Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell liked the reaction she saw when the Lady Vols learned their NCAA Tournament draw Sunday night.
Tennessee secured its 44th straight NCAA Tournament berth, extending the program’s record streak of appearing in every tournament since the event began in 1982.
“I think that their reaction was the reaction that you always want to see as a coach,” Caldwell said Monday. “You want to have some life. You want to be fired up. You want March to matter.”
Rematch with NC State
Tennessee will face No. 7 seed NC State in the first round Friday in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game is a rematch from November, when the Wolfpack defeated the Lady Vols 80-77.
Caldwell said the matchup caught her off guard when the bracket appeared.
“I was surprised with our matchup,” Caldwell said. “We didn’t have that one picked.”
Even so, Caldwell expects a much different game this time.
“I don’t love having to play a team that we’ve already played,” Caldwell said. “But we’re both very different teams. We’ve both been through a lot since that game.”
The programs also met in last year’s NCAA Tournament, when NC State won 79-72 in the second round. Tennessee still leads the all-time series 12-5.
NC State enters the tournament with a 20-10 record after finishing fourth in the ACC at 13-5. Tennessee is 16-13 overall and went 8-8 in SEC play.
Preparing for March
Following the SEC tournament, the Lady Vols took time to rest before returning to the court for individual skill work.
“We took a couple days off and then when we got back, we got back to work,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell said guard Nya Robertson has made one of the biggest jumps since Tennessee’s first meeting with NC State.
“She’s much more confident,” Caldwell said. “She’s playing much more under control and she’s more of a leader for us now.”
With the opponent set, Caldwell expects the team to bring plenty of energy into the week of preparation.
“If I know my team,” Caldwell said, “they’re going to be fired up.”
