BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The SEC Office announced the 2026 women’s basketball tournament bracket on Sunday evening, and Tennessee has earned the No. 6 seed for next week’s event and will open play on Thursday night at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
The Lady Vols (16-12, 8-8 SEC), who last season tied for eighth and drew the No. 9 seed for the tourney, finished in a four-way tie for sixth place in the conference standings in 2025-26 at 8-8 and won the tie breaker over Ole Miss, Georgia and Kentucky for the highest spot.
UT will meet the winner of Wednesday night’s No. 11 seed Alabama (21-9, 7-9 SEC) vs. No. 14 seed Missouri (16-15, 4-12 SEC) contest at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. The Big Orange defeated Alabama, 70-59, in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 18 and took care of Missouri on Feb. 12 in Knoxville, 98-53.
The winner of Tennessee’s Thursday night contest will advance to the quarterfinals and meet No. 3 seed Texas (28-3, 13-3 SEC) at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday.
SEC Network will televise all games through Friday’s quarterfinal round, and all UT contests can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and via audio stream on UTSports.com.
