Hoops Central: #15/13 Lady Vols vs. Texas A&M

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 15/13 Tennessee (12-0) travels to College Station, Texas, where it will meet Texas A&M (7-5) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools on Thursday night at Reed Arena.

The teams will clash at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) in a contest broadcast on SECN+ with audio from the Aggie radio team. The Lady Vol Network call can be heard on radio stations statewide as well as audio-streamed on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 132 and 205.

The Big Orange will attempt to open the year 13-0 for only the second time in the past 19 seasons and join the 2017-18 (15-0) Holly Warlick-coached squad in beginning their campaigns that way. A 13-0 start to a season would mark only the seventh time in program history UT has compiled that record during a campaign’s outset.

Tennessee is coming off its sixth 100-point offensive showing of the season, rolling past Winthrop, 114-50, on Sunday afternoon at Food City Center in Knoxville. UT forced 32 turnovers, racked up 17 steals, hit 10 three pointers, shot a season-best 53 percent from the field, allowed a season-low 29 percent shooting and put six players in double figures in the victory.

Kim Caldwell will coach her first game in SEC play but enters 1-0 vs. league teams after her Marshall squad beat Florida on Dec. 2, 2024, 91-88, in Huntington, W. Va. Caldwell’s first Lady Vol team enters Thursday’s match-up ranked No. 1 nationally in seven statistical categories through Dec. 30. UT is tops in the NCAA in scoring offense (98.8), three pointers per game (12.4), three point attempts per game (37.7), offensive rebounds per game (21.7), turnovers forced per game (27.58), turnover margin (13.25) and winning percentage (100.0). It is third in scoring margin (33.9) and steals per game (14.9) and sixth in bench points per game (36.6).

Texas A&M enters having won its last two games and four of its past five after defeating Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 19, 96-54. The Aggies have a Power 4 win to their credit over Syracuse in College Station on Dec. 4, 57-45, but also fell at home to Kansas State on Dec. 8, 89-50, and at West Virginia, 83-62, on Nov. 15.

BROADCAST DETAILS

Audio from Texas A&M radio network announcers Andrew Monaco (play-by-play) and Tab Bentz (color analyst) will be heard during Thursday night’s SECN+ broadcast.

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 providing play-by-play and Jay Lifford 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 the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.

Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.

The Lady Vol Network broadcast also will be available via SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 132 and 205.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

PUCKETT’S IN A GROOVE: Sara Puckett is averaging 17.0 ppg. and 7.5 rpg. while shooting 59.1% on FGs, 66.7% on 3FGs and 100% on FTs over the past two games.

FEAR THE SPEAR: After putting up only 5.3 ppg. over her previous four outings, Jewel Spear has netted 15+ in three of her last four contests to produce 14.3 ppg.

CAREER DAY FOR KANIYA: Freshman Kaniya Boyd enjoyed a career day vs. Winthrop, hitting all five field goal tries and four of five free throws for a UT-best of 15 points. She was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 31 for her performance.

ZEE SPREE: After scoring in double figures once in her first four games, Zee Spearman has had 10+ points in six of her last eight contests, averaging 13.8 ppg. and 8.5 rpg. over Tennessee’s past four outings.

SMOOTH SAMARA: Samara Spencer is averaging 12.2 ppg. and 5.4 apg., ranking No. 4 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.82) with 65 assists and 17 turnovers and No. 10 in 3FG percentage at 47.7 with 31 treys.

QUICK-HANDS COOP: Talaysia Cooper is ninth nationally at 3.33 steals per game and 13th in total steals with 40.

FROM A TEAM PERSPECTIVE

PILING UP POINTS: The Lady Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, generating 98.8 points per game. The lowest a Kim Caldwell team has ranked in ppg. is No. 4, where she was in 2023-24 (85.3) at Marshall.

MAKING THREES IN BUNCHES: UT ranks No. 1 in 3FGs made per game at 12.4 and has hit 10+ treys eight times, eclipsing the old school best of six at Memphis for most games with double-digit totals in a season.

ELITE ON O-BOARDS: UT is No. 1 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 21.7. It has twice reached 30+ this season.

TURNING OVER THE OPPOSITION: UT is No. 1 in turnovers forced per game (27.58) and T.O. margin (13.25) after Winthrop had 32 miscues for the ninth 20+ turnover game (6th with 30+) by a foe in 2024-25.

RACKING UP STEALS: UT is No. 3 nationally in steals per game (14.9). It now has 179 in 12 games but its 162 in only 11 contests passed last year’s 159 in 33 games.

THAT’S A 10-COUNT: Tennessee has prevented its foes from getting the ball over halfcourt in 10 seconds a total of 15 times in 12 games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

A NUMBER THAT COUNTS: UT is tied with seven teams at No. 1 nationally with a win percentage of 100 through Dec. 30.

