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Tennessee Lady Vols bracketology could range from 1-4 seed after two wins

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee Lady Vols warm up before the start of the NCAA college basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday, February 13, 2022.Kns Lady Vols Vandy
Tennessee Lady Vols warm up before the start of the NCAA college basketball game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday, February 13, 2022.Kns Lady Vols Vandy /
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Getting back on track last week is serving the Tennessee Lady Vols well in terms of their national presence. They still haven’t recaptured the No. 1 seed they had in NCAA Tournament forecasts a few weeks ago, but two straight wins is a step towards that after three losses in four games.

With convincing wins over the Missouri Tigers last Thursday and Vanderbilt Commodores last Sunday, Kellie Harper’s team is now 21-4 overall and 10-2 in the SEC. They moved up one spot this week to No. 12 in the AP Poll and two spots to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll.

In the analytical rankings, the gap is wider. They remain at No. 4 in the RealTime RPI largely due to their No. 6 ranked strength of schedule. However, they are all the way down at No. 16 in the NCAA NET Rankings, and the bad loss to the Auburn Tigers has a lot to do with that.

Obviously, each of these rankings would constitute a different seed in the NCAA Tournament. The RPI would have them as a 1-seed, the Coaches Poll as a 2-seed, the AP Poll as a 3-seed and the NET rankings as a 4-seed. Their average is right between a 2-seed and a 3-seed.

Well, that’s exactly what bracketology experts are forecasting for them. Both major ones for women’s basketball have the Tennessee Lady Vols in the Wichita bracket, where the Louisville Cardinals are the No. 1 seed and where UT is hosting the opening weekend.

Charlie Creme of ESPN has Rocky Top as a No. 3 seed and facing the No. 14 seed Troy Trojans in the first round. They would be in a weekend-opening bracket with the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes and Harper’s old team, the No. 11 seed Missouri State Lady Bears.

College Sports Madness has UT as a No. 2 seed and facing the No. 15 seed Fairfield Stags in the first round. They would be in a weekend-opening bracket with the No. 7 seed Ohio State Buckeyes and, once again, Missouri State, this time with them as a No. 10 seed.

Although they are climbing the ladder once again, Harper’s team still has a lot to prove. They haven’t yet won a road game without Keyen Green, and they have two crucial ones this week, starting Thursday at the Alabama Crimson Tide before their huge Sunday showdown at the South Carolina Gamecocks.

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With the Mississippi State Bulldogs and LSU Tigers on the slate to close out the season, even at home, the Tennessee Lady Vols don’t get any breathers. There are opportunities for them to move up the rankings, but they could be costly too.