Lady Vols basketball dropped in the latest NCAA Tournament projections after climbing as high as a No. 3 seed in January.
Tennessee (15-6, 7-2 SEC) has lost three of its last four games, a stretch that includes two of the top three worst losses in program history. Tennessee lost by 30 to UConn on Feb. 1 and suffered a 43-point loss on Feb. 8 to South Carolina, which was the worst margin of defeat in program history.
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The Lady Vols have five ranked matchups left in the regular season to redeem themselves and fight for a spot among the top 16 seeds that will host the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s where Tennessee stands in the latest March Madness projections.
Lady Vols basketball standing in latest bracketology
ESPN’s Charlie Creme dropped Tennessee to a No. 5 seed in his bracketology Feb. 10, moving them back out of the top 16 hosting seeds. The Lady Vols would face No. 12 seed San Diego State. No. 4 seed TCU would host the opening rounds and face No. 13 Louisiana Tech. Creme has South Carolina as the No. 1 seed in Region 4 Sacramento.
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The latest USA TODAY bracketology from Feb. 4 also dropped the Lady Vols from the top 16 seed, but had them listed as “in the hunt.” But that was also before the blowout loss to the Gamecocks.
The Athletic projected Tennessee as a No. 5 seed in Forth Worth 1, which has UConn as the No. 1 seed, in its latest bracket watch on Feb. 6. The Lady Vols would face No. 12 seed Quinnipiac and be hosted by No. 4 seed Ohio State, which would play No. 13 seed Green Bay.
Lady Vols basketball’s NCAA Tournament resume
The Lady Vols have a 2-5 record in ranked matchups, with their two ranked wins coming against Alabama and Kentucky. They also have an unranked, 15-point loss to Mississippi State, which is an eyesore 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 17-7. 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 have lost by an average of 24.4 points in ranked matchups. Before the latest blowouts, Tennessee lost by 22 points to UCLA and by 24 points to Louisville.
Tennessee has three wins over teams ranked in the top 35 of the NET – Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State.
The Lady Vols have fallen to No. 21 in the NCAA NET rankings. They’re 5-5 in Quad 1 games, 2-1 in Quad 2 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
