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ATLANTA - Tennessee and Vanderbilt might be seeing more of each other than they'd like.
For the second time in three years, the NCAA women's basketball committee has seeded the SEC rivals as the top two in the Midwest Region.
What's more, the other seeded SEC teams, Georgia and LSU, are paired in the West. And there are two sets of Big 12 teams among the top 16 seeds that have been lumped together, Kansas State and Texas Tech in the Mideast, Oklahoma and Baylor in the Midwest.
"I shouldn't be surprised, should I?" an unhappy Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. Her Vols have beaten Vanderbilt twice this season and defeated the Commodores in the Elite Eight in 2002. "It looks like a repeat of much of our regular-season schedule."
That's because Tennessee may have to play SEC foe Florida in the second round, and Summitt suggested the committee might have switched Vanderbilt for Purdue, another No. 2 seed.
Selection committee chairwoman Cheryl Marra said that would be unfair to Purdue, which is the highest of the No. 2 seeds. Vanderbilt is the fourth No. 2 seed.
MINNESOTA: Lindsay Whalen has been the force behind the Gophers' rise to prominence. Her return from an injury might be the key to their success in the tournament.
Tuesday, Whalen went through her first all-out scrimmage since breaking two bones in her shooting hand in a loss at Ohio State on Feb. 12. On one play, she threaded an improbable pass through the defense to an open teammate.
"Everyone just stopped and smiled and said ... it's nice to have her back," said center Janel McCarville, Minnesota's second-leading scorer at 15.6 points per game and its top rebounder with a 10.1 average.
Minnesota started 15-0 and was ranked as high as sixth in the Associated Press poll. But a February fade, exacerbated by the injury to Whalen, spoiled the run and led to a No. 7 seed in the Mideast Region. Minnesota (21-8) lost eight of its last 14 games, going 3-4 with Whalen and 3-4 without her.
Whalen's return doesn't guarantee success, of course. The Gophers can't fall back on her or simply count on their home-court advantage (they host UCLA on Sunday) if they want to advance.
"We all just have to do what we were doing when she was gone," guard Shannon Schonrock said. "We can't get on our heels and just sit and watch her."
TV RATINGS UP: The NCAA women's tournament selection show drew its best ratings ever Sunday.
The show, featuring the exclusive announcement of the 64-field team, averaged 1.535-million households and a 1.7 rating for increases of 11 percent over the 1.38-million households and 6 percent over the 1.6 rating of 2003.
Those numbers were in keeping with ESPN's increased ratings (11 percent) throughout the season. ESPN2 showed a 25 percent increase.