Tennessee Lady Vols a No. 5 Seed in NCAA Tournament; Will Face Dayton in First Round

Mar 23, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick during the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Lady Volunteers head coach Holly Warlick during the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Tennessee Lady Vols are a No. 5 seed in the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers will face the No. 12 Dayton Flyers in the first round.

Despite a 19-11 record and an early exit in the SEC Tournament, the NCAA Selection Committee rewarded the Tennessee Lady Vols with their strength of schedule and gave them a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Holly Warlick’s team will face the No. 12 seed Dayton Flyers at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the first round of the tournament.

The Lady Vols are in the same bracket as the Baylor Bears, who are the No. 1 seed, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who are the No. 2 seed and lost to Tennessee in the final game of the regular season.

More from Vols Women's Basketball

Should Tennessee get past Dayton, they will face either the Louisville Cardinals or the Chattanooga Mocs in the second round of the tournament.

Last year, the Tennessee Lady Vols were a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament but managed to shock their way into the Elite Eight.

This year, they will be hoping to do the same, as they have never failed to get past the first weekend under Warlick.

However, they have never reached the Final Four under Warlick either, and with three All-SEC players but not a ton of depth, it’s impossible to project where this team will go.

They could lose in the first round or win it all considering everything they’ve done this year.

But their tough schedule likely prepared them for this tournament, so they should be ready for any opponent they face.