KNOXVILLE, TN – January 01, 2026 – Guard Talaysia Cooper #55 of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers during the game between the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Lady Volunteers at Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

Despite not playing a game since the most recent ESPN Bracketology, Lady Vols basketball has jumped up a seed line. Now, Tennessee is projected to be a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

If that seed holds up, UT would host the opening two rounds of the tournament. All seeds 1-4 get home-court advantage, which can go a long way in a bid to the Sweet 16.

ESPN’s projection has the Lady Vols opening up the bracket with a game against 14-seed High Point. If Tennessee survives that game, it’ll then play the winner between 6-seed Princeton and 11-seed Virginia Tech/Arizona State. Those games would all be played in Knoxville.

Next, the Lady Vols would head to Forth Worth for the Sweet 16. Likely opponents in the projection for that around are 2-seed Louisville and 7-seed Georgia. Other top seeds on the path to a Final Four are 1-seed Texas, 4-seed Ohio State and 5-seed Ole Miss.

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Tennessee now sits at 14-3 (6-0 SEC). The Lady Vols are the final team in the SEC without a conference loss, placing them atop the conference alone.

“It definitely matters,” Lady Vols head coach Kim Caldwell said about starting 6-0 in SEC play. “It worked out in our favor to where we could stack some games and build some confidence. And I think that was big for us and we’re not really playing great at home. So, I don’t really want to jinx it as we go on the road, but you gotta beat the teams that you can beat and because it does only get harder and you try to get one that maybe you shouldn’t.”

Tennessee’s bid to advance to 7-0 in conference play against Mississippi State is slated for Thursday, Jan. 29, in Knoxville. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and will air on SECN+. Then, it’s an out-of-conference clash with UConn on Feb. 1 on the road.

UT will stay on the road for its following game, at Georgia on Feb. 5, before playing another juggernaut of the sport. The Lady Vols meet South Carolina on the road on Feb. 8.