Lady Vols basketball is back in action and looking to stay perfect in SEC play. Tennessee will head to Starkville to play Mississippi State on Thursday night, a return for assistant coach Gabe Lazo and a revenge game for former UT assistant Samantha Williams, who is now at MSU.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup, from broadcast details to a prediction.
More From RTI: Lady Vols Basketball Has Good News, Bad News on Availability Report Before Mississippi State
How to Watch — No. 20 Lady Vols (10-3, 2-0 SEC) at Mississippi State (14-2, 1-1 SEC)
- Start Time: 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT
- Location: Humphrey Coliseum (Starkville, Miss.)
- Watch: SECN+ | PxP: Will Kollmeyer, Analyst: Brittany Lange
- Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
- Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
- Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Brian Rice, Studio Host: Jay Lifford
Betting Odds
Lady Vols 5.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel
ESPN Matchup Predictor
Lady Vols – 76.3%
MSU – 23.7%
What Kim Caldwell Said About MSU
“They’re a new team. They’re athletic. They’re top 10 in the country in rebounding. We have to go and play in a tough environment with a team that is undefeated at home, plays very well at home. I think that they are a different team at home than they are on the road. So it’s tough to have to go to their place, but it’s tough to go anywhere. And so just got to make sure that we play our game and we box them out and we do what we need to do.”
Last Five Games
Lady Vols:
- at Auburn, 73-56 W
- vs. Florida, 76-65 W
- vs. Southern Indiana, 89-44 W
- vs. Louisville (Brooklyn), 89-65 L
- vs. Winthrop, 112-40 W
Mississippi State:
- at Oklahoma, 95-47 L
- vs. Auburn, 75-53 W
- vs. Samford, 112-54 W
- at La Salle, 85-37 W
- vs. Alabama State, 105-57
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
AP Poll – No. 20
Coaches Poll – No. 22
Bart Torvik – No. 17
Mississippi State:
AP Poll – Unranked
Coaches Poll – Unranked
Bart Torvik – No. 34
Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
- Points: Talaysia Cooper – 14.9
- Rebounds: Zee Spearman – 7.5
- Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 4.2
Mississippi State:
- Points: Favour Nwaedozi – 13.6
- Rebounds: Favour Nwaedozi – 10.6
- Assists: Destiney McPhaul – 3.8
Prediction
The Lady Vols are acutely aware of how good a rebounding team Mississippi State is. At practice yesterday, it was a clear point of emphasis. Coaches were all over the team, guards and posts alike, to box out and not let the Bulldogs crash the glass. A consistent sentiment of MSU being a top-10 team in rebounding echoed throughout Food City Center.
Just because Tennessee knows how important it will be doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll do it once the ball is tipped, though. It won’t just be up to Zee Spearman and Janiah Barker, either. Guards will need to hold off players and swoop in to grab the rebound if a forward seals off a player.
If you’re able to control the glass, like Oklahoma just did, then Mississippi State can be comfortably put away. The Sooners won their matchup by nearly 50 points. If you don’t, like Auburn, then you’re in danger of being on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
I’ll take the Lady Vols to be competitive on the boards and ultimately win a somewhat tight road SEC game, which you’ll take anyway possible.
Lady Vols 70, Mississippi State 64
