Lady Vols basketball has a second straight ranked SEC matchup this week.
No. 13 Tennessee (13-1, 1-1 SEC) faces No. 4 LSU (17-0, 2-0) at Food City Center on Thursday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+). The Lady Vols are coming off their first loss of the season, 87-86 to No. 10 Oklahoma. The Tigers have beaten Arkansas and Auburn to start SEC play undefeated.
Here’s what you need to know about the matchup.
LSU will punish Tennessee on the boards if it doesn’t box out
The Tigers rank No. 3 in the nation with 49.1 rebounds per game. Senior forward Aneesah Morrow is their top rebounder and leads the nation in both double-doubles (15) and rebounding (14 per game).
The Lady Vols faced the consequences of not boxing out against Oklahoma, which leads the nation in rebounding. Tennessee got outrebounded 42-33, and it made the difference in the loss.
Junior guard Flau’Jae Johnson is second on the team in rebounding with 6.1 per game. Redshirt sophomore forward Sa’Myah Smith is the only other player to average more than five rebounds per game (5.8).
Defensive rebounding has to be a focal point for Tennessee with LSU at No. 2 in the SEC in offensive rebounding percentage (46.1%), one spot ahead of Tennessee (45.5%).
LSU has had close calls this season
The Tigers nearly lost games against Washington (they won 68-67) and Stanford (94-88 win in overtime), and they had several games they let teams hang around until late in the game. LSU trailed Murray State and Albany at halftime before pulling away in the last five minutes.
Against Tulane and UIC, the Tigers had poor fourth quarters and got outscored by both teams in the final frame, which is a good sign for Tennessee.
The way the Lady Vols play is designed to wear teams down and win the fourth quarter. LSU’s top three scorers (Morrow, Johnson and Mikaylah Williams) all play at least 29 minutes per game and only eight players average 15 minutes or more. Tennessee has to be able to dictate the pace in this matchup.
Turnovers will tip the scales
It seems like an obvious statement, but turnovers will be a huge factor in Thursday’s matchup, particularly the ones Tennessee commits.
FIRST LOSS: Why Kim Caldwell says Lady Vols have to take accountability after one-point loss to Oklahoma
The Lady Vols had a combined 38 turnovers in the last two games, the most of any two-game stretch this season. Many of them were unforced errors that Tennessee has to clean up. UT forced enough turnovers (31) and scored enough points off turnovers (30) to beat Oklahoma, but it neutralized that by committing 18 turnovers that led to 20 points for OU.
If Tennessee can clean up its own turnovers, and settle into its press earlier against LSU, this game is winnable.
Lady Vols vs LSU injury updates
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Tennessee is without senior guard Kaiya Wynn, who’s out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.
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LSU had all of its active players available against Auburn on Sunday.
How to watch Lady Vols vs LSU: Time, TV channel, live stream
Lady Vols vs. LSU tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The game can be streamed on the ESPN app when logged into a TV provider like Fubo.
Lady Vols vs LSU prediction
Tennessee 88, LSU 81: The matchup with LSU is more favorable for the Lady Vols than Oklahoma, especially early in the conference schedule. LSU is not a strong 3-point shooting team. If the Lady Vols can have a better shooting performance than against the Sooners and limit their own turnovers, their style of play is going to wear out the Tigers and they might win by an even bigger margin.
Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols, Kim Caldwell vs LSU, Kim Mulkey: Score Prediction
