Following Florida’s victory over Auburn, the Tennessee Vols might end up as the unfortunate loser.

The fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers are trending upwards after notching their third straight win on Saturday against the Oklahoma Sooners 70-52. The Vols controlled the game at halftime 45-25 and kept OU at bay across the second half.

However, despite a week that saw an 18-point road win and a win over then-#15 Missouri, the Vols could still end up falling in the polls come Monday, as ridiculous as that might be to say.

And that would be because of the first team the Vols beat in their current winning streak: the Florida Gators. The Gators fell to #6 after short-handed Tennessee beat them 64-44 back on February 1.

However, the Gators appear poised to spring back up in the rankings after picking up one of the best wins in college basketball by anyone this season. Florida won at #1 Auburn 90-81 on Saturday, giving the Tigers just their second loss of the season.

That makes for some interesting poll watching come Monday for Tennessee. However, the bigger question is what it could mean for Tennessee in bracketology and/or where they’re ultimately seeded in the tournament.

Right now, the Vols are projected by Joe Lunardi to be a 1 seed, the fourth one seed. They’re also the third team from the SEC on the top line, joining Auburn and Alabama. It appears very likely, as absolutely nasty as the SEC is this year, that three teams will get 1 seeds.

Florida, per Lunardi, is a 2 seed and the #6 overall team right now in his bracket, and that was before upsetting Auburn on the road. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see them get the bump up to the 1 seed line after Saturday.

There’s obviously a long way to go until the end of the regular season, and Tennessee still has plenty of chances to notch more marquee wins of their own to keep themselves on the top line, but if things are close on Selection Sunday, the Gators – with a season split with the Vols head to head – now have a big talking point when it comes to comparing resumes late in the season for who should be considered for a one seed.

We’ll see if the Vols can make it all elementary by taking care of business in the SEC tournament next month, which would surely lock them into their first-ever #1 tournament seed.

Following Florida’s victory over Auburn, the Tennessee Vols might end up as the unfortunate loser.

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