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It's spring break and the Tennessee women's basketball team spent Friday traveling to West Lafayette, Ind.

No sandals needed for this spring getaway. But they all better have their basketball shoes.

The trip comes courtesy of the NCAA tournament. The Lady Vols, 30-2 and top seeds in the Midwest Regional, will conduct an open practice and undergo media interviews today in advance of their first-round game against No. 16 seed Oral Roberts at approximately 9:30 p.m. Sunday (TV: ESPN2).

No. 8 Utah and No. 9 Purdue, the host school, play at 7 on Sunday. The winners meet Tuesday night for a spot in the regional semifinals in Oklahoma City.

Senior guard Alexis Hornbuckle considered the sun-and-fun spring alternative to UT's itinerary and said, "I'd definitely rather be playing."

The run-up to the tournament's start has coincided with the university's annual break. The time away from classes has required some adjusting but allowed more leeway.

"Time is at our disposal,'' Lady Vols assistant coach Dean Lockwood said. "We have total flexibility with the day. It's a beautiful time."

It's been an unusual time as well. With the students away, the Lady Vols have been deprived of their male practice players. Former players Shelley Sexton Collier, Karla Horton Douglas, Lisa McGill Reagan, Sue Thomas Martin and Suzanne Barbre Singleton were recruited as stand-ins for the team's practices. Some of these former Lady Vols are 30 years removed from their UT careers.

"Just seeing them come back and be able to run up and down the floor,'' Hornbuckle said. "That won't be me."

Hornbuckle was respectful to the point of apologizing to Barbre Singleton after blocking her shot.

Should Tennessee advance, the timing of spring break might have been better next week, when the schedule will be more compressed. Still, Lockwood prefers this week above any other.

"If I were to pick, I'd pick this week because this week starts it all off,'' Lockwood said. "Right now there's enough breathing room, I think, where they can absorb what Pat's going to tell them."

UT coach Pat Summitt used the week to have individual meeting with each player. Lockwood said the importance of such sessions shouldn't be underestimated. They are harder to schedule when classes are in session.

"Time with a head coach for a player is so important, it's so important,'' said Lockwood, who has 12 seasons worth of head coaching experience in men's basketball. "When you can sit in your coach's office and it's eye-to-eye and you hear him or her say it's so important the way you rebounded all year or the way you defended or passed into the post. It's so important we get that from you.

"If you see that and feel that, it deepens and solidifies in you your value to the team."

Apparently, these sessions where enough for the players. They didn't follow suit with their own get-togethers.

"We feel you can only talk so much,'' Hornbuckle said. "We know where we stand."

She said the players have used the week to rest, relax and hang out with each other. They have spent time playing the video game "Rock Band." Hornbuckle described it as similar to "Guitar Hero" but with drums and vocals.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.