Kim Caldwell makes her feelings known on Vols' March Madness run ahead of Sweet 16 matchup vs. Texas: "They cared enough to check back in"

Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell led the No. 5-seeded Volunteers to the Sweet 16 after an 82-67 win over the No. 4-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes on Monday. The reward will be a matchup against coach Vic Schaefer's No. 1-seeded Texas Longhorns on Saturday in a game in which the Vols are massive underdogs.

During her pregame news conference ahead of the game against Texas, Caldwell revealed her pride in her team for their run to the Sweet 16.

"I think it's really rare," Kim Caldwell said. "I think it's really rare this day and age, that you have a team that doesn't just check out and say, Well, I'm moving on to the next thing.

"Or if you don't have a coaching staff that moves on and says, I'm moving off onto the next class of kids, let's just go ahead and start recruiting. I think it says a lot about the resiliency of this program coaching, from our assistant coaches to our players that they cared enough about each other to just check back in and fix it."

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Kim Caldwell praises her team's resiliency

The Tennessee Volunteers, under coach Kim Caldwell, started the 2024 season on fire, winning 13 games in a row before their first loss. But they ended the season with three losses in their last four games ahead of the Big Dance.

There have been big wins for Caldwell during the season, including the team's first win against the UConn Huskies since 2007. Although the Vols have reached the Sweet 16 three out of the last four years, Caldwell's team has had to fight for its spot in the showcase event.

During her pregame news conference ahead of the clash against the No. 1-seeded Texas Longhorns on Saturday, Caldwell praised the way her team reacted to their poor form to end the season.

'Oh, well, we failed, and they just they figured it out, and I thought we looked really good at our last two games," Kim Caldwell said. "I'm happy we're going to the Sweet 16. I'm proud of that, but I'm more proud of the way we looked on the floor.

"I'm incredibly proud of the way we looked on the floor our last two games, and despite what happens in our next game, I hope that those last two games can be something that we remember as a group of how hard we played and how we played together."

Should they beat the Longhorns, Kim Caldwell's team will be in an unlikely Elite Eight spot after looking like a beaten team just a few weeks ago.