Lady Vols basketball moved up two spots in the projected NCAA Tournament field after a blowout win over Georgia on the road.
Tennessee (13-7, 6-2 SEC) stayed put in the Last Four In in ESPN’s bracketology update Friday, but is now the first team in that group. In the previous update, on Tuesday, it was the second to last team in the field. Washington, Auburn and Maryland are also in the Last Four
Tennessee’s projected play-in game against Washington is in the Portland 2 region, with the winner predicted to play No. 6 seed Creighton in the round of 64 in Columbus, Ohio.
Vanderbilt, Iowa State, Texas A&M and Alabama are projected to have the last four byes. Tennessee has a chance to move out of the play-ins stage, with games against Alabama, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M remaining.
The Lady Vols rose to No. 49 in the NCAA NET rankings. They were No. 98 after losing to Middle Tennessee State in December.
This is Tennessee’s second week in the projected tournament field after being dropped following their 5-5 start. They hovered on the bubble between the First Four Out and the Next Four Out after starting SEC play 3-1, dropping a road game to Texas A&M.
Tennessee moved back into the tournament field after a road win at Mississippi State — which upset reigning champ LSU on Monday — and a home win over in-state rival Vanderbilt.
When Tennessee first dropped out of the field, ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme said it wasn’t time to panic yet if the Lady Vols put together a substantial SEC record. They are currently tied for second in the SEC with Ole Miss.
A signature win over LSU or South Carolina would boost Tennessee’s seeding significantly, and staying competitive in a loss is crucial.
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The Lady Vols, who have never missed an NCAA Tournament, have eight NCAA championships and 18 trips to the Final Four. All of those happened under coach Pat Summitt, and the last time they did either was in 2008.
The pandemic canceled the NCAA Tournament during Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper’s first season. Tennessee has made the tournament each season since, and made it to the Sweet 16 the past two seasons. It was the first time the Lady Vols made back-to-back trips to the Sweet 16 since 2015 and 2016.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball bracketology update: Latest NCAA bracket predictions
