into some bad luck, suffering back-to-back buzzer-beating losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri. But for a team that was on the fringes of a No. 1 seed talk anyway, being swept by Kentucky would allow the defibrillator to be put away.

When looking at their portfolio, it looks impressive with the one thing that could ding them, when compared to other potential No. 1 seeds if they can turn their ship around is the fact that four of their six losses have come in quad 2. Their strength of schedule is a little low with an average of 45, but the metrics absolutely love the Volunteers. They are currently 3rd in the NET and they are a predictive-metrics darling, ranking no lower than 6th in any of the three.

On the flip side, KPI has them ranked seven spots ahead of their SOR at 7th and 14th respectively. If Tennessee wants to get back into the talks for a No. 1 seed, like they were in December and early January, they can’t go into Lexington and leave without a win.

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