KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With Sunday’s 65-46 victory over #7/6 South Carolina, the #15/14 Tennessee women’s basketball team concluded the regular season at 23-6 overall and 11-5 in Southeastern Conference play. That league mark put the Lady Vols in a four-way tie for fourth place in the standings, but the tiebreaker dictated a No. 7 seed for Holly Warlick‘s squad in the upcoming SEC Tournament in Nashville.
UT will open play on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT (7 ET) vs. No. 10 seed Auburn (14-14, 5-11 SEC) at Bridgestone Arena. The SEC Network will televise.
The Lady Vols beat the Tigers, 70-59, on Jan. 4 in the teams’ second game of the SEC schedule. The winner of that game faces No. 2-seed South Carolina at 6 CT (7 ET) on Friday. That contest also will be carried by the SEC Network.
With 17 trophies, Tennessee has won the most SEC Tournament crowns by far. Vanderbilt is second with six. UT is 77-21 all-time in league tourney play, making two championship game appearances under Holly Warlick. UT won the 2014 SEC crown in Duluth, Ga., and fell to South Carolina in the championship game in Little Rock in 2015.
This marks the sixth time the SEC Tournament has taken place in Music City, with the Lady Vols claiming the hardware the last time it was held there (2012) as well as in 2011 and 2008. UT made the semifinals in 2004 and 2002.
Undefeated Mississippi State drew the No. 1 seed for this year’s tournament, while Georgia and LSU claimed the third and fourth spots and earned the automatic bye into Friday’s quarterfinal round.
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