Rennia Davis’ game-winning three on Monday night against Alabama helped the Lady Vols move to 15-3 on the season and 5-1 in conference play. With the win, No. 23 Tennessee moved into second in the SEC standings.
Charlie Creme, ESPN’s primary bracketologist for women’s basketball, released an updated projected NCAA Tournament bracket, and he has the Lady Vols making the Big Dance as an 8-seed in the Waco Region. Creme has Tennessee squaring off with 9-seed North Carolina (13-5, 4-3 ACC) in the opening round. Should the Lady Vols win, they would likely advance to face 1-seed Baylor (15-1, 4-0 Big 12).
Tennessee is one of seven projected NCAA Tournament teams from the SEC. Creme also projects South Carolina (1-seed), Mississippi State (3), Texas A&M (4), Kentucky (5), LSU (6), and Arkansas (7) to make the field.
The Lady Vols have won four conference games in a row and seven of their last eight overall contests. During that conference winning streak, Tennessee has beaten Ole Miss by 56, Georgia by 17, and Florida by 28. The thrilling win over Alabama propelled Kellie Harper to win No. 300 as a head coach. It also ended a five-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.
Tennessee now dips out of conference plays momentarily as the Lady Vols look to continue to build off of the momentum they’ve built. The Lady Vols are hitting the road on Tuesday and headed to Connecticut to renew an old rivalry with a familiar foe on Thursday. Tennessee and No. 3 UConn are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The game, which is a “We Back Pat” contest, will benefit the Pat Summitt Foundation, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
Tennessee will return home on Sunday to resume conference play. The Lady Vols will square-off with LSU at 1 p.m. The game against the Lady Tigers will serve as the “We Back Pat” game for the Lady Vols this season.
