After snapping a two-game losing skid with an overtime win at Georgia, Lady Vols basketball is back in action on Sunday against South Carolina.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the matchup.
More From RTI: Where Lady Vols Basketball Project in Updated Bracketology After Win at Georgia
How to Watch — No. 19 Lady Vols (15-5, 7-1 SEC) at No. 3 South Carolina (23-2, 9-1 SEC)
- Start Time: 3:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. CT
- Location: Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.)
- Watch: ABC | PxP: Beth Mowin, 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
DraftKings: South Carolina -16.5
ESPN Matchup Predictor
Lady Vols: 10.5%
South Carolina: 89.5%
What Kim Caldwell Said After Georgia
On what she saw from the team in overtime
“I think it was good for us. It was good for us to get one under our belt. It was good for us to win. I thought we played with poise and good pace and together down the stretch. And I was a little bit worried about the momentum not being in our favor and us being deflated, and we weren’t.”
On if she saw any defensive improvements
“I think that they did a really good job of going into the post, and then their post got in foul trouble, but they were kind of whipping it with us at the rim. So something we need to continue to get better at, and then IQ down the stretch. Just learning. We’re learning. We had some freshmen make some freshmen plays at the end, but again, I trust them to be out there. We’re learning in real-time, and we’ll continue to fix it.”
Last Five Games
Lady Vols:
- at Georgia, 82-77 W (OT)
- at UConn, 96-66 L
- vs. Mississippi State, 77-62 L
- vs. Kentucky, 60-58 W
- at Alabama, 70-59 W
South Carolina:
- vs. Mississippi State, 88-45 W
- at Texas A&M, 71-56 W
- at Auburn, 81-51 W
- vs. Vanderbilt, 103-74 W
- at Oklahoma, 94-82 L (OT)
Where They Land In Rankings
Lady Vols:
AP Poll – No. 19
Coaches Poll – No. 17
Bart Torvik – No. 15
South Carolina:
AP Poll – No. 3
Coaches Poll – No. 3
Bart Torvik – No. 4
Stat Leaders
Lady Vols:
- Points: Talaysia Cooper – 14.4
- Rebounds: Zee Spearman – 6.9
- Assists: Talaysia Cooper – 3.9
South Carolina:
- Points: Joyce Edwards – 20.4
- Rebounds: Madina Okot – 10.0
- Assists: Raven Johnson – 5.3
Prediction
The Lady Vols have really struggled against top competition on the road this season. In games against teams currently in the top-10 of the AP Poll (UConn, UCLA and Louisville), Tennessee has an average margin of defeat of 25.3 points.
That doesn’t give me much hope that the Lady Vols will perform well in this matchup either. Really, between those three games, it was about 20 combined minutes of strong play, nearly all of which were in the loss to UConn in the first half.
That stretch does show you that Tennessee is able to compete with anyone, but it’s tough for me to project the Lady Vols to stick with a team as good as South Carolina for an entire game.
For UT to have any chance, it needs strong play from Talaysia Cooper, Janiah Barker, Zee Spearman and Mia Pauldo, which it got in the win at Georgia.
South Carolina 85, Lady Vols 60
