There’s been some inconsistent consistency from Tennessee basketball throughout the entirety of the 2025-26 basketball season, and these past few games have only been further proof of that.
There’s been some inconsistent consistency from Tennessee basketball throughout the entirety of the 2025-26 basketball season, and these past few games have only been further proof of that.
Since Feb. 21, when the Vols traveled to Nashville to battle against the No. 19 Vanderbilt Commodores, the Vols defeated them 69-65 in one of the toughest battles of the season.
That win put the Vols back in the AP top 25 poll at No. 22 after their eighth win in their last nine games, before turning things around and facing Mizzou on the road next.
The Tigers have also struggled to find consistency, but handled what they needed to when they needed to do it, as they defeated the Vols on Tuesday, 73-69.
Where things stand now for the Vols in terms of March Madness, the team is 20-8 while winning eight of its last t10 after Tuesday. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, as of the morning of Feb. 24, had the Vols ranked at No. 5 in his bracketology, lined up against No. 12 South Florida in the Philadelphia region.
Of course, Lunardi’s rankings occurred before the Mizzou loss on Tuesday night, so the ranking doesn’t take that into account, but according to a multitude of other sites, including CBS Sports daily updated bracketology, the Vols still find themselves ranked in the fifth spot against South Florida.
This is when a resume becomes a part of the conversation for these schools, for example, Quad wins.
A Quad 1 means a home win against a top-25 school, a neutral site win against a top-50, or a road game against a top-75 team. The amount of quad wins stems from four total groups, with the lowest reaching teams ranked all the way below at No. 353.
For the Vols' resume, they currently hold a Quad 1record of 5-7 with a NET ranking of 20. The quad records utilize the NET rankings, better known as the NCAA evaluation tool, to organize the teams from one to four.
With No. 17 Alabama Saturday and No. 25 Vanderbilt March 7, both at home, the Vols have an opportunity to reach the .500 mark.
The Vols’ biggest wins of the season came earlier in the year against Houston and Louisville, with their most recent quad one loss going against none other than Mizzou on Tuesday.
Besides their up-and-down play in Quad 1, the Vols have found sound success in the remaining three, with a total of one loss against Syracuse, which falls into the Quad 2 category.
The Vols have three remaining games on the schedule before postseason play kicks off with the SEC tournament in Nashville. The Vols had some fire before the loss against Mizzou, meaning now is the time to find that momentum and bring it back.
The competition doesn’t get easier, with two quad one matchups against Alabama and Vanderbilt, both coming in front of the home crowd. The Vanderbilt matchup marks the finale of the season, before Vanderbilt’s rematch, the Vols travel to South Carolina for the final set road contest, a Quad 2 meeting against the Gamecocks.
The Crimson Tide travels to Knoxville this Saturday as the march toward March continues.