Lady Vols basketball is set to begin its NCAA Tournament run on Friday. 10-seed Tennessee is set to meet 7-seed NC State in Ann Arbor, Mich., in the Round of 64.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the game.
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How to Watch — 10-seed Lady Vols (16-13, 8-8 SEC) vs. 7-seed NC State (20-10, 13-5 ACC)
- Start Time: 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT
- Location: Crisler Center (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
- Watch: ESPN | PxP: Beth Mowins, Analyst: Debbie Antonelli, Sideline Reporter: Jess Sims
- 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
NC State: -1.5 (FanDuel)
ESPN Matchup Predictor
Lady Vols: 55.5%
NC State: 45.5%
What Kim Caldwell Said
Q. How does the tournament provide a fresh start for your team after having a losing streak going into it?
KIM CALDWELL: Yeah, I think any time you get into March and in March Madness it’s definitely a different buzz, a different vibe around it. There’s some excitement, there’s some juice. You had, we have a significant chunk of time where we can practice and kind of have a fresh start there where you have time to put things together. It’s exciting.
Q. I know your team faced Khamil Pierre obviously last year and opener this year. What’s the plan to deal with her in this one and how can you kind of minimize her impact?
KIM CALDWELL: Yeah, she’s tough. She will find ways to go get every single rebound if you let her and you don’t put a body on her and she can score multiple different ways too. She’s a good transition player in her size and so making sure that we’re on high alert knowing where she is and trying not to let her get anything easy. What makes her so special is she makes hard look easy.
Q. We talked a lot about the defensive end of the ball in this presser. How about the offensive end, what are the keys to unlocking your offensive success tomorrow against a tough NC State defense?
KIM CALDWELL: I think the most important thing is we share the ball. We don’t try to force anything, we don’t shoot on three or four people. We share the ball, we space the floor. And then we go get offensive rebounds for each other, and we try to get multiple possessions. But I think again sharing the basketball, playing together, playing with a flow, playing through things, missing a couple shots in a row, not hanging our heads, continuing to get stops is really important for us.
Last Five Games
Lady Vols:
- vs. Alabama (SECT), 76-64 L
- vs. Vanderbilt, 87-77 L
- at LSU, 89-73 L
- at Oklahoma, 100-93 L
- vs. Texas A&M, 82-74 L
NC State:
- vs. Notre Dame (ACCT), 81-63 L
- at Pitt, 94-43 W
- vs. Wake Forest, 65-56 W
- vs. Syracuse, 82-69 W
- at Duke, 83-65 L
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
AP Poll – NR
Coaches Poll – NR
Bart Torvik – No. 24
NC State:
AP Poll – NR
Coaches Poll – NR
Bart Torvik – No. 26
Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
- Points: Talaysia Cooper – 15.7
- Rebounds: Janiah Barker – 6.6
- Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 3.6
NC State:
- Points: Khamil Pierre – 16.8
- Rebounds: Khamil Pierre – 12.0
- Assists: Zoe Brooks – 4.4
Prediction
Coming off seven consecutive losses and defeats in 10 of their last 12 games, it’d feel foolish to predict the Lady Vols to win at this point. Not only has Tennessee struggled on the floor, but off-the-floor drama has followed it, even leading to Kaiya Wynn stepping away from the program after the conclusion of the regular season.
As far as the matchup with NC State, the Lady Vols will have to figure out how to shut down Khamil Pierre. She does a fantastic job crashing the glass on both ends, but second-chance points will have to be limited. That’s been an issue for Tennessee at times this year, not causing much optimism.
The Lady Vols will also have to be consistent with their press. There have been far too many times when opponents have gotten free points by beating the press, causing more harm than good.
While Tennessee’s talent could keep them in it, I’ll have to go with the Wolfpack advancing.
NC State 78, Lady Vols 65
More to follow: Tennessee Lady Volunteers
