Hoops Preview: No. 12/13 Lady Vols vs. No. 13/12 Oregon State

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 12/13 Tennessee (25-7), the No. 3 seed in the Lexington Regional, has advanced to the NCAA Second Round and will host No. 6 seed and No. 13/12-ranked Oregon State (24-7) on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena.

UT moved on after beating No. 14 seed Liberty, 100-60, on Friday afternoon. OSU advanced with an 82-58 victory over No. 11 seed Western Kentucky in Friday’s first game in Knoxville.

The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to the Sweet 16 in Lexington, Ky., on March 23 and 25 at Rupp Arena.

The Lady Vols are trying to reach their 35th Sweet 16 in the 37-year history of the tournament and their fifth under Holly Warlick.

No. 1 Louisville, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Tennessee and No. 4 Stanford are the top four seeds in the Lexington Regional.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Brenda VanLengen (play-by-play) and Carol Ross (analyst) will describe the action for the UT-Oregon State television broadcast on ESPN2.
• Mickey Dearstone is handling the call for IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcasts for the 19th season. A link to the live audio stream can be found on each game’s Hoops Central page or the Lady Vol schedule on UTSports.com.

OREGON-TENNESSEE CONNECTIONS

• Five players from the state of Oregon will suit up on Sunday, with three playing for Tennessee (Mercedes Russell/Springfield, Jaime Nared/Portland, Evina Westbrook/Salem) and two donning Oregon State uniforms (Aleah Goodman/Milwaukie, Katie McWilliams/Salem).
• The match-up features four players who combined to win six straight Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year awards.
• UT’s Evina Westbrook (2015-16, 2016-17), Jaime Nared (2013-14) and Mercedes Russell (2011-12, 2012-13) were winners, as was OSU’s Katie McWilliams (2014-15).
• UT’s Westbrook and OSU’s McWilliams were teammates at South Salem High School in Salem, Ore., winning a state title together in 2015. McWilliams’ father, Nick, is the Saxons’ coach.
• Evina Westbrook‘s father, James, played basketball at Oregon State.
• Tennessee has had two more Oregonians on its rosters through the years, including Jordan Reynolds (Portland, 2013-17) and Laurie Milligan (Tigard, 1994-98).
• UT’s associate director of sports medicine for women’s hoops, Jenna Kennedy, is a 2013 OSU graduate from Klamath Falls.

UT’S NCAA TOURNEY HISTORY

• The Lady Vols are making their 37th appearance in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, and UT is the only program to appear in all 37 tournaments.
• Tennessee was an at-large qualifier for the tourney field, tying for fourth in the Southeastern Conference regular season and bowing out in the quarterfinal round of the league tourney to No. 7/7 South Carolina, the eventual champion.
• As a No. 3 seed, UT is two spots up from last season’s No. 5 position.
• No. 3 NCAA women’s seeds have an all-time record of 93-35 in second-round play.
• The Lady Vols are 125-28 in NCAA Tournament play, and they rank first in games played (153) and victories (125) in NCAA tourney history.
• Tennessee is second behind UConn in winning percentage at .817 in tourney play.
• UT is 13-5 in NCAA play under Holly Warlick.
• UT has advanced to the NCAA regional round on 34 occasions, posting a 28-6 record in the Sweet 16.
• The only seasons UT did not make the regional level were 2009 and 2017. UT lost its opening round contest as a No. 5 seed to No. 12 Ball State in Bowling Green, Ky., in 2009. No. 5 seed UT lost its second-round game at No. 4 seed Louisville in 2017.
• UT has made the Elite Eight 28 times and in three of the past five seasons, posting an 18-10 record in that round.
• The Lady Vols have seen their season ended in the regional championship game in five of the past seven years (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016).
• UT has advanced to 18 NCAA Final Fours and won eight of them (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008), ranking second to UConn.
• Tennessee has finished second in the nation five times and third on five more occasions.
• Tennessee’s First/Opening Round opponents through the years have included: Jackson St. (1982), South Carolina St. (1983), Middle Tennessee State (1984), Virginia (1985), Iowa (1986), Tennessee Tech (1987), North Carolina A&T (1994), Florida A&M (1995), Radford (1996), Grambling (1997), Liberty (1998, 2018), Appalachian St. (1999), Furman (2000), Austin Peay (2001 & 2010), Georgia State (2002), Alabama State (2003), Colgate (2004), Western Carolina (2005), Army (2006), Drake (2007), Oral Roberts (2008 & 2013), Ball State (2009), Stetson (2011), UT Martin (2012), Northwestern State (2014), Boise State (2015), Green Bay (2016), Dayton (2017).
• All told, UT has played 83 different opponents during all rounds of the NCAA tournament, including Oregon State on Sunday.

