Lady Vols set to play in SEC Tournament on Friday

CALEB JARREAU Staff Writer

The regular season has concluded and March Madness is here. For the Lady Vols, the madness begins with the SEC tournament.

Tennessee secured the No. 3 seed in the SEC with a 13-3 conference record. The 13 SEC wins are the most for the Lady Vols since the 2014-15 season.

More importantly, Tennessee earned a double-bye and some much-needed rest.

“You’ve got to give them some off days and make sure their legs are under them,”

Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper said on the radio following the Lady Vols’ season finale. “When you go over there to Greenville, you want to be there for three days. You want to play three days in a row, so you don’t want to be gassed on Sunday.”

Tennessee won’t have to play until Friday in Greeneville, South Carolina. They will face the winner of Thursday night’s game between No. 6 seed Alabama (20-9, 9-7 SEC) and the winner of Wednesday night’s game between No. 11 Florida (16-13, 5-11) and No. 14 Kentucky (10-18, 2-14).

While Tennessee beat all of those teams, anything can happen in the postseason.

Last year, Kentucky took over the SEC tournament. As a No. 7 seed, the Wildcats won four straight games, including beating No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Tennesse, and the eventual national champion No. 1 South Carolina to win the 2022 SEC tournament.

While the Wildcats may not be the team to worry about this year, the Lady Vols can’t take any team lightly.

“I think you’ve got to understand, you’ve got to be great, and it’s got to be every day,” Harper said. “Regardless of your opponent, you’ve got to be your best you. You get to this point and you talk about surviving and advancing, and at the end of the day, you’ve got to have one point more than the other team.”

Survive and advance: the mantra of postseason basketball.

As for the first round, Tennessee shouldn’t have much trouble. None of their possible opponents got within 10 points of the Lady Vols during the regular season.

As for the Saturday matchup, Tennessee will most likely draw No. 2 LSU. Tennessee lost a tough fight to LSU (27-1, 15-1) 68-76 in Baton Rouge.

On a neutral floor, the Lady Vols have a fighting chance against forward Angel Reese and the Tigers.

Tennessee has built momentum down the stretch while many SEC teams have hit speed bumps.

“Going into the SEC Tournament, we’re really hoping to carry that momentum,” forward Karoline Striplin said. “It’s anyone’s game now, so I’m excited. When you come into the postseason, you know that every little thing matters.”

Barring a Cinderella run, the Lady Vols will face the winner of No. 1 South Carolina (29-0, 16-0) and No. 4 Ole Miss (22-7, 11-5) for the SEC championship. It’s safe to assume the SEC tournament site in Greeneville will favor the Gamecocks.

Tennessee would have tough sledding trying to hand South Carolina its first loss of the season. Regardless, a trip to the SEC Championship will have an effect on seeding.

The Lady Vols open Friday night at approximately 8:15 p.m. ET, or 25 minutes after the conclusion of the 6 p.m. ET game. The postseason has arrived, whether it will be glorious or painful for Tennessee is yet to be determined.

“That’s what’s fun about basketball in general and March Madness – just being able to play with high-pressure situations,” Striplin said.