Lady Vols Basketball Tumble in Latest ESPN Bracketology

Tennessee projected as 7-seed, face tough road ahead to NCAA Tournament

Feb. 24, 2026 at 8:03pm

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Lady Vols basketball has dropped four straight games and is now projected as a 7-seed in ESPN's updated NCAA Tournament bracketology, the lowest mark of the season for Tennessee. The Lady Vols face a tough remaining schedule, including games against No. 6 LSU and No. 5 Vanderbilt to close out the regular season.

Why it matters

Tennessee's recent struggles have significantly impacted their NCAA Tournament seeding and path, as they now face the prospect of having to play on the road against higher-seeded opponents just to reach the Sweet 16 for a second straight year.

The details

In ESPN's latest bracketology, the Lady Vols are projected to face 10-seed Virginia in the first round, with the winner taking on either 2-seed Michigan or 15-seed Western Illinois. If Tennessee can advance to the Sweet 16, they would likely match up with either 3-seed TCU or 6-seed Alabama. Other top seeds on their potential path to the Final Four include 1-seed Texas, 4-seed Ohio State, and 5-seed Ole Miss.

  • Tennessee will play at No. 6 LSU on Thursday, February 27.
  • The Lady Vols will host No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday, March 2 to close out the regular season.

The players

Lady Vols Basketball

The women's basketball team of the University of Tennessee, a perennial powerhouse in the SEC and NCAA Tournament.

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What they’re saying

“Yeah, that's SEC, isn't it? You're gonna have patches where you look really good. You're gonna have patches where you have a tough stretch. We've had an incredibly tough stretch. I think you just be honest with your team and they can handle it or not, and sometimes the honesty is not good, and sometimes the honesty is good. And tonight, honestly, our team was fun to coach. We definitely made some basketball errors, but the people that were on the floor played hard. They played together. Not a good third quarter for us, but again, we can make some adjustments from today's game going forward and be okay.”

— Kellie Harper, Head Coach, Lady Vols Basketball (rockytopinsider.com)

What’s next

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The takeaway

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