March 20, 2010 - 5:27am
Ah, what a difference a year makes.
Last year Tennessee, seeded fifth, traveled to Bowling Green, where they lost in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, dropping a 55-71 near-rout to 12th-seeded Ball State. It was the first time in NCAA Women's Tournament history that a defending champ had ever been eliminated in the first round, as well as the first time in the Tennessee programs distinguished history that the Lady Vols had ever failed to make the "Sweet 16." The loss capped off a frustrating season for a team built around seven freshmen.
This year's edition of the Lady Vols is determined that it won't happen again, and the safe money says they're right.
At 30-2, Tennessee has been near the top of the national rankings all season. The Vols are seeded first in the Memphis Regional, and will play the 16th-seeded Austin Peay (15-17), the dark horse winner of the Ohio Valley Conference's automatic bid, on Sunday, March 20, at 12:16 p.m. Eastern, on the Lady Vols' home court in Knoxville.
The other game in the Knoxville pod is likely to be much closer, as No. 8-seed, Dayton (24-7) takes on ninth-seeded TCU (22-8) on Saturday, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. Those two teams are so evenly matched that the game is almost too close to call, but neither team presents much of a threat to the Vols, who have dropped only two games this season -- one at No. 2 Stanford in December (52-67), and the other, a squeaker, on an off night at Georgia (50-53).
Still, with the wisdom that only another year of maturity can bring, Tennessee sophomore center Kelley Cain acknowledged that no team should ever be taken for granted, but she said the Volunteers are focused going into the Tournament. And with that in mind, let's hone in on these match-ups.