Hoops Preview: Lady Vols at No. 4/3 LSU

Tennessee (16-7, 8-0 SEC), which is receiving votes in both major polls entering the new week, travels to Baton Rouge, La., to face No. 4/3 LSU (20-0, 8-0 SEC) in a battle of league unbeatens on Monday at 6:02 p.m. CT (7:02 p.m. ET) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

This contest will mark the Lady Vols’ second straight vs. a top-five opponent after they fell at home to No. 5/4 UConn, 84-67, on Thursday night in front of a season-best throng of 13,804 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

After hosting UT’s biggest women’s home crowd since 2015, the Big Orange will play in front of another large gathering in Baton Rouge, with an estimated sellout crowd of 13,000+ expected for a promoted “white out” game at the PMAC. UT and LSU will meet for the 70th time in a series that dates back to 1977, with the Lady Vols holding a 52-17 advantage and winning four of the past six meetings, including a 64-63 nailbiter in the Big Orange’s last trip to Baton Rouge on Jan. 10, 2021.

Kellie Harper‘s squad enters having won nine of its past 10 games and 14 of its last 17, with the only losses coming vs. (then) No. 9/9 Virginia Tech (59-56) on Dec. 4, at No. 2/2 Stanford on Dec. 18 (77-70) and vs. No. 5/4 UConn on Thursday night in Knoxville (84-67). Through eight games in league play, UT remains tied atop the SEC standings along with LSU and No. 1/1 South Carolina. It is the Lady Vols’ best conference start since they went 13-0 in 2014-15 en route to a 15-1 league record and regular-season title.

Tennessee heads to LSU after falling to UConn in a game the Lady Vols trailed by four at the half and cut to two in the third frame before the Huskies pulled away. Jordan Horston led all scorers with 27 for UT in a contest that featured UT’s third-all-time appearance on, and second time hosting, ESPN’s College GameDay.

The Tigers come into Monday’s affair rested, as they were idle Thursday after cruising to an 89-51 victory at Alabama on Jan. 23. Angel Reese and LaDazhia Williams had double-doubles, while Jasmine Carson led all scorers with 20 points to pace LSU.

Broadcast Information

• Monday’s game will be televised on ESPN2, with Courtney Lyle (PxP) and Carolyn Peck (Analyst) on the call.
• All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
• The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice on the call and Andy Brock serving as studio host. 
• A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
• For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
• Air time for games on the Lady Vol Radio Network generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• The Lady Vol Network broadcast also can be heard frequently on satellite radio via SiriusXM and the SXM App. but will not be available this game.

Unranked Lady Vols vs. Ranked Teams

• Tennessee is 15-17 all-time as an unranked team playing against a ranked squad, dating back to 1976-77 when polls began, including 7-8 vs. top-10 teams and 2-6 vs. top-five squads through the Jan. 26 contest vs. No. 5/4 UConn (L, 84-67).
• UT’s highest ranked win as an unranked team came on Feb. 26, 2017, as a Big Orange squad receiving votes took down No. 3/2 Mississippi St. in Starkville, 82-64.
• Jaime Nared (30), Diamond DeShields (20) and Jordan Reynolds (17) combined for 67 points to send a sellout crowd of 10,500 at Humphrey Coliseum home unhappy on Senior Day and prevent the Bulldogs from earning a share of their first SEC women’s hoops title.
• Kellie Harper is 3-5 as head coach of Tennessee playing while unranked and facing a ranked squad, including 0-3 vs. top-five teams. Her teams fell to No. 1/1 Notre Dame (1/24/19), No. 2/2 Stanford (12/18/22) and No. 5/4 UConn (1/26/23).
• She went 1-2 in 2019-20 and 2-0 in 2020-21, with No. 13/13 Arkansas (1/7/21, 88-73, Knoxville) the highest ranked outfit her Lady Vols have beaten while outside the poll. She is 0-3 in that role in 2022-23.

Tennessee In SEC Play

• UT is 433-94 (.822) in SEC regular-season games through the Missouri match-up, winning league bests of 18 regular-season championships and 17 SEC tourney titles through the years.
• Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper is 38-15 in SEC games through the MU contest, including 8-0 in 2022-23, and is 3-3 all-time in SEC Tournament play.
• UT tied for third in 2019-20 and finished third outright in 2020-21 and 2021-22, marking its best back-to-back-to-back outcomes in SEC play since taking first in 2012-13, second in 2013-14 and first in 2014-15.
• The Lady Vols were picked second in the 2022-23 SEC Preseason Media & Coaches Polls, marking their best positions since 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively.
• A UT win over LSU in the 2021-22 finale would have given UT a tie for second. The fact the Lady Vols still nabbed third despite the many injuries they suffered was pretty remarkable.

