Auburn and Tennessee both continue to rise in Joe Lunardi’s newest bracketology.
The Tigers, who are currently riding a 13-game winning streak, have moved up to a No. 5 seed in Lunardi’s Jan. 11 bracket while the Vols also landed on that seed line after wins over Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Those two teams are joined by six others from the SEC, with Kentucky earning the highest seed at No. 4.
Here’s the full list:
- No. 4 Kentucky
- No. 5 Auburn
- No. 5 Tennessee
- No. 7 Florida
- No. 7 Texas A&M
- No. 7 Arkansas
- No. 11 Missouri
- No. 11 Georgia
Alabama is slotted as the first team out, with the Crimson Tide bouncing back from a two-game losing streak with a 76-62 victory over South Carolina on Tuesday.
Lovell’s Analysis
With so many teams in the top 50 of the RPI right now, it’s no surprise to see the SEC continue to field eight teams in most bracketology updates.
The conference might not yet have a true Final Four contender, but it does have six or seven teams that could very easily be playing on the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky remains at the top in terms of seeding, but it’s clear that the gap has closed between this year’s Wildcats and the rest of the league.
Auburn’s rise has obviously been the most surprising to this point, and Florida has managed to get back on track after struggling towards the end of non-conference play.
The regular season title race should continue to provide plenty of intrigue with so many good teams throughout the conference.