With the 2026-27 college basketball season about to tip off, Tennessee’s women are entering the year with a little more respect in ESPN’s eyes. In the final preseason update from Charlie Creme, the Lady Vols moved up to an 8-seed, a step forward from the 9-seed slot they held earlier in the offseason.
That bump would send Tennessee into a first-round matchup with 9-seed Princeton. If the Lady Vols get through that game, the road only gets steeper: the winner would draw either 1-seed Duke, 16-seed Jacksonville or 16-seed Binghamton in the Round of 32.
Those first two rounds would be played in Durham, North Carolina, on Duke’s home floor. The Blue Devils are coached by LVFL Kara Lawson.
ESPN’s projection places Tennessee in Region 4 - Las Vegas, which means a Sweet 16 return would send the Lady Vols out to Nevada for the next stage of the bracket. The other top seeds in that region are 2-seed Michigan, 3-seed Vanderbilt, 4-seed UCLA and 5-seed Illinois.
Tennessee is one of 10 SEC teams projected to make the tournament, a total that is tied for the second most among conferences with the ACC and Big 12. The Big Ten is projected to lead the way with 13 teams in the field.
Within the SEC group, the Lady Vols are slotted behind 1-seed South Carolina, 2-seed LSU, 3-seed Vanderbilt, 3-seed Texas, 4-seed Kentucky, 6-seed Oklahoma and 6-seed Ole Miss. Also projected in are 10-seed Mississippi State and 12-seed Florida. Missouri, coached by LVFL Kellie Harper, and Georgia are listed among the first four out.
Tennessee opens its season against Duquesne on Tuesday.
In Other News...
LSU's Ranking Suddenly Carries More Weight Before A Massive Showdown
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Ohio States loss to USC is the kind of result that ripples well beyond one box score, especially with the College Football Playoff race already tightening. USC, New Mexico, South Carolina and Iowa all have a chance to climb, while other teams sit idle and wait for their own opportunities to make a statement, which only adds more weight to LSUs place in the rankings before a meeting that could carry serious stakes for Tennessee. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Got A Chance To Reset Everything Against Kentucky
Tennessee heads into its bye week with a 6-2 record and a little more breathing room after moving up one spot to No. 16 in the Coaches Poll. The timing gives Josh Heupel and his staff a chance to slow things down, clean up the details and refocus on the fundamentals before the stretch run, with the Vols still very much in the mix for a meaningful finish.
The next big test is already sitting on the other side of the break, with Kentucky coming to Neyland Stadium for a 6:15 p.m. ET kickoff in a game that carries College Football Playoff implications. For Tennessee, the week off is less about rest than reset, a chance to sharpen up before a rivalry matchup that could shape how the season is judged from here. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Faces A Defensive Chess Match That Could Swing Saturday
Saturday brings a familiar kind of stress test for Tennessee, one that lives as much in the film room as it does on the field. Kentuckys offense will be guided by Will Stein, while the other side of the matchup belongs to Jim Knowles, whose defenses have already built a reputation for making even well-schemed attacks work harder than they want to. For Tennessee, it is the sort of coordinator-versus-coordinator battle that can quietly shape the whole afternoon.
Stein has already seen what Knowles can do up close, and he did not downplay the challenge of preparing for him. His 2024 meetings against Knowles Ohio State defense, both in the regular season and the playoff, offered a clear reminder of how quickly a game plan can get squeezed when the structure on the other sideline is sound. Tennessee will be watching closely, because this is the kind of chess match that can decide whether an offense finds rhythm or spends the day chasing it. [Read more 🡒]