Lady Vols basketball is back in action on Thursday, looking to snap a four-game losing skid. It won’t be an easy task, though, with Tennessee headed south to play LSU.
Here is what you need to know before the matchup.
More From RTI: Everything Lady Vols Basketball HC Kim Caldwell Said to Preview Road Clash at LSU
How to Watch — Lady Vols (16-10, 8-6 SEC) at No. 6 LSU (24-4, 10-4 SEC)
- Start Time: 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT
- Location: Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.)
- Watch: ESPN | PxP: Ryan Ruocco, Analyst: Rebecca Lobo, Reporter: Holly Rowe
- 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
FanDuel: LSU -18.5
ESPN Matchup Predictor
LSU – 90.3%
Lady Vols – 9.7%
What Kim Caldwell Said
On what stands out about LSU
“They get fouled just as much as anyone in the country, and they go in transition. They’re very good at all of our weaknesses, so we’re gonna have to, again, have a great practice here in a few minutes to try to go and compete in that one.”
On LSU’s MiLaysia Fulwiley
“She’s surrounded by a bunch of good guards. She can go in a straight line, where it’s gonna be a situation where we’re gonna have to corral her and not let her have a straight path to the rim. And then again, she’s coming off a phenomenal game, I think, where she hit six threes, so it just makes it even tougher.”
Last Five Games
Lady Vols:
- at Oklahoma, 100-93 L
- vs. Texas A&M, 82-74 L
- at Ole Miss, 94-81 L
- vs. Texas, 65-63 L
- vs. Missouri, 98-53 W
LSU:
- vs. Missouri, 108-55 W
- at Ole Miss, 78-70 W
- vs. South Carolina, 79-72 L
- at Auburn, 77-44 W
- at Texas, 77-64 L
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
AP Poll – RV
Coaches Poll – RV
Bart Torvik – No. 21
LSU:
AP Poll – No. 6
Coaches Poll – No. 6
Bart Torvik – No. 5
Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
- Points: Talaysia Cooper – 16.0
- Rebounds: Janiah Barker – 6.8
- Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 3.8
Oklahoma:
- Points: Flaujae Johnson – 14.3
- Rebounds: Amiya Joyner – 7.5
- Assists: Mikaylah Williams – 3.6
Prediction
“They’re very good at all of our weaknesses.” That doesn’t inspire much confidence from Lady Vols head coach Kim Caldwell as far as predicting the team to pull off the upset.
However, I do think Tennessee has shown improvements over this losing streak. That cumulated to a mostly well-played game at Oklahoma, in which some critical late errors proved costly. With a chance to catch their breath and focus on themselves, I’m curious to see if some of those issues get cleaned up.
The top area that will need to improve is fouling. The Lady Vols are consistently well on the wrong end of that stat and are giving up too many points at the line. That can’t happen against an LSU team that does a great job drawing fouls.
Ultimately, I see a Tigers win, but it shouldn’t get as ugly as some of these past games against top opponents on the road.
LSU 84, Lady Vols 74
More to follow: Kentucky Sports Betting Sites
