Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team will make its second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament this year.
The Commodores (22-10) are the No. 7 seed in the Birmingham Regional 2 bracket and will face No. 10 seed Oregon in Durham, N.C., on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Ducks (19-11) went 10-8 in the Big 10 Conference this season, finishing in a four-way tie for eighth place.
The winner of that contest will play the winner of No. 2 Duke vs. No. 15 Lehigh.
Tennessee and Tennessee Tech also earned bids to the NCAA Tournament.
The Lady Vols (22-9) are the No. 5 seed in the Birmingham Regional 3 bracket, and they will take on No. 12 seed South Florida on Friday in Columbus. It’s the fifth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for Tennessee and its first under first-year coach Kim Caldwell. The Lady Vols lost a second-round game to N.C. State last season.
If the Lady Vols advance, they will play the winner of the game between No. 4 seed Ohio State and No. 13 seed Montana State.
Tennessee, Lipscomb, Memphis headed to Big Dance as well
Tennessee Tech is the No. 16 seed in the Birmingham Regional 2 bracket, with the Golden Eagles (26-5) to face No. 1 seed South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on Friday. Tennessee Tech won the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles, part of a 17-game winning streak the Golden Eagles will take into the NCAA Tournament.
Vanderbilt will be making back-to-back March Madness appearances for the first time since the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.
In 2023-24, the ’Dores made the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Shea Ralph, who was hired in 2021. Vandy won a First Four play-in game against fellow No. 12 seed Columbia but lost 80-63 to No. 5 seed Baylor in the first round.
Vanderbilt goes into the NCAA Tournament with a NET ranking of 22 thanks, in part, to an offense that averages 83.6 points per game, seventh-best in NCAA Division I. Vanderbilt also averages 12.4 steals per contest, which ranks ninth-best nationally.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
