Given Tennessee's 11 losses and overall uneven play that culminated in a stunning loss to Alabama in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament on March 2, it was a surprise to some that it was seeded so highly for the NCAA Tournament.
One of those who wasn't shocked by a No. 5 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional was coach Holly Warlick.
"I think the committee looked at our strength of schedule, what we did, and they made a decision," she said. "We're happy to be a (No. 5) seed."
The Lady Vols could be put to an immediate test Saturday in Louisville, Ky., where they will play 12th-seeded Dayton in the second game at KFC Yum! Center. The host school, Louisville, and Chattanooga will meet in the opener.
Tennessee (19-11) is the only program to appear in all 30 NCAA Tournaments and is 28-1 in first-round games. The only loss occurred in 2009, when it was toppled 71-55 by Ball State in Bowling Green, Ky.
Add to that the fact that they were a No. 5 seed in the SEC tourney when they sustained their second loss this season to Alabama, and one can see why there is skepticism about the Lady Vols this March.
"If we were undefeated, I would worry," Warlick said. "It's just the unknown of what you don't know. It's the tournament, so any coach -- in the back of their mind -- is going to be worried about any game. We're going to prepare to play Dayton like it's the championship game."
The Flyers (22-9) won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championship, relying on 3-point shooting and stingy defense. Dayton outscored opponents by 189 points from the arc and limited teams to 59.5 points and 35 percent field-goal shooting.
Leading scorer Kelley Austria (12.3 ppg, 40.8 percent 3-point shooting) was also the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. Jenna Burdette (12.2 ppg) and Saicha Grant-Allen (10.0 ppg, 8.8 rebounds) also averaged double digits for the Flyers.
"It's all about peaking at the right time and playing your best basketball in late March," Dayton coach Shauna Green told the Dayton Daily News. "I'm really, really happy with where we're at. I think we're playing with a great deal of confidence.
"We're really just starting to gel and we're making reads and we're just playing very, very confidently, very, very smoothly."
Tennessee counters with its high-scoring trio of Diamond DeShields, Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared. DeShields averages 17.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists, Russell records 16.3 points and 9.5 rebounds and Nared tallies 15.5 points and 6.7 rebounds.
The Lady Vols have also been outstanding at the foul line, making 75.1 percent of their shots.
