Tennessee (16-12, 8-8 SEC, t6th) enters the 2026 SEC Tournament as the No. 6 seed and will begin play in the second round on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET at Bon Secours Arena in Greenville, S.C.
The Lady Vols will meet the winner of Wednesday night's first-round contest between No. 11 seed Alabama (21-9 7-9 SEC, t10th) and No. 14 seed Missouri (16-15, 4-12 SEC, 14th).
UT is coming off an 87-77 home loss to No. 5 Vanderbilt on Sunday, in which the Big Orange led by six at the half. 'Bama enters play on a two-match losing streak, dropping five of the past six. MU carries a six-game skid to Greenville.
Tennessee defeated both of these teams during the regular season, winning at Alabama, 70-59, on Jan. 18 and at home vs. Mizzou, 98-53, on Feb. 12.
Tennessee is 87-29 (.750) all-time entering the 47th year of the tourney. UT is 11-3 vs. Alabama and 1-0 vs. Missouri in SEC Tournament play. The Lady Vols are 41-5 all-time in their opening game of the SEC Tournament and 5-2 in second round contests specifically entering the 2025-26 event.
Additionally, UT is 3-0 in first round games, 37-8 in the quarterfinals, 24-12 in the semifinals, 17-7 in the championship game and 1-0 in consolation games. Tennessee has won a league-leading 17 SEC Tournament championship trophies. UT won in 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014.
The Lady Vols have been runners-up on seven occasions, including 1982, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2015 and 2023. UT last advanced to the title game in 2023 as a No. 3 seed, defeating No. 14 seed Kentucky in the quarterfinals, 80-71; and No. 2 LSU in the semifinals, 69-67; before falling to No. 1 seed South Carolina, 74-58, in Greenville. Tennessee has had 15 SEC Tournament MVPs through the years. Isabelle Harrison (2014), Glory Johnson (2012), Shekinna Stricklen (2011) and Alyssia Brewer (2010) were the past four MVPs from Tennessee.