Charlie Creme is the Joe Lunardi of women’s basketball, offering his predictions and projections for the 64-team women’s basketball field on ESPN.com. He currently slots Tennessee’s Lady Vols as a 6 seed in Bowling Green, Ky. Creme talked about Tennessee, the Chattanooga sub-regional and Georgia during a call Monday.
Q. Where do you see Tennessee right now?
A. “I have them as a 6 right now, but I could see them getting a 5. The teams right around Tennessee have been doing the same things Tennessee has been doing — win a game, lose a game. A lot of inconsistency. I’d put them in the same grouping as Virginia. I see Tennessee as no worse than a 6 but could be a 5. I don’t think they’ll be any higher than a 5.”
Q. Any chance Tennessee still gets to play in Chattanooga?
A. The committee will try to do that. But it really hurts that Tennessee will not be a 4 seed or higher. That means they’re going to be paired with a team in their sub-regional that’s higher than they are. That team will get the priority on location over Tennessee.”
Q. So who’s in Chattanooga?
A. “As a matter of comparison, Vanderbilt is also in that area. But Vanderbilt will have a top-4 seed. I don’t have them grouped with Tennessee, but when you’re trying to assign the Chattanooga sub-regional you would look at the team seeded higher having the ability to go there. So right now I have Vanderbilt going to Chattanooga and I have Tennessee in Bowling Green. That’s still pretty close. That’s not a lot of travel.”
Q. With all the host sites, are a lot of higher-seeded teams going to play against lower-seeded teams on their home court?
A. “Yes. This year, with 16 host sites instead of eight, the bracketing will be very difficult. A ton of the host schools are in that group of seeds between 6 and 11. Those teams will get to play at home. It’s inevitable.”
Q. What about Georgia?
A. Right now I have Mississippi State in and Georgia out. In fact, I have Georgia as the first team out even though they’re hosting in Duluth. I think it’s human nature for the host school to get preferential treatment, but after doing the mock selection I don’t think it will be a factor. Those things were not discussed at all during our session. That opens up a can of worms. There’s a lot of integrity in that room.”
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