A matchup rich with history adds another story to its book
Summitt. Geno. Chamique. Maya. Candance. Stewie. Catchings. Bird.
History is rich in big time matchups, but you will not find a richer matchup anywhere in college basketball, men’s or women’s, than Tennessee versus UConn. Between the two programs, there have been 41 Final Fours and 19 National Championships. In fact, all other schools with at least multiple National Championships don’t even combine for anywhere close to 19 Titles.
Head to head, UConn leads the all-time series 17-9, including a 4-0 record over the Lady Vols in National Championship games.
For UConn, Geno Auriemma still runs the show, and he does so at a high level, even after 40 years. Auriemma’s 1,217 wins are most all-time in college basketball history, and he’s far from done adding on to that total. UConn is currently ranked fifth in the AP Poll, and Bart Torvik has them ranked as the best team in the country, narrowly edging out South Carolina. Suffice to say, that even after 40 years, Auriemma and his Huskies are still perennial Final Four favorites.
As for Tennessee, they’ve been looking for their identity since Pat Summitt retired. Holly Warlick had the impossible task of taking over after Summitt, and while she did a good job, the Lady Vols could never break through the Elite Eight. The program then took a noticeable step back under Kellie Harper, never advancing past a Sweet Sixteen and posting consecutive double-digit loss seasons. However, after 12 years of searching, they may have finally found something under Kim Caldwell. Finding an identity never seemed easier as from day one, it was clear what this Vols team was about: shoot the three, force turnovers, create havoc, and run the floor.
Talaysia Cooper has been sensational for Caldwell in year one. Averaging 17.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, it’s been her defense that’s set the tone and permeated throughout the rest of this team. Her 3.3 steals per game lead the SEC, and her 7.0% steal rate is the highest among any power conference player in the nation. Across from her will be none other than Paige Bueckers. Bueckers is the projected number one pick in the WNBA Draft, was the Women’s College Basketball POTY as a freshman, and has followed that up with another All-American season in 2023 and soon to be one in 2024-25. Simply put, she’s the best guard in the country, and she shoots the lights out of the ball, hitting 42.1% of her threes this season. Her versus Cooper, Spear, Spencer, and Whitehorn is going to be appointment television.
Beyond Bueckers is Sarah Strong. Strong is averaging 17 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and leads the Big East in effective field goal percentage and field goal percentage overall. She also shoots very well from the outside, hitting 37.3% from beyond the arc. UConn boasts the best offense in the country, bar none. They have six players who shoot at least 2.5 three pointers per game that shoot at least 35% from downtown. The national average is 31.2%. UConn also doesn’t turn the ball over at all. Their 15.4% turnover rate is the fourth lowest in the nation.
That’s all to say that if Tennessee wants to win this game, they’re going to need to two things: get looks around the rim and protect the rock. The Lady Vols have done a very good job not turning the ball over in their biggest games, but they’ve squandered looks around the rim in the worst way. They’ll have to rectify that against UConn because finishing around the rim will open up the three-point line for this team. Living and dying from three has been a rough trend as the Lady Vols haven’t been getting to the free throw line. If they can find lanes for their guards to attack downhill, they can win this game.
Tennessee is currently a 13-point underdog against UConn. The game is set to tip off at 5:30 CST from TBA. We will see you all there!