UT IN THE FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS

• Tennessee is making its 37th appearance in the NCAA First/Second Rounds, and it owns a 58-2 record during those games.
• The Lady Vols are 30-1 all-time in the NCAA First Round and 28-1 in the NCAA Second Round.
• The only blemishes are a first-round loss to Ball State, 71-55, in Bowling Green, Ky., on March 22, 2009, and a second-round setback to Louisville, 75-64, in Louisville, Ky. on March 20, 2017.
• In NCAA First/Second Round play, Tennessee is 45-0 at home, 4-1 away and 9-1 at neutral sites.
• The breakdown for that is 23-0 home/0-0 away/7-1 neutral for the first round and 22-0 home/4-1 away/2-0 neutral for the second round.
• Under Holly Warlick, UT is 6-0 in NCAA First Round games (4-0 at home/2-0 at neutral sites).
• She is 4-1 in NCAA Second Round tilts (3-0 at home/1-1 away).

57-GAME HOME NCAA STREAK

• UT is 57-0 all-time in home NCAA games, including 23-0 in the First Round, 22-0 in the Second Round, 6-0 in the Sweet 16 and 6-0 in the Elite Eight.
• Entering the tournament, UConn was 44-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games on its home floor (20-0, 1st Rd.; 20-3, 2nd Rd.; 2-0, Sweet 16; 2-0, Elite Eight). The Huskies had won 42-straight home tourney games.
• In 2011, the win over Marquette during the NCAA Second Round was the 50th consecutive NCAA Tournament win for the Lady Vols in Knoxville, dating back to the start of the NCAA Tournament in 1982.

LADY VOL NCAA EXPERIENCE

• This is Holly Warlick‘s sixth NCAA Tournament as a head coach and her 33rd as a member of the Tennessee staff.
• Warlick is 13-5 in NCAA Tournament games as a head coach, leading UT to three Elite Eights in her first four seasons (2013, 2015, 2016). She is 7-0 in games played in Knoxville (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018).
• Only four of Tennessee’s 10 players possessed NCAA Tournament experience as the 2018 Big Dance began (30 combined games), but there now are 40 combined games of tourney duty by team members.
• Jaime Nared has played in 11 NCAA games, while Mercedes Russell, Kortney Dunbar and Meme Jackson have appeared in 10, seven and six, respectively. Everyone else has one appearance through the Liberty game.
• Nared and Russell have seven starts apiece, with each reporting to the jump circle in UT’s last seven tourney games over the past three seasons.
• Mercedes Russell has UT’s highest totals among active players for points and rebounds in an NCAA game, tallying a double-double of 25 points and 15 rebounds vs. Ohio State in 2016.
• Russell has averaged double-doubles in NCAA play the past two seasons, carding pts./rebs. averages of 13.0 and 10.3 in 2016 and 12.5 and 11.5 in 2017. She has three career double-double games during the NCAA Tournament.
• Russell is shooting .627 from the field (42-67) in 10 career NCAA Tournament games.
• Jaime Nared averaged 18.0 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest last season in two tourney games, hitting for 28 vs. Louisville and pulling down 11 boards.
• Nared is averaging 9.7 ppg. and 6.4 rpg. for her career in NCAA contests while hitting .854 (35-41) from the free throw line.