SEEKING A 13-0 START: With a win over Texas A&M, Tennessee would open up 13-0 for the first time since 2017-18 (15-0) and the seventh time in program history.

FAST STARTS FOR CALDWELL: UT’s 12-0 start is the second-best opening of a season in Kim Caldwell‘s nine years as a head coach behind her 29-0 start at Glenville State in 2021-22 on the way to 35-1.

UT’S BEST COACHING START: The win over N.C. Central on Dec. 14 gave Kim Caldwell (now 12-0) eight straight to open her tenure, making it the best coaching debut in the rich history of Lady Vol basketball.

TENNESSEE STANDS ALONE: UT is the only DI school with undefeated women’s (12-0) and men’s (12-0) hoops teams, as of Dec. 31.

UT NO. 19 IN NET RANKINGS: UT is No. 19 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, with wins over No. 24 Florida State, No. 30 Iowa, No. 37 Richmond and No. 68 Middle Tennessee.

NO. 22 TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: The Lady Vols’ full schedule ranks No. 22 on the NCAA Toughest Schedule report (12/30).

LADY VOLS IN SEC OPENERS

Tennessee is 36-6 all-time in its first SEC game of a season, including 19-3 at home and 17-3 on the road after winning at Auburn on Jan. 4, 2024, 75-67.

The Lady Vols have won their past 10 SEC openers, last losing to LSU, 80-77, on Jan. 2, 2014.

The Lady Vols are 33-9 in their initial SEC away game of a season after defeating Auburn on Jan. 4, 2024, 75-67, winning their last four and 14 of the past 15.

This will mark the Big Orange’s third straight campaign opening SEC play on the road.

UT will face Texas A&M for the first time in an SEC opener.

Tennessee is 37-5 in its first SEC home game of a season through 2023-24, winning seven of its last eight such contests.

Last year’s 87-69 victory over Kentucky on Jan. 7, 2024, was UT’s fifth straight win in the initial SEC home competition of a campaign.

With Oklahoma being in its first year in the SEC, Sunday’s matchup will obviously be the initial time these programs have met in conference play.

TENNESSEE IN SEC PLAY

UT is 448-102 (.815) in SEC regular-season games through 2023-24, featuring the best conference record by far among league schools.

Tennessee also owns league bests of 18 regular-season championships and 17 SEC tourney titles through the years. South Carolina is second with eight each.

The Lady Vols tied for fourth in the 2023-24 conference standings at 10-6 and advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals before falling to No. 1 seed South Carolina, 74-73, on a buzzer-beater.

UT tied for third place in the league in 2019-20 (10-6) and finished third outright in 2020-21 (9-4), 2021-22 (11-5) and 2022-23 (13-3), marking its best back-to-back-to-back-to-back outcomes in SEC play since taking second in 2011-12, first in 2012-13, second in 2013-14 and first in 2014-15.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME

No. 15/13 Tennessee improved to 12-0, shooting a season-high 53 percent from the field to run away from Winthrop on Sunday, 114-50, in front of a season-best crowd of 11,152 at Food City Center in the Lady Vols’ final game before SEC play.

Senior forward Sara Puckett matched her season high of 17 points that she recorded in the previous game vs. Tulsa on Dec. 21 and added a season-best eight rebounds to lead six Lady Vols scoring in double figures.

Joining her in double digits were Ruby Whitehorn with 16, Jewel Spear and Kaniya Boyd with 15, Zee Spearman with 14 and Tess Darby with 10. Boyd’s point total surpassed her previous career scoring high of six vs. Richmond on Dec. 20, and her four assists equaled her personal best vs. Liberty on Nov. 16 and tied Samara Spencer for team honors vs. the Eagles on Sunday.

Winthrop, which fell to 6-7, featured only one player scoring in double figures. Amourie Porter contributed 14 points to her team’s cause, making most of them via an 8-for-8 day at the charity stripe.

POSTGAME NOTES VS. WINTHROP

PUCKETT MEANS BUSINESS: Senior guard Sara Puckett has produced back-to-back double-digit contests, draining six total field goals and one trey vs. Winthrop. Puckett finished with a season-high-tying 17 points, a season-best eight rebounds along with two steals. The Muscle Shoals, Ala., native logged her sixth double-digit scoring game of the season. Her other 17-point contest came against Tulsa on Dec. 21.

ROCKING ON ROCKY TOP: A stellar crowd of 11,152 fans piled into Food City Center, cheering the Lady Vols to victory. It marked the first 10,000-plus crowd since Tennessee played LSU on Feb. 25, 2024, welcoming 15,281 fans. It was one of two contests during the 2023 season that compiled over 10,000 fans. The other game during the 2023 season came against South Carolina on February 15, 2023, with 11,073 fans in attendance. The last time a Lady Vol squad attracted a 10,000-plus crowd before January was against Stanford (10,017) on Dec. 18, 2021. The last time the Lady Vols lured a 10,000-plus crowd against a non-power-four opponent before the month of January was against Stetson (10,705) on Dec. 30, 2015.

