KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The only program to appear in every NCAA Tournament, the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team received confirmation that it had earned its 44th consecutive postseason bid Sunday night when the bracket was revealed on ESPN.
The Lady Vols (16-13, 8-8 SEC, t6th) received a No. 10 seed in the Fort Worth Regional 3 and will play at the NCAA First & Second Rounds site in Ann Arbor, Mich. They’ll meet No. 7 seed NC State (20-10) in the first round, marking a rematch of the season opener that the Wolfpack won, 80-77, in Greensboro, N.C., on Nov. 4.
No. 2 seed Michigan (25-6) will serve as the host for first-round games on Friday, March 20, and second-round contests on Sunday, March 22, at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines will meet Holy Cross (23-9) in the other first-round matchup. Tip time and TV info. for both games will be announced later.
UT and NC State will meet for the 18th time in history, with the Lady Vols holding a 12-5 advantage in the all-time series. The Big Orange and Wolfpack previously met in the NCAA Tournament on March 25, 2024, with NC State taking a 74-69 decision in Raleigh, N.C.
The Lady Vols, who are 133-35 all-time in NCAA play, are the only school to appear in all 44 tournaments, winning eight national championships. They also have recorded the most games played (168) and second most victories (133) in tournament history.
NC State, meanwhile, is making its 31st NCAA appearance and sports a 35-30 all-time tourney record. The Wolfpack, which is coached by Wes Moore, carded a 20-10 overall record this season and finished fourth in the ACC with a 13-5 mark.
The Lady Vols are 35-2 in NCAA First-Round games, including 25-0 at home, 0-1 away and 10-1 at neutral sites. The only blemishes are opening-round losses to Ball State (71-55) in Bowling Green, Ky., on March 22, 2009, and to UCLA (89-77) in College Park, Md., on March 23, 2019.
Tennessee is making its second NCAA appearance under Kim Caldwell in her second season in Knoxville. She has qualified all 10 of the teams she has coached for the NCAA Tournament, including Division II Glenville State seven times, Division I Marshall once and Division I Tennessee twice.
Tennessee tied for sixth in the SEC during the regular season at 8-8 and was the No. 6 seed in the SEC Tournament. UT has played the nation’s second-toughest schedule according to at least one rating service and finished 23rd in the NCAA’s NET rankings and No. 33 in the WAB Ranking.
Tennessee has played 14 games vs. teams in the 2026 NCAA Tournament field. It had two contests vs. Alabama (1-1) and single contests vs. Georgia (1-0), Kentucky (1-0), Louisville (0-1), LSU (0-1), NC State (0-1), Oklahoma (0-1), Ole Miss (0-1), South Carolina (0-1), Texas (0-1), UCLA (0-1), UConn (0-1) and Vanderbilt (0-1).
