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Tennessee Lady Vols climbing up rankings, bracketology after past two weeks

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee women's basketball coach Kellie Harper during an NCAA women’s basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and the Kentucky Wildcats Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, January 24, 2021.Kns Lady Vols Kentucky
Tennessee women's basketball coach Kellie Harper during an NCAA women’s basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and the Kentucky Wildcats Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, January 24, 2021.Kns Lady Vols Kentucky /
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Going 2-2 over the past two weeks did more to help the Tennessee Lady Vols than it did to hurt them. After reaching the top 25 of both polls for the first time all year two weeks ago, UT dropped its first game in those rankings 67-66 to the Georgia Lady Bulldogs. However, a blowout win at the Alabama Crimson Tide kept them at No. 25 in the AP Poll and one spot out of the Coaches Poll.

Now, they’re back in both rankings after another split week. This time, they suffered a heartbreaking 67-61 loss to the No. 3/4 undefeated UConn Huskies but came back to dominate the Kentucky Wildcats, then No. 12 in both polls, 70-53.

Thanks to that Kentucky win, the Tennessee Lady Vols, now 10-3 overall and 4-1 in the SEC, moved up five spots to No. 20 in the AP Poll, and they are back in the Coaches Poll at No. 22. Then there was individual recognition, as Marta Suárez earned SEC Freshman of the Week.

Their strength of schedule shot up to No. 33 in the RealTime RPI as well, putting them at No. 29 overall there. Most importantly, though, this team is up to No. 13 in the NCAA NET Rankings, second-highest in the SEC behind the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Simply put, as Kellie Harper addressed the media in her weekly press conference Tuesday, which you can see here, the program was in its best shape since she arrived on Rocky Top. Harper discussed the development of the players and how they bought into her system. Here’s a bit of what she said.

"“It is very rewarding as a coach to see your team’s success when they buy in as mine has done. So, are we there yet? No, we are not. We have not gotten exactly where we want to go, but there is a lot of basketball left. I mean, there’s a lot of basketball left to play, and there’s still room for growth, and there’s room for ups and downs the rest of the way. But in terms of where we are from the start of the season to where we are now, I am so proud of them, and I am so happy for them.”"

What does this mean for UT’s postseason prospects? Well, that’s up for debate. Charlie Creme of ESPN has them as a No. 4 seed in his weekly bracketology projections, facingthe No. 13 seed UT-Martin Skyhawks in the first round and be in a bracket with the No. 5 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs and No. 12 seed Bucknell Bison. The N.C. State Wolfpack would be the top seed in that bracket.

On the other hand, College Sports Madness still has this team as a No. 7 seed facing the No. 10 seed Arizona State Sun Devils in the first round. They would be in a weekend opening bracket with the No. 2 seed Maryland Terrapins and, again, UT Martin, who would be a No. 15 seed here. UConn would be the No. 1 seed in this bracket.

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We don’t know what’s in store for the Tennessee Lady Vols as they get set to host the Ole Miss Rebels Thursday and then the Florida Gators Sunday. Both teams have winning records overall but are fairly mediocre. Still, they need to continue to run the table, and this week is a chance to do that. It could help them climb all the rankings even more.