100-POINT DUB: Tennessee has reached 100 points six times in 2024-25. The all-time record for the Lady Vols is seven in 1987-88. That gives the program 93 all-time regular-season scoring efforts of 100 or more points through the Winthrop game. UT had 101 in the opener vs. Samford on Nov. 5, 109 vs. Liberty on Nov. 16, 102 vs. Western Carolina on Nov. 26, a school and SEC-record 139 vs. N.C. Central on Dec. 14 and 102 vs. Tulsa on Dec. 21.

12-0 WITH 11 DIFFERENT FIVES: The Lady Vols have begun the year 12-0 with 11 different starting lineups and nine different players appearing in the first five. Tennessee repeated a previous quintet vs. Memphis but had new ones in the past three contests. Jewel Spear, Samara Spencer, Sara Puckett, Zee Spearman and Ruby Whitehorn opened Sunday’s contest. Spencer leads the team with 12 starts, Whitehorn follows with ten and Spearman notched her eighth. Spear and Puckett tallied their sixth starts vs. the Eagles.

UT/TAMU SERIES NOTES

In the series vs. Texas A&M, UT is 5-2 in Knoxville, 2-5 in College Station and 4-1 at neutral sites.

Tennessee split last season with the Aggies, losing at Reed Arena but winning at Food City Center.

The Big Orange have won three of the past four matchups but have lost five of the last six in Reed Arena.

UT is 9-8 vs. TAMU since the Aggies joined the SEC.

A&M is 2-0 in overtime games vs. the Big Orange, with both of those taking place in College Station.

On Feb. 28, 2013, Tennessee defeated Texas A&M, 82-72, on Senior Day to give UT an SEC regular-season title on the Lady Vols’ home court.

A LOOK AT THE AGGIES

Aicha Coulibaly paces the Aggies at 12.1 ppg. and is joined in double figures by Sahara Jones (11.3) and Jada Malone (10.5).

Coulibaly was named to the 2024 Preseason All-SEC Second Team (Coaches) and the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award Preseason Watchlist.

Texas A&M holds opponents to 61.1 ppg. and 37.3 field goal percentage, with only Kansas State (89) and West Virginia (83) surpassing 75 points.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

Joni Taylor is 35-38 in her third season with Texas A&M and 175-113 overall in 10 years after previously leading the program at Georgia.

The Aggies are 20-3 during the Taylor era when holding teams to 35.0 percent from the field and 5-0 this year when hitting that mark.

Taylor was an assistant coach on the U.S. Women’s National Team this summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics, helping guide the team to gold.

TEXAS A&M’S LAST GAME

Texas A&M dominated Mississippi Valley State, 96-54, behind double-doubles from Jada Malone and Amirah Abdur-Rahim at Reed Arena on Dec. 19.

Malone scored a game-high 19 points with 13 rebounds and Abdur-Rahim poured in 15 and brought down 10 boards to lead the Aggies. Both players recorded their double-doubles off the bench and helped produce a season-high 56 points in the paint, going 22-of-27 on layup attempts.

As a team, Texas A&M had five players in double figures in the points column for the second-straight game and shot a 51.4 percent (37-72) from the field for a season-high 96 points.

LAST TIME WE MET THE AGGIES

On Senior Night in Knoxville, Tennessee won its final regular season home game, 75-66, over Texas A&M on Feb. 29, 2024, the last time these teams met.

Forward Rickea Jackson led the Lady Vols with a game-high 27 points, while Jewel Spear netted 16.

A&M was paced by Solé Williams’ 20 points, while Janiah Barker and Sahara Jones added 12 and 10.

UT shot 47.4 percent, won the boards, 44-28, and outscored A&M in the paint, 36-28, in that contest.

LAST TIME IN COLLEGE STATION

The Lady Vols suffered their first SEC loss of the season on Jan. 14, 2024, falling at Texas A&M, 71-56.

UT was out-rebounded, 43-34, and outscored in the paint, 44-24, while shooting only 36.7 percent.

Sara Puckett paced the Lady Vols with 12 points, while Jewel Spear added 11.

Aicha Coulibaly tossed in 19 to lead the Aggies, while Sahara Jones contributed 15 as their team outscored UT, 18-8, in the second period to pull away.

UP NEXT

Tennessee will play its next two games at home against a pair of top 10 foes, as No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 6 LSU visit Food City Center on Jan. 5 and 9.

First up are the Sooners, who make their first trip to Knoxville since 2010 and initial visit as an SEC opponent. OU will meet the Lady Vols at 3 p.m. on Sunday in a contest televised by ESPN.

UT fans can also listen to the Lady Vol Network radio broadcast by Brian Rice. His voice can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.

The Big Orange women lead the all-time series, 6-1, after defeating Oklahoma last season at the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-Off, 76-73.

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