UT POSTS 35TH 25-WIN SEASON!

• With its win over Liberty, Tennessee achieved its 25th victory of the year, marking the 35th season the Lady Vols have reached that win total.
• It marked the fourth 25-win campaign under Holly Warlick, with the Lady Vols last achieving that total during a 30-6 season in 2014-15.
• The Lady Vols hit the 20-win mark for the 42nd consecutive season on Feb. 8, 2018, winning at Arkansas, 90-85.
• The Lady Vols won No. 20 last season in the NCAA First Round over Dayton on March 18 in Louisville, Ky.

THE LATEST ON TENNESSEE

• Jaime Nared (17.1 ppg., 7.7 rpg.), a 6-foot-2 guard/forward, is a top-five finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award, while 6-6 center Mercedes Russell (15.1 ppg., 9.0 rpg.) is a top-five finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award.
• UT starts those two seniors as well as 5-11 junior guard Meme Jackson (8.3 ppg., 4.1 rpg.), 6-2 freshman forward Rennia Davis (12.2 ppg., 7.5 rpg.) and 6-0 freshman point guard Evina Westbrook (8.5 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 4.4 apg.).
• UT’s top reserve is Anastasia Hayes, a 5-7 freshman guard (9.3 ppg., 2.6 rpg., 3.4 apg.).
• Tennessee enters the NCAA Second Round having won four of its last five games, including a win over #7 South Carolina in the regular-season finale.
• Seniors Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell have been quite durable, with Nared starting the last 88 games for UT and Russell getting the nod in 68 consecutive games through the  NCAA First Round.
• Tennessee shot a NCAA Tournament program-record .617 from the field (37-60) vs. Liberty, including 24 of 30 (.800) in the second half.
• The Lady Vols scored 100 points in an NCAA game for the sixth time in 153 tournament contests and for the initial occasion since posting 102 vs. Army in Norfolk, Va. in 2006.
• UT’s 100-60 victory over the Lady Flames marked the first time Liberty had surrendered 100 points in a game since UT beat the school, 102-58, in the NCAA First Round on March 14, 1998.
• Meme Jackson hit three of five attempts from the three-point arc to give her 48 treys for the year. With two more long balls, she would become only the second Lady Vol in the past seven years to reach 50. Ariel Massengale (74, 2014-15) was the other.
• Tennessee has been strong at home this season, winning 14 of 16 games and outscoring opponents, 80.8 to 59.6 in Knoxville.
• UT has forced 18.1 turnovers per game and outrebounded foes, 46.2 to 35.9, at home.
• Mercedes Russell now stands alone with a record 15 double-doubles by a UT senior and is tied with Candace Parker for second-most ever by a Lady Vol behind only Chamique Holdsclaw (57). Russell had a UT junior-record 19 double-doubles a year ago.
• The Lady Vols have won the rebounding battle in 26 of 32 games this season, including nine of the last 10 games.
• Mercedes Russell surpassed the 1,000-rebound mark vs. Georgia and the 1,500-point mark against Alabama, becoming only the sixth Lady Vol to reach 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds. The others in that club are Chamique Holdsclaw, Glory Johnson, Bashaara Graves, Sheila Frost and Tamika Catchings.
• UT has led 25 of 32 games this season at the half. UT trailed Mississippi State by 13, South Carolina (SEC) by 10, Missouri by six, Alabama by five, South Carolina (home) by five and Auburn (SEC Tourn.) by three, and was tied vs. Auburn (home).
• UT’s roster features seven players 6-2 or taller, tying the 2004-05 team as the second tallest in Lady Vol history behind the 2014-15 unit that boasted eight.
• The Lady Vols have allowed eight opponents to score more than 72 points (Marquette – 99, Texas – 75, Vandy – 73, A&M – 79, Notre Dame – 84, Arkansas – 85, Missouri – 77, South Carolina – 73) and have allowed only 11 teams to shoot better than 41 percent from the field (Missouri, .556; Vanderbilt in Knoxville, .491; Texas A&M in Knoxville, .484; Notre Dame, .478; Arkansas, .477; Vanderbilt, .469; Marquette, .437; South Carolina (SEC), .464; Miss. State, .418; Alabama, .426, Auburn, .419).
• When UT has more fouls than its opponent, the Lady Vols are 2-5, losing to Texas A&M, Notre Dame, LSU, Missouri and South Carolina (SEC Tourney), and beating Marquette in OT and winning by 14 at Kentucky.

