Lady Vols lead six teams from state into tourney
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The Volunteer State sent six teams to the tournament for the first time Sunday, and the selection committee placed four of them in the Midwest Region led by top-seeded Tennessee and joined by No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Chattanooga and newcomer Lipscomb.
Austin Peay was sent to the West Region, with Middle Tennessee State going to the East.
“I think it’s awesome,” Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. “Obviously, we think girls basketball in this state is special.
“I was over at the (high school) state tournament. Just the level of play, the talent and coaching at that level and obviously now to see so many of our teams in-state doing so well, I think that speaks to how people in our state love the game and how they play the game,” she said.
The six teams are the most from one state since the tournament expanded to 64 in 1995.
Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb and her staff had discussed the number of Tennessee teams going to the tournament, but nobody could have predicted the mix sent to Chattanooga for first- and second-round games starting Saturday.
“That says a lot for the state of Tennessee and the basketball down here,” Balcomb said.
As usual, Tennessee (26-3) picked up its 15th No. 1 seed and was named the tournament’s best of the top seeds. That didn’t help as the Lady Vols were sent to Tallahassee, Fla., for an opening-round game Saturday against 16th-seeded Colgate (21-9).
“All in all, as I look at this bracket, I think they’ve spread it out as best they can — with the exception of having Tennessee and Vandy in the same bracket again,” Summitt said. That happened last in 2002.
The announcement of Colgate as the lowest seed set off celebration at Lipscomb, a former NAIA school that earned its first tournament berth in its first year of eligibility by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament championship.
“Being seeded 15th was a surprise for everybody,” said Lipscomb coach Frank Bennett, in his 24th year with the school.
The Lady Bisons (20-11) started the season 4-7 but beat tournament-bound Mississippi 74-72 on Dec. 12.
“This is something that was a complete surprise for us. Going to Chattanooga is great for our fans. And, of course, there is great local interest that we are playing Vanderbilt,” Bennett said.
Vanderbilt (24-7) makes its fifth straight and 17th overall appearance with a bit of the unexpected as well.
The Commodores had hoped to be seeded third after winning the SEC tournament. Instead, they were handed a starting slot in Chattanooga two hours away from campus that many had assumed would go to the Lady Vols.
Balcomb said it’s all happened so quickly.
“A couple weeks ago, we were a bubble team and nervous whether we could get in. … Hopefully, we have a lot of confidence and are playing our best basketball now,” she said.
Chattanooga was a No. 12 seed last year, but the Lady Mocs (28-2) bring in the nation’s longest winning streak at 26 straight. They are in the tournament for a fourth straight year and sixth overall, and will play seventh-seeded Rutgers (21-11) while trying to remain undefeated this season at McKenzie Arena.
The Lady Governors (23-7) nearly upset No. 3 North Carolina last year before losing 72-70 in the first round in Boulder, Colo. Now Austin Peay will visit Baton Rouge and play fourth-seeded LSU on Sunday in its fourth straight tournament trip and fifth overall.
“Getting a 13-seed was a surprise but we’re excited to be in the tournament at a location where our fans can travel,” Austin Peay coach Andy Blackston said. “All you can ask for is an opportunity to play in the tournament, what you do with that opportunity is in your hands.”
Middle Tennessee (23-7) is back in the tournament for the first time since 1998 in the Lady Raiders’ ninth overall trip. The 13th-seeded Lady Raiders will play fourth-seeded North Carolina (24-6) on Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
“We are going into the tournament with the expectation to win and aren’t going in ready to (just) compete,” Lady Raiders guard Keisha McClinic said. “Anything is possible and we expect to go to the next level.”