The conundrum that is Tennessee revealed itself again on Thursday in the second round of the SEC tournament.
The Lady Vols -- the same team that just four days ago beat Mississippi State, a projected No. 2 NCAA tournament seed, by 18 points on the road -- lost 72-64 to Alabama.
The Crimson Tide have actually defeated the Lady Vols for three consecutive games, but the early postseason loss was as stunning as it was costly to Tennessee, which falls from a No. 6 seed to a No. 7 seed in the latest Bracketology.
Dropping a seed line puts the Lady Vols in the crosshairs of a No. 2 seed in a possible second-round matchup in the NCAA tournament -- and that's assuming Tennessee can overcome its inexplicable inconsistency to advance past the first round.
For instance, a first-round game against Indiana -- the current matchup in our latest projection -- would be dangerous to a Tennessee team that has lost to Ole Miss, Virginia Tech and Penn State this season. That Tennessee was also capable of winning at projected No. 1 seed South Carolina and at home against another No. 1, Notre Dame, makes Thursday's lackluster effort that much more confounding.
Thursday's loss also likely means the Lady Vols went from playing relatively close to home in College Park, Maryland, to traveling to Corvallis, Oregon, for the NCAA tournament's opening weekend.
The Lady Vols are the top rebounding team in the SEC, but Alabama beat them on the glass 44-31. Tennessee also could not contain the penetration of Bama guards Jordan Lewis and Meoshonti Knight, who combined for 26 points. Up 10 early in the third quarter, the Lady Vols were outworked the rest of the game.
Tennessee didn't need Thursday's game to reach the NCAA tournament, but the loss reignites the questions about who exactly this team is. Last year, Tennessee entered the NCAA tournament with similar questions and skepticism after an erratic season -- and proceeded to reach the Elite Eight. With three top-five wins on its résumé, this year's team could do the same, but Thursday's effort likely made that road a little more difficult.