The only program to appear in every NCAA Tournament, the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team received confirmation that it had earned its 42nd consecutive postseason bid Sunday night when the bracket was revealed on ESPN.
The Lady Vols (19-12) received a No. 6 seed in the Portland 4 Regional and will play in the NCAA First & Second Rounds in Raleigh, N.C. Eleventh-ranked North Carolina State, the No. 3 seed, will serve as the host for games on March 23 and 25 at James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum.
UT will face No. 11 seed Green Bay (27-6) in the first round on Saturday at noon ET on ESPN. This will mark the third meeting between these programs, with UT defeating the Phoenix in Tempe, Ariz., in the NCAA First Round on March 18, 2016, 59-53, and prevailing, 71-36, on Nov. 26, 1996, in Knoxville.
No. 3 seed NC State (27-6) will meet No. 14 seed Chattanooga (28-4) in the other first-round contest in Raleigh on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The winners of the first-round match-ups will face off on Monday in the second round. Time and TV info. for that contest will be announced later as well.
“We are excited for our program to once again be playing in the NCAA Tournament,” fifth-year Lady Vol head coach Kellie Harper said. “We have an experienced group that has grown tremendously as a team throughout the course of this season, and we look forward to taking the next step of our journey together. I’m especially happy for Tamari Key to get an opportunity to play basketball back in her hometown.”
The Lady Vols, who are 130-33 all-time in NCAA play, are the only school to appear in all 42 tournaments, winning eight national championships. They also have recorded the most games played (163) and second most victories (130) in tournament history.
Green Bay, meanwhile, is making its 19th NCAA appearance. The Phoenix, who are coached by Kevin Borseth, earned the Horizon League’s automatic NCAA bid this season by winning the league tournament with a 64-40 victory over Cleveland State in Indianapolis on March 12.
GB finished second behind Cleveland State in the Horizon League in 2023-24 at 17-3 before winning the conference tourney. UT is 6-0 all-time vs. schools currently in the Horizon, defeating Wright State, 96-57, in the most recent match-up on Dec. 11, 2022, in Knoxville.
The Lady Vols are 33-2 in NCAA First-Round games, including 25-0 at home, 0-1 away and 8-1 at neutral sites. The only blemishes are opening-round losses to Ball State (71-55) in Bowling Green, Ky., on March 22, 2009, and to UCLA (89-77) in College Park, Md., on March 23, 2019.
Tennessee is making its fourth NCAA appearance under Harper. The 1999 UT graduate and LVFL is making her ninth trip to the tourney as the leader of a program. She would have added another UT and overall appearance in 2020 had the tournament not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harper is one of only two coaches to lead four women’s programs to the NCAA Division I Tournament. She did so at Western Carolina, NC State and Missouri State before checking that box in Knoxville four seasons ago. Harper joined Jim Foster (St. Joseph’s, Vanderbilt, Ohio State, Chattanooga) in that rare company, but she was the first to do so at her alma mater.
Tennessee, which is receiving votes in both polls, tied for fourth in the SEC during the regular season at 10-6 and advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for the fourth straight season before falling to No. 1/1 South Carolina, 74-73, on March 9 via a buzz-beater. UT has played the nation’s toughest schedule according to at least one rating service, and it did so as injuries to Rickea Jackson, Destinee Wells and Jillian Hollingshead as well as a gradual return by Tamari Key from a medical condition impacted the team’s continuity and success during the early going.
Tennessee wound up playing 18 games vs. teams in the 2024 NCAA Tournament field, including South Carolina (0-3) three times and Alabama (1-1), Texas A&M (1-1) and Vanderbilt (2-0) twice each. It also had single contests vs. Auburn (W), Florida State (L), Indiana (L), LSU (L), Ohio State (L), Oklahoma (W), Ole Miss (L), Middle Tennessee (L) and Notre Dame (L). It has a 6-12 record against those schools, including four with Jackson sidelined, but it has played South Carolina closer than any other squad this season after hitting its stride over the past nine games.
PLAYER REACTION
“I’m really excited. We’re playing in North Carolina, obviously where I’m from, so it’ll be a fun homecoming game. Also, I just think we’re a team in stride now. We’re in a really good spot, and we’re just going to keep peaking at the right moments.”
“I think we’re in a really good spot. We’ve shown a lot of growth over the past few games, and we’re peaking at the right time. This group has experience with the tournament, so we’re just really excited for what’s ahead.”
“I’m super excited to be where we are. I’m excited to get things started in the tournament, and I can’t wait to have fun with these girls.”
“I’m feeling really good about where we’re at right now. I’m super excited to get to Raleigh and play.”
“I’m excited about where we are in the tournament. I’m glad we’re in, and we really just have to take it game by game. I hope Lady Vol Nation will come out and support us over in North Carolina.”
