Tennessee basketball is chasing “the big one” now to borrow guard Dalton Knecht’s recent catchphrase.
The Vols (24-8) earned a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament on Sunday and will face No. 15 St. Peters (19-13) on Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of the Midwest Region. It is the fifth top-four seed in five NCAA Tournament appearances under coach Rick Barnes.
Texas (20-12) is the No. 7 seed and Virginia (23-10) and Colorado State (24-10) play in a play-in game as the No. 10 seed. Those are the potential second-round matchup Saturday for the Vols. The games will be played at Spectrum Center.
Purdue (29-4) is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, which will be in Detroit.
Tennessee has reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the past six seasons in which it was held. UT hadn’t been to the tournament since 2014 before Barnes took over.
Tennessee basketball is a No. 2 seed for the fourth time in program history
Tennessee received a No. 2 seed for the fourth time in program history. It is the second time the Vols have been a No. 2 seed under Barnes.
The Vols were a No. 2 seed in 2019 when they reached the Sweet 16. They also reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed in 2008 and were bounced in the second round in 2006 in the program’s first appearance as a two seed.
How Tennessee basketball earned a No. 2 seed
Tennessee won the SEC regular-season title outright for the first time since 2008 by going 14-4 in league play.
The Vols finished with an 8-7 record in Quad 1 games and a 5-1 record in Quad 2 games. They were 5-2 at home, 6-3 on the road, and 2-3 in neutral-site games in Quad 1 and 2. They lost all three Quad 1 neutral-site games.
UT notched four standout road wins by winning at Wisconsin, Kentucky, Alabama and South Carolina.
The Vols had many strong home victories to their credit, including topping Alabama by 20 in January, beating Illinois in December, and downing Auburn in February. They also beat Syracuse and NC State in neutral-site matchups.
Tennessee basketball’s NCAA Tournament history under Rick Barnes
Tennessee went to the Sweet 16 in 2019 and 2023, two of the nine appearances in program history.
The Vols earned a top-5 seed in each of the five tournament appearances. They were a No. 3 seed in the 2018 and 2021 tournaments. They lost in the second round in those seasons.
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Tennessee reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed in 2023 before falling to Florida Atlantic. It was a No. 5 seed in 2021 and was upset by Oregon State in the first round.
UT has 26 NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. It has reached one Elite Eight and has never been to a Final Four.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee’s March Madness opponent is St. Peter’s in 2024 NCAA Tournament
