Lady Vols using seed controversy as motivation, take on Army

3/16/2006 1:31 PM

Not many schools would be upset by a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, but those programs aren't Tennessee (28-4) and they aren't coached by Pat Summitt, whose team faces 15th-seeded Army (20-10) on Sunday in a first-round matchup at Norfolk, Va.

Summitt and the Lady Vols were shocked Monday to find themselves with the second seed in the Cleveland Regional to open the women's tournament this weekend. Despite winning the SEC tournament, playing the toughest schedule in the nation and being ranked second in the RPI, Tennessee finds itself in the same bracket as overall No. 1 seed North Carolina.

``That's a slap in your face,'' Summitt said. ``It's a slap in our program's face. I guess it's my fault for putting together the toughest schedule in the country year in and year out. But as far as I'm concerned we got no respect and I don't understand it.''

In the last 18 seasons, Tennessee has received a No. 1 seed 16 times, including the previous three tournaments. The Lady Vols have gone to the Final Four in five of the last six seasons and been to the national title game in two of the last three, but it's been eight years since they won the championship.

This is just the second time in 25 years Tennessee will open the tournament on the road.

The Lady Vols are led by freshman Candace Parker, who tops the team with 16.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. She was named SEC freshman of the year.

``We just have to take this one game at a time,'' Parker said. ``There is a chip on our shoulder and we are the underdogs. We have to go out and prove ourselves.''

Army might disagree with Tennessee's self-proclaimed 'underdog' title. This is the first appearance in the tournament for the Black Knights, who received an automatic bid as the Patriot League tournament champion.

The only meeting between these programs came during the 2002-03 season and Tennessee routed Army 96-44.

``It will be nice to get another shot at them,'' said Black Knights forward Megan Vrabel, a freshman when the teams last met. ``We're really excited.''

Cara Enright leads Army with 16.3 points per game.

The Black Knights have won nine of their last 10 games. However, they played two ranked teams this season and lost both contests, 85-68 to Baylor and 85-46 to Connecticut.

Tennessee and Army were placed in the Cleveland Regional in what many see as one of the toughest in the tournament. Joining the Lady Vols and North Carolina in this region are third-seeded Rutgers, which went unbeaten in Big East play during the regular season, and Big Ten power Purdue, the No. 4 seed.

The winner between Army and Tennessee will face seventh-seeded George Washington or No. 10 seed Old Dominion.