Coming off a shocking upset over the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road last week in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, the Tennessee Lady Vols are back in action in the Sweet 16 Saturday afternoon. UT will be looking to earn its first trip to the Elite Eight since 2016 under Holly Warlick.
Ranked No. 20 in both polls and a No. 5 seed under first-year head coach Kim Caldwell, Tennessee enters this game with a 24-9 record. They beat OSU 82-67 in that upset last week, and before that, they beat the No. 12 seed USF Bulls 101-66 in the March Madness Round of 64.
As a No. 1 seed and ranked No. 5 in both polls, Texas enters the game with a 31-3 record. They got to this point by beating the No. 16 seed William & Mary Tribe 105-61 in the Round of 64 and the No. 8 seed Illinois Fighting Illini in the Round of 32. Here is all the information you need for the Lady Vols’ matchup.
Tennessee Lady Vols vs. Texas Longhorns
When: Saturday, March, 29 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Legacy Arena at BJCC; Birmingham, Ala.
TV: ABC/ESPN+/Disney+
Live stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Lady Vol Network (Click here for affiliates); Longhorn Radio Network (Click here for affiliates)
Listen online: UTSports; TexasLonghorns.com
When these two teams met earlier in the year, Texas pulled out a close 80-76 win. However, that game was in Austin, and Caldwell did not coach in that outing since it was around the time of her baby being born, so this is certainly not an unwinnable game for her team.
In its fifth year under head coach Vic Schaefer, Texas is looking to make its fourth Elite Eight. On the other hand, they still haven’t made a Final Four in his tenure, and they have lost to a lower seed in the tourney each of the past three years. As a result, they have something to prove.
Late in the year, after getting blown out by the Kentucky Wildcats on the road, losing at home to the Georgia Bulldogs, the second-worst team in the SEC, to close out the regular season and losing to the Vanderbilt Commodores in the SEC Tournament, there were signs that the Lady Vols were wearing down. That made sense given this tempo.
Two weeks off between the SEC and NCAA Tourneys, though, seemed to refresh them, and they were clearly able to take advantage of that last week. Will that carry over into the second weekend? Could it get them to their first Final Four since 2008?
The winner of this game will face the winner between the No. 3 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 2 seed TCU Horned Frogs on Monday in the Elite Eight for that trip to the Final Four. With the game in Birmingham the Lady Vols should have the home court advantage in this regional.
