Spokane bound?

A top seed has to go west, so why not defending national champion Tennessee, which may not be the overall top seed as it navigates through a difficult schedule and the rugged Southeastern Conference?

After facing Gonzaga on Sunday, UT has games at UCLA, No. 5 Stanford, No. 16 DePaul and No. 17 Notre Dame before starting the SEC slate against No. 14 Auburn. LSU (No. 8), No. 23 Vanderbilt (twice) and Georgia (No. 7) are also league foes for the Lady Vols, who also have Big Monday games against Duke (No. 15) and Rutgers (No. 6).

“Winning the national championship provides even more motivation for the other team,” Lady Vols coach Pat Summit said. “It’s something we face every game because we are Tennessee, and because they want the chance to beat the defending national champions.”

Depth could be an issue with just nine healthy players. That, however, doesn’t change the goal of winning their seventh title.

“They don’t really talk about it – it’s a new season,” said freshman starter Angie Bjorklund, a Spokane native. “It’s just what you expect when you come to Tennessee.”

Dave Trimmer’s projected top seeds: Tennessee, UConn, North Carolina, Rutgers.