UT In The ESPN Women’s Bracketology

• As of the Jan. 27 edition of Women’s Bracketology, the Lady Vols are projected by Charlie Creme to receive a No. 7 seed and are slated to face No. 10 Miami in the opening round of the Greenville Region at Iowa City, Iowa. The winner would advance to face the winner of No. 2 Iowa vs. No. 15 Eastern Illinois in the second round.

Looking Back At The UConn Game

• Senior Jordan Horston poured in a game-high 27 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a sharp-shooting No. 5/4 UConn squad that hit 57 percent from behind the arc Thursday night in defeating Tennessee, 84-67, in front of a crowd of 13,804 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Horston added seven rebounds to go with her season-high-tying 27 points to lead the Lady Vols (16-7, 8-0 SEC). Senior Rickea Jackson finished with 13 on the night, while sophomore Jillian Hollingshead managed 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
• UConn (19-2, 11-0 BIG EAST) was led by Lou Lopez Senechal and Aaliyah Edwards, who turned in 26 and 25, respectively. Nika Muhl dished out double-digit assists, logging 14 in the game.

Big Game Jordy

• Jordan Horston tied her season high of 27 points against UConn to lead Tennessee in scoring.
• Horston has now led UT in scoring in all four contests against ranked opponents in which she’s been active, and she is averaging a double-double against teams in the Top 25 with 23.0 ppg. and 10.3 rpg.

Big Game Crowd

• The 13,804 on hand for the game ranked as Tennessee’s largest women’s home crowd since Feb. 14, 2015, when the Lady Vols had 16,013 for a 72-58 win over Kentucky.

Three More Charges Taken vs. UConn

• Jordan Walker took two charges and Jordan Horston drew another vs. UConn to bring Tennessee’s season total to 26.
• Walker leads the team with 13 drawn charges, which is only eight shy of the 21 the Lady Vols recorded a year ago.

Tennessee/LSU Notes

• UT enters the 70th meeting in the series with a 52-17 edge, including a 23-4 record in Knoxville, 16-9 slate in Baton Rouge and a 13-4 mark at neutral sites.
• The Lady Vols are 1-1 vs. LSU in overtime games. The last time the two teams went to OT was on March 1, 1997. Tennessee won the game 100-99 to advance to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
• Kellie Harper is 2-3 overall vs. LSU and 2-2 vs. the Tigers while the head coach at Tennessee.
• Harper is 0-2 in head-to-head match-ups with Kim Mulkey, dropping a contest to Baylor on Nov. 23, 2017, when she was head coach at Missouri State and falling by three as UT’s skipper a year ago.

A Look At The Tigers

• LSU features four starters scoring in double figures, including Angel Reese (23.7), Flau’jae Johnson (13.8), Alexis Morris (12.7) and Jasmine Carson (11.2).
• Reese averages an impressive double-double, pulling down a whopping 15.5 rebounds per game.
• The Tigers are putting up a nation-leading 88.2 points in all games and 78.4 in SEC contests, tallying scoring margins of 36.4 and 29.4, respectively. The 36.4 mark ranks second behind only South Carolina.
• LSU gets to the free throw line more frequently than any other team, earning 25.6 attempts per game.

LSU’s Last Game

• Angel Reese recorded her 20th straight double-double (14 pts./14 rebs.) to set the LSU record, as the No. 4 Tigers cruised past Alabama, 89-51, on Jan. 23.
• Reese’s double-double streak is the second longest in SEC history, trailing only South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, who recorded 27 in a row last season.
• LaDazhia Williams also had a double-double, her second in a row, with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jasmine Carson shot 4-of-8 from three-point land and led LSU with 20 points. Alexis Morris finished with 17 and had a game-high seven assists. 

Last Meeting Between The Lady Vols And Tigers

• No. 16/14 Tennessee closed out the game with a 13-1 run to pull within two in the closing seconds but came up just short, falling to No. 8/8 LSU in Thompson-Boling Arena, 57-54, on Senior Day on Feb. 27, 2022.
• Tennessee (22-7, 11-5 SEC) was led by junior Tamari Key, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.
• Jailin Cherry was the top scorer for LSU (25-4, 13-3 SEC), posting a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Last Time In Baton Rouge

• The Lady Vols held off a scrappy LSU squad in a back-and-forth affair on the road on Jan. 10, 2021, winning 64-63 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
• It was Tennessee’s first win in Baton Rouge in its last four trips, and Kellie Harper picked up her first career victory in the venue as both a head coach and as a Lady Vol during her play days.

Upcoming Games

• Back-to-back contests vs. teams from the Magnolia State are coming up.
• Tennessee is back home on Feb. 2 vs. Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. ET. The contest is part of Tennessee Athletics’ celebration of Black History Month.
• Fans can purchase a Weekday Family 4 Pack deal, getting four tickets & four $10 concession vouchers starting at $48 (plus tax/fees).
• On Feb. 6, the Lady Vols will be in Starkville for their second meeting this season with Mississippi State. That game is slated for 6 p.m. CT (7 ET) at Humphrey Coliseum. The contest will be televised by the SEC Network.

-UT Athletics