Lady Vols basketball is heading towards a difficult NCAA Tournament draw.
Tennessee (16-13) lost 76-64 to Alabama in its first game of the SEC Tournament, squandering a chance to solidify or improve its seeding for March Madness. A little over a month ago, the Lady Vols were projected to host the opening rounds as a No. 3 seed. Tennessee has lost 10 of 12 games since that projection.
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The Lady Vols now await their seeding during the Selection Sunday show on March 15 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Here’s where Tennessee in the latest March Madness projections.
Lady Vols basketball standing in latest bracketology
ESPN’s Charlie Creme moved Tennessee down to a No. 8 seed immediately after its loss to Alabama. In his updated bracketology after the games March 6, Creme projected Lady Vols as the No. 8 seed playing No. 9 seed Iowa State in Los Angeles for Region 2 Sacramento. That would set up a rematch with No. 1 UCLA in the second round if UT advances.
Tennessee’s loss to Alabama gave Illinois the No. 7 seed after it upset Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament.
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The latest USA TODAY bracketology from March 4 projected Tennessee as a No. 8 seed facing No. 9 seed Princeton in Forth Worth 1. No. 1 seed UConn would host and face No. 16 Howard.
In CBS Sports’ update on March 7, Tennessee was projected as a No. 8 seed facing No. 9 seed Oklahoma State in Sacramento 2. No. 1 seed UCLA would host and face No. 16 High Point.
If Tennessee ends up at a No. 8 or No. 9 seed, it’ll have to face a No. 1 seed in the second round if it advances.
The Athletic projected the Lady Vols as a No. 7 seed playing No. 10 seed Fairfield in Forth Worth 2, which has South Carolina as the No. 1 seed. Vanderbilt would host as the No. 2 seed – which is unlikely as the committee tries to avoid same-conference matchups in the second round – and face No. 15 seed Vermont.
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Will Lady Vols miss March Madness for first time?
Tennessee is the only program to never miss an NCAA Tournament in program history, and that streak will not be broken this season despite the losses that have piled up.
The Lady Vols still rank high in key metrics – they’re No. 23 in the NET, No. 3 in NET strength of schedule and No. 32 in Wins Above Bubble, a new metric the committee will use this season.
The strength of the SEC also gives the Lady Vols some breathing room for making the field. They finished 8-8 in the conference in a four-way tie for sixth place, and Creme projects nine SEC teams to make the field.
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Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Where Lady Vols basketball stands in latest March Madness bracketology
