Lady Vols basketball is holding steady on the cusp of hosting the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament in the latest March Madness bracket projections.
No. 19 Tennessee (16-5, 4-5 SEC) managed to snap three-game losing streak with a 76-71 win over Missouri on the road Sunday. The Lady Vols host No. 6 UConn (21-2, 12-0 Big East) at Food City Center on Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) before traveling to No. 5 LSU on Sunday.
Here’s where Tennessee stands in the latest March Madness projections.
Lady Vols projected as No. 5, No. 6 seed
ESPN’s Charlie Creme still has the Lady Vols as a No. 6 seed, which he said last week was due to “a bracket procedure,” and they still have a shot to host as a top-16 seed.
Creme has Tennessee as a No. 6 seed in Region 1 Spokane, which has UCLA as the No. 1 overall seed. The Lady Vols would play the winner of a play-in game between Iowa State and St. Joseph’s for the No. 11 seed, and No. 3 seed North Carolina would host the opening rounds and play No. 14 Southeastern Louisiana.
The Athletic’s Mark Schindler moved Tennessee up to a No. 5 seed Friday after having it as a No. 6 seed last week. The Lady Vols would play No. 12 seed Ball State in Birmingham 2, which has South Carolina as the No. 1 seed. No. 4 Maryland would host the opening rounds and play No. 13 Missouri State.
Lady Vols basketball’s NCAA Tournament résumé
The Lady Vols have one ranked win over Iowa in nonconference play. Florida State was receiving votes when UT beat the Seminoles 79-77, which was a quality win with FSU ranked now No. 21 in the NCAA NET rankings. Iowa is ranked No. 31 in the NET.
Tennessee dropped from No. 12 to No. 14 in the NCAA NET rankings after Sunday’s win. It is 3-5 in Quad 1 games, 4-0 in Quad 2 games and 9-0 in Quad 4. Four of the Lady Vols’ five losses were to teams ranked in the top 10 at the time – Oklahoma, LSU, Texas and South Carolina – and all of their losses were by single digits. Vanderbilt has entered the rankings since beating UT by one point on the road.
Tennessee is now 4-2 on the road with wins over Texas A&M, Arkansas, Missouri and Memphis and is 3-0 in neutral-site matchups with wins over Iowa, Richmond and Tulsa.
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Lady Vols basketball’s NCAA Tournament history
The Lady Vols are the only program never to miss an NCAA Tournament.
Tennessee was a No. 6 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, which was its lowest seeding since being a No. 11 seed in 2019. The Lady Vols were a top-16 seed for three straight seasons from 2021-23. They were a No. 3 seed in 2021 and a No. 4 seed in 2022 and 2023.
Tennessee made back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2023 for the first time since since 2015 and 2016. The Lady Vols bowed out in the second round last year, losing 79-72 to No. 3 seed NC State.
Tennessee has won eight NCAA championships and made 18 trips to the Final Four. All of those happened under coach Pat Summitt, and the last time it did either was in 2008.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee women’s basketball updated March Madness bracket predictions
