Lady Vols basketball is off to a 4-0 start in SEC play and the strong stretch is being reflected by ESPN’s updated bracketology. Charlie Creme moved Tennessee up from a 6-seed to a 5-seed in their recent projection of the NCAA Tournament field.
With the Lady Vols as a 5-seed, it means UT opens up the theoretical bracket with 12-seed Oregon State. The winner of that game would get the winner between 4-seed Texas Tech and 13-seed McNeese State. Each of these games in the first round would be played on the Red Raiders’ home floor in Lubbock.
If Kim Caldwell can lead a 5-seed Lady Vols team to the Sweet 16 for the second-straight season, the matchup in this projection would have Tennessee likely playing 1-seed South Carolina in Sacramento. Other top seeds in the region on the way to a Final Four are 2-seed Kentucky and 3-seed Maryland.
The Lady Vols are one of 11 SEC teams projected to make the field. This trails just the Big Ten’s 12 teams as the most of any conference.
More From RTI: Lady Vols Basketball Point Guard Named SEC Freshman of the Week
This week, the Lady Vols have Thursday off before squaring off with Alabama on Sunday in Tuscaloosa. This will be a top-25 bout with Tennessee clocking in at No. 20 and the Crimson Tide at No. 21 in the AP Poll this week.
Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET and will air on SEC Network.
The Lady Vols are hoping to get their leader in points, asissts and steals, Talaysia Cooper, back for the game, as well. She missed the last contest after being hit in the head with a ball during shootaround. Without her, freshman Mia Pauldo stepped up to have a great game. Her pair of contests resulted in her being named SEC Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.
