Lady Vols basketball continues to drop in the latest bracketology its slide continues with a third straight loss.
Tennessee (16-9, 8-5 SEC) has lost six of its last eight games, a stretch that only includes wins over Georgia and Missouri and most recently, a loss to Texas A&M on Feb. 19.
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The Lady Vols were projected as high as a No. 3 seed in January, but that’s more of a far-off dream than reality as their losses pile up. They have little to zero chance to host the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament, barring a miracle run of wins against their last three ranked opponents and an SEC tournament run.
Here’s where Tennessee stands in the latest March Madness projections.
Lady Vols basketball standing in latest bracketology
ESPN’s Charlie Creme dropped Tennessee from a No. 5 seed to a No. 6 seed in his bracketology Feb. 20. The Lady Vols would face No. 11 Rice, hosted by No. 3 seed TCU, which would face No. 14 Idaho. Creme has Tennessee in Region 2 Sacramento, which has UCLA as a No. 1 seed and Vanderbilt as the No. 2 seed.
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The latest USA TODAY bracketology from Feb. 18 still had the Lady Vols in the hunt for a top 16 seed before the loss to Texas A&M. But Tennessee is likely out of contention after the Aggies loss.
CBS Sports also projects Tennessee as a No. 6 seed in Sacramento 2, which has UCLA as the No. 1 seed. The Lady Vols would face No. 11 seed Fairfield, hosted by No. 3 seed Duke, which would play No. 14 High Point.
The Athletic dropped Tennessee to a No. 7 seed in Sacramento 3, which has Texas as the No. 1 seed. The Lady Vols would play No. 10 seed Nebraska, hosted by No. 2 seed Michigan, which would play No. 15 seed Navy.
Lady Vols basketball’s NCAA Tournament resume
The Lady Vols have a 2-7 record in ranked matchups, with their two ranked wins coming against Alabama and Kentucky. They also have two unranked losses to Mississippi State and Texas A&M that are both eyesores on their resume.
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NC State, which beat UT by three, was ranked in the top 10 the first week of the season, but has since fallen out of the rankings at 17-9 now. The Wolfpack are currently ranked No. 24 in the NCAA NET rankings.
Tennessee’s losses to ranked opponents have been mostly brutal outings, and they’ve gotten worse over the season. The Lady Vols lost by more than 20 to UCLA and Louisville, fell by historic margins to UConn and South Carolina and then got blown out on the road by Ole Miss. Their only close ranked matchup was a two-point loss to Texas at home.
Tennessee has three wins over teams ranked in the top 40 of the NET – Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State.
The Lady Vols are No. 22 in the NCAA NET rankings. They’re 5-7 in Quad 1 games, 2-1 in Quad 2, 1-1 in Quad 3 and 8-0 in Quad 4.
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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 ranks in latest March Madness bracketology
