Lady Vols basketball opened up Kim Caldwell’s second season as head coach on Tuesday with a narrow loss to NC State in a top-10 bout. Now, Tennessee returns home for its Food City Center season debut against ETSU.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup, from broadcast details to a prediction.
More From RTI: Three Quick Takeaways: Lady Vols Basketball Fall in Top-10 Season Opener to NC State
How to Watch — No. 8 Lady Vols (0-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. ETSU (0-1, 0-0 SOCON)
- Start Time: 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT
- Location: Food City Center
- Watch: SECN+ | PxP: Cruz Martin, Analyst: Kamera Harris
- 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
No listed odds to this point
How They’ve Fared
Lady Vols:
- Loss to No. 9 NC State in Greensboro, 80-77
ETSU:
- Loss to Elon at home, 65-56 in OT
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
- AP Poll: No. 8
- Coaches Poll: No. 9
- Bart Torvik: No. 9
ETSU:
- AP Poll: Unranked
- Coaches Poll: Unranked
- Bart Torvik: No. 230
Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
- Points: Talaysia Cooper – 23.0
- Rebounds: Talaysia Cooper – 11.0
- Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 7.0
ETSU:
- Points: Carmen Richardson – 21.0
- Rebounds: Kennedy Younkin – 8.0
- Assists: Three players – 2.0
Prediction
Tennessee took NC State to the wire in a game it easily could have won despite plenty of mistakes. With so many newcomers, you had to expect a bit of slop early in the year, but if the Lady Vols still have the talent to nearly beat a top-10 opponent on a neutral floor despite it, you have to be pretty optimistic about what this team can do this year.
Against ETSU, there should be no issue winning by whatever number they choose. Look for forwards such as Janiah Barker, Zee Spearman and Jersey Wolfenbarger to have big games given the height differential. Talaysia Cooper should also have a field day in every aspect, scoring at will and getting stops in the press to lead to easy buckets.
This one should be a nice get-back game for Tennessee as it stacks up a few easier matchups before the gauntlet of the out-of-conference schedule continues.
Lady Vols 104, ETSU 60
