After a week off, Lady Vols basketball is back in action this Sunday. No. 20 Tennessee heads to Tuscaloosa to meet No. 21 Alabama for a ranked matchup.
Here is everything to know about the game, from broadcast details to a prediction.
More From RTI: Lady Vols Basketball Update Injury Status of Talaysia Cooper, Kaniya Boyd Ahead of Alabama Game
How to Watch — No. 20 Lady Vols (12-3, 4-0 SEC) at No. 21 Alabama (17-2, 3-2 SEC)
- Start Time: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
- Location: Coleman Coliseum (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
- Watch: SEC Network | PxP: Chuckie Kempf, Analyst: Christy Thomaskutty
- 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
DraftKings: Lady Vols 2.5-point favorites
ESPN Matchup Predictor
Lady Vols: 60.2%
Alabama: 39.8%
What Kim Caldwell Said About Alabama
“They’re a great team. They run a lot of sets. They are very disciplined. They’re very balanced. I think that is a tough matchup for us is they want to run their sets. They shoot the three really well. And so today we’re, anytime someone hits a three, it’s worth six. We gotta eliminate middle drives and guard the 3-point line. We have to win the rebounding battle if we want a chance to come out of there with a win.”
Last Five Games
Lady Vols:
- vs. Arkansas, 85-50 W
- at Mississippi State, 90-90 W
- at Auburn, 73-56 W
- vs. Florida, 76-65 W
- vs. Southern Indiana, 89-44 W
Alabama:
- at Auburn, 58-54 L
- at Missouri, 74-63 W
- vs. Kentucky, 64-51 W
- vs. Arkansas, 77-48 W
- at South Carolina, 83-57 L
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
AP Poll – No. 20
Coaches Poll – No. 20
Bart Torvik – No. 13
Alabama:
AP Poll – No. 21
Coaches Poll – No. 21
Bart Torvik – No. 24
Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
- Points: Talaysia Cooper – 14.9
- Rebounds: Zee Spearman – 7.3
- Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 4.3
Alabama:
- Points: Jessica Timmons – 15.5
- Rebounds: Karly Weathers – 6.4
- Assists: Karly Weathers – 2.9
Prediction
I think we’ll learn a lot about this Lady Vols team on Sunday afternoon. Tennessee has taken care of business in SEC play so far, but it’s been mostly against the bottom feeders of the conference this year. Now, we’ll find out if this has been the result of UT actually turning a corner or taking advantage of an easy start to SEC play.
Alabama will be by far the toughest opponent the Lady Vols have seen yet in the conference schedule, but even tougher opponents loom. If Tennessee looks out-matched, it could bode poorly going forward. If it looks good, even in a road loss, optimism could remain.
The Crimson Tide have one of the best interior defenses in the country, though, which could make things tough. The Lady Vols aren’t necessarily a great 3-point shooting team. This means Tennessee can’t fall into the trap of settling for threes when they aren’t falling.
For the Lady Vols to win, I think it’ll take another strong game for Talaysia Cooper in her return, as well as offensive contributions from Janiah Barker and Zee Spearman. Tennessee will also need to speed up an Alabama team that’s content to go slow.
Lady Vols 76, Alabama 68
