Vols unhappy with No. 2 seed, but ready to play

KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team sat in Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday evening hoping for the first No. 1 NCAA tournament seed in the program’s 99-year history.

They went home disappointed.

Not only are the Volunteers a No. 2 seed, but they join North Carolina in a Charlotte regional. Several intriguing, difficult matchups could prevent Tennessee from ever seeing the Tar Heels, too.

The Vols will be overwhelming first-round favorites Friday in Birmingham, Ala., against No. 15 seed American University. The NCAA will release first-round game times today.

“Sure, we wanted to be a No. 1 seed, but I’m not going to complain about this,” UT coach Bruce Pearl said. “We’re a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, and we start playing in a few days. So I’m not going to waste any time debating where we should have been seeded. I’ll coach my team, and I’ll let you guys (in the media) debate seeding.

“The good thing is we got the closest possible trips from Knoxville.”

American University — located in Washington, D.C. — has never been to the NCAA tournament. The Eagles (21-11) defeated Colgate in their home gym Friday night to win the Patriot League’s automatic bid into the field of 65.

Many national analysts still considered Tennessee (29-4) a legitimate candidate for the NCAA tournament’s No. 1 overall seed until the Vols’ upset loss Saturday. UT fell to Arkansas in a semifinal of Atlanta’s tornado-delayed Southeastern Conference tournament.

ESPN’s Dick Vitale said he thought the East Regional was the “toughest path to the Final Four ... in part because Tennessee is a strong No. 2 seed.”

“It’s a tough bracket,” Vols senior guard Chris Lofton said. “But it’s the NCAA tournament. It’s supposed to be hard. It’s not easy for anybody.”

UT officials said the school’s Birmingham allotment is sold out, but plenty of tickets were available online Sunday night at www.southtix.com.