Caldwell calls out Tennessee after record loss to South Carolina; Lady Vols look to rebound

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It has been a rough few weeks for No. 22 Tennessee and coach Kim Caldwell, who have lost three of their last four games.

Losing is bad enough, but the Lady Vols (17-6) haven't been competitive in the defeats, including a record loss to No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday.

“We just had a lot of quit in us tonight and that’s been something that’s been consistent with our team is when we’re not comfortable and things don’t go our way and I have a team that’ll just quit on you and you can’t do that in big games,” Caldwell said after the 43-point loss to the Gamecocks. “You can’t do that anytime in the SEC, but you certainly can’t do that at a program like this.”

That came a few games after a 30-point defeat to UConn that was the biggest margin in the history of that rivalry.

“They have to fix it,” Caldwell said. “They have to decide they want to fix it.”

In their six losses, the Lady Vols have averaged defeats by nearly 23 points a game.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Lady Vols, who face former coach Kellie Harper and Missouri on Thursday and then No. 4 Texas on Sunday.

“Win your next game. Win your next game. It’s embarrassing. We’re embarrassed. Win your next game,” Caldwell said.

The Lady Vols lost earlier this season to No. 2 UCLA, which is coming off its own big win last week. The Bruins topped Michigan by three on the road to retain sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.

“I told our team this was going to be like an Elite Eight matchup,” UCLA coach Cori Close said after the win. "You could feel the intensity of each possession, and that’s something honestly, we needed because we haven’t had it since Texas.”

The Bruins visit No. 13 Michigan State on Wednesday.

The NCAA will announce the top 16 teams to this point of the season on Saturday to give a look at which teams currently would be hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

UConn still holds the top spot in the NET ratings Monday ahead of UCLA, South Carolina and Texas. The SEC has five of the top 11 spots.

North Dakota State and Richmond are the top mid-major teams, coming in at 40 and 41, respectively.

The NET is just one tool the NCAA selection committee uses to figure out which teams make the NCAA Tournament and where they are seeded. It has predicted the winner pretty accurately since it first was used in 2021. Four of the five national champions were No. 1 in the NET on Selection Sunday.

No. 17 TCU at No. 12 Baylor, Thursday. First place in the Big 12 will be on the line as the Bears have a one-game lead in the standings on the Horned Frogs, who also host third-place West Virginia on Sunday.

No. 24 Princeton at Columbia, Friday. The top spot in the Ivy League will be on the line as the Tigers visit the Lions. Princeton holds a one-game lead in the standings over Columbia and Harvard. The Lions handed the Tigers their lone loss in conference play when they met two weeks ago.

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AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this story.

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