TENNESSEE NOTES VS. OREGON STATE

• This is the fifth all-time meeting between these programs, and the Lady Vols own a 4-0 record vs. the Beavers in a series that dates back to Dec. 18, 1981.
• This will be the third time these programs have met when both were ranked.
• On Dec. 28, 2014, #8/11 UT held off #10/12 OSU, 74-63, in the schools’ first-ever match-up in Knoxville.
• Just under a year later, on Dec. 19, 2015, a #14/16 Lady Vol squad standing 7-3 after a loss at Stanford went to Corvallis and upset a #7/7-ranked and undefeated (8-0) OSU squad, 53-50.
• The only other time these programs met in Corvallis, on Dec. 16, 1987, #3/4 UT cruised by the unranked Beavers, 91-56, at Gill Coliseum. Current UT assistant Bridgette Gordon played in that game.
• Elsewhere, a No. 14 Tennessee squad beat an unranked Oregon State team, 73-62, on Dec. 18, 1981, at the Giusti Tournament of Champions at Portland State.
• The Lady Vols are 68-19 all-time vs. schools from the Pac-12 Conference after winning at Stanford earlier this season on Dec. 21, 83-71.
• Holly Warlick stands 5-3 vs. Pac-12 foes, including 2-0 vs. Oregon State, 1-0 vs. Arizona State and 2-3 vs. Stanford.
• UT will be trying to beat Oregon State and Stanford in the same season for the second time. The Lady Vols beat SU and OSU at home on Dec. 20 and 28, 2014.

LAST MEETING BETWEEN UT & OSU

• No. 14/16 Tennessee rebounded from a loss at #15 Stanford just three days earlier with a 53-50 win at #7 Oregon State on Dec. 19, 2015. The Lady Vols (8-3) ended the Beavers’ perfect 8-0 start to the season.
• Diamond DeShields scored a team-high 14 points, including two clutch free throws, her first of the night, with 31.4 seconds remaining — after missing her first six attempts — to seal the win. She also grabbed nine rebounds.
• A pair of Oregonians helped the Lady Vols to their best road win in eight years. Mercedes Russell (12 points) and Jordan Reynolds (eight points) combined for 20 points.
• In beating the #7 Beavers on the road, the victory marked the highest ranked foe knocked off by Tennessee in a road game since Feb. 19, 2007, when the Lady Vols clinched the SEC regular-season championship with a win at #7 LSU.
• The Lady Vols led by as many as 19 points early in the third quarter and withstood Oregon State’s charge in the second half. The Beavers used an 18-2 run to cut their deficit to one point at 47-46 with six minutes left in regulation.
• Down 51-50, Oregon State had four chances to take the lead in the final two minutes, as the Beavers grabbed four consecutive offensive rebounds but couldn’t score.
• DeShields made a pair of three throws with 31.5 seconds left to put Tennessee up, 53-50. Oregon State’s Jamie Weisner missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer as time expired.
• Sydney Wiese led Oregon State with 17 points. Weisner had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

