Lady Vols basketball was gearing up for a ranked showdown at Ole Miss on Monday, but inclement weather postponed the game to a date yet to be announced. With that game off the books, Tennessee turned the page to Mississippi State at home.
The result was a brutal loss, though. The Lady Vols fell 77-62 for their first SEC loss of the season.
Here are three quick thoughts from the game.
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Nightmare Loss
That was one of the worst losses the Lady Vols could have taken at this stage of the season. Just optically, you had built up momentum with a 6-0 start to SEC play. Bracketologists (for whatever their opinion is worth) had you up to a projected 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament due to what appeared to be an improved brand of basketball.
Now, that’s tumbled down. Mississippi State entered the game 2-5 in SEC play, which tied for 11th in the conference. In what should’ve been a comfortable win at home to keep the ball rolling, the Lady Vols got hammered at home, instead.
Perhaps most importantly, it doesn’t get any easier, either. Tennessee was gifted a manageable conference schedule to start, but it’s backloaded. On Sunday, UT plays at No. 1 UConn in an out-of-conference clash, which will want blood after losing in Knoxville a year ago. Then, it’s No. 23 Georgia on the road and No. 3 South Carolina on the road.
Tennessee returns home to play a struggling Missouri team before continuing the gauntlet. That’s followed by a trip to No. 4 Texas, then back at home against unranked Texas A&M. Following that is trips to No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 6 LSU before rounding out the season against No. 5 Vanderbilt at home.
Horrible Offense
The Lady Vols’ shooting numbers from the field, behind the arch and at the free-throw line were all almost unfathomably bad.
From the field, Tennessee shot 22-for-69 (31.9%). On layups alone, it connected on just 12-for-35.
From range, the Lady Vols’ shot 4-for-21 (19%). This included multiple attempts without a make from four different players.
Perhaps the most frustrating was the number at the free-throw line. The team finished 14-for-23 (60.9%). However, in defense of the team’s number, Deniya Prawl finished 0-for-6 herself. Not including her, the number is 14-for-17.
Zee Spearman was a Rare Bright Spot
There weren’t a lot of positives to take away from that one. Whether looking from a team or individual lens, it was a lot of performances that don’t fly in the SEC.
One player who put together another solid game was Zee Spearman, though. After holding things down against Kentucky without Janiah Barker, she was the only player on the Lady Vols to finish with a positive +/-. Though that can be a bit of an overblown stat, her +11 stands out as a massive outlier. The next best was Lauren Hurst at -1, who played just seven minutes. Then, it was Talaysia Cooper at -4.
Spearman finished the game with nine points on 3-for-8 shooting from the field. She also grabbed five rebounds and only turned the ball over once in 20 minutes.
Final Stats
Up Next
Next, the Lady Vols will begin a brutal three-game road swing. First, Tennessee heads north for an out-of-conference game against No. 1 UConn. Then, UT travels south to meet No. 23 Georgia. The slate wraps up with a contest at No. 3 South Carolina.
The game against the Huskies is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 1, at noon ET. The game will air on FOX.
