Tennessee suffers rare first-round NCAA Tournament loss to cap disappointing season
Tennessee’s season came to an abrupt, but predictable, end on Friday night as the No. 10 seed Lady Vols lost 76-61 to No. 7 seed NC State.
The loss marked Tennessee’s 14th of the year, and it ended one of the worst end-of-season stretches in the storied history of the program. Led by second-year coach Kim Caldwell, the Lady Vols exited on an eight-game losing streak and lost 11 of their final 13 games. For the first time in program history, they were winless in March.
This was only the third time in 38 tournament appearances that Tennessee dropped a first-round game, and it was the first time since 2019 when it lost to UCLA. The loss is especially jarring to long-time basketball fans who were accustomed to Tennessee’s dominance. The Lady Vols own the second-most NCAA Tournament championships with eight under Pat Summitt from 1987-2008.
Friday’s game, which resulted in Tennessee’s fourth straight double-digit loss, was an opportunity for Caldwell to quiet any noise about her fitness for the job. She was an unorthodox choice as a hire out of Division II, but her unique system and early returns last season provided her with some credibility as she led them to the Sweet 16. Tennessee, which was projected to finish fourth in the SEC this season, started 14-3, but couldn’t keep things together down the stretch.
The Lady Vols lost in the SEC tournament to Alabama and then lost to the Wolfpack, giving up a career-high 30 points to NC State guard Zamareya Jones. It didn’t help that when Tennessee took the floor, it was without its second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Janiah Barker. Without Barker, the Lady Vols still out rebounded the Wolfpack 41-32, but couldn’t find any consistent scoring.