LAST MEETING IN KNOXVILLE

• Isabelle Harrison finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Alexa Middleton added 12 points off the bench as No. 8 Tennessee pulled away from No. 10 Oregon State for a 74-63 victory on Dec. 29, 2015, at Thompson-Boling Arena. In all, four Lady Vols finished in double figures as UT defeated its second top 10 opponent in as many games.
• Harrison collected her sixth double-double of the season on Sunday in leading UT to its 12th consecutive home victory. She was a handful offensively and on the glass, but was also a terror on the defensive end in posting a season-high five blocks. Matching up with OSU’s leading scorer in 6-6 center Ruth Hamblin, Harrison limited the junior to just eight points on 4-of-11 shooting. Hamblin had entered the contest averaging 14.0 points per game on a nation-leading 69 percent shooting.
• Middleton posted her 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Cierra Burdick and Ariel Massengale also found their way into double figures with 11 points each. Bashaara Graves narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.

OSU LAST TIME OUT (OSU 82, WKU 58)

• Senior Marie Gulich posted one of the best postseason performances in Oregon State history Friday, as the Beavers topped Western Kentucky 82-58 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Gulich finished with 29 points on 11-for-15 shooting, putting up the second-highest NCAA Tournament point total in Oregon State history, trailing only Jamie Weisner’s 38-point showing vs. DePaul in 2016. The senior also matched OSU’s NCAA Tournament record for rebounds, pulling down 15 boards. Gulich scored 21 points in the second half.
• Sophomore Kat Tudor knocked down five 3-pointers to finish with 19 points. Fellow sophomore Mikayla Pivec went for 15 points and eight assists, and did not record a turnover in the contest.
• Junior Katie McWilliams rounded out five Beavers in double figures, tallying 10 points and six rebounds. Freshman Taya Corosdale pulled down eight boards.
• Oregon State shot 45.6 percent in the contest, compared to 32.8 percent for Western Kentucky. The Beavers also held a 48-27 advantage in rebounding and outscored the Hilltoppers 28-8 on points in the paint.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS

• No. 6 seed OSU (24-7) is making its fifth straight NCAA appearance, a school best.
• The Beavers finished 14-4 in the Pac-12 to tie for third place. They were predicted to place fourth by the media and coaches.
• Marie Gulich, a 6-foot-5 senior center, was an All-Pac-12 pick, while Katie McWilliams, Mikayla Pivec and Kat Tudor were honorable mention selections.
• Gulich was the media’s pick for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and made the coaches’ all-defensive team.
• Head coach Scott Rueck is a 1991 Oregon State graduate, sporting a 177-88 record in his eighth season at the school.
• He is in his 21st season overall as a head coach, however, standing 465-176.
• Reuck led Oregon State (2016, Div. I) and George Fox (2009, Div. III) to NCAA Final Fours, with Fox winning the title under his watch.
• Comparing common foes, OSU lost to Stanford at home, 60-57, and fell to Notre Dame at home, 72-67. UT won at SU and fell at UND.
• Oregon State has average margins of +15.8 in scoring (73.8-58.1) and +10.5 in rebounding (42.6-32.1) but is -5.0 in turnovers (14.1-9.1).
• The Beavers have made 269 three-pointers this season, an average of 8.5 per game.

TENN. LAST TIME OUT (UT 100, LU 60)

• No. 12/13-ranked Tennessee soared past Liberty, 100-60, as the No. 3 seed Lady Vols scored their highest point total in an NCAA Tournament game since 2006 when they defeated Army, 102-54.
• Rennia Davis led UT (25-7) with 18 points and 11 rebounds, marking her ninth career double-double and tying her with Tamika Catchings for the fifth most double-doubles ever recorded by a UT freshman. Redshirt junior Cheridene Green also posted a double-double, the second of her career, with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
• No. 14 seed Liberty (24-10), which hadn’t surrendered 100 points in a game since the Lady Vols defeated them 102-58 in the 1998 NCAA First Round, was led in scoring by Lela Sellers and Ola Makurat, each with 13 points.

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