FILE- In this March 5, 2016, file photo, Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick speaks with her team during an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State in the Southeastern Conference women’s tournament semifinal in Jacksonville, Fla. Tennessee heads into the NCAA Tournament embracing its unfamiliar role as a potential underdog. After a disappointing regular season Tennessee is seeded seventh in the Sioux Falls Regional on Monday, March 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File)KNOXVILLE – Tennessee heads into the NCAA women’s basketball tournament embracing its unfamiliar role as a potential underdog.
No longer is Tennessee mentioned with the reverence of an elite program alongside the likes of UConn, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Baylor, all top seeds.
Instead, after a disappointing regular season, Tennessee is seeded seventh in the Sioux Falls Regional – the Lady Volunteers’ lowest seed ever. This is just the third time in the last 30 seasons Tennessee hasn’t entered the tournament as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
That means Tennessee doesn’t get to stay home for the first weekend of the tournament, a perk for the top 16 overall seeds. After setting a school single-season record for losses, the Lady Vols (19-13) face No. 10 seed Green Bay (28-4) in the opening round Friday at Tempe, Ariz., nearly 1,900 miles away.
Tennessee coach Holly Warlick took a glass-half-full approach to the challenging trip.