Lady Vols basketball is back on the road to start a stretch of three ranked opponents to end the regular season.
No. 21 Tennessee (16-9, 8-5 SEC) will face No. 9 Oklahoma (20-6, 8-5) at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma on Feb. 22 (2 p.m. ET, ESPN). The Lady Vols have lost three straight games, most recently to Texas A&M, and the Sooners have won three straight, the last two ranked wins over Alabama and Georgia.
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Here’s what you need to know about the matchup.
Oklahoma will test Tennessee’s struggling defense
The Sooners thrive on pushing the pace and spacing the floor with shooters. They average 80.6 possessions per 40 minutes, which ranks second in the country by Her Hoop Stats.
Oklahoma’s 3-point shooting has been a bit streaky this season, but it can punish teams from deep at its best. The Sooners shot 12-for-34 against LSU, 9-for-23 in an overtime win over South Carolina and 12-for-23 against Texas A&M.
Tennessee has struggled to defend teams in transition and at the perimeter. If the Lady Vols can’t find a way to slow down the Sooners in either category, it’s going to turn into another blowout loss.
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Aaliyah Chavez, Raegan Beers lead Oklahoma
Freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez leads Oklahoma with 18.4 points per game. Her efficiency goes up and down as a volume shooter, but she has scored in double figures in every SEC game.
Chavez also averages 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals. She shoots 38.2% from the field and 32.5% on eight 3-point attempts per game.
Senior center Raegan Beers is second on the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game, and she’s one of the most efficient players in the country. Her 61.7% field goal percentage ranks No. 6 in the nation, and the Sooners are at their best when they can play through Beers consistently.
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Beers is a great rebounder, too, averaging 10.2 per game, along with 2.3 assists.
Tennessee fighting for a bye in SEC Tournament
The Lady Vols are in a three-way tie for fifth place in the SEC with Ole Miss, which has a tiebreaker over UT, and Oklahoma. In order to avoid playing on the first day of the SEC Tournament, Tennessee has to finish in the top 8 teams.
If the Lady Vols lose their final three games, they’ll fall to 8-8 like last season and be in danger of possibility of missing out on a bye for a second straight year. However, this season Tennessee has tiebreaker wins over the three teams directly behind it – Kentucky, Alabama and Georgia.
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A win over the Sooners would put the Lady Vols in position to safely secure a bye, even if they lost their final two games.
Lady Vols vs Oklahoma prediction
Oklahoma 83, Tennessee 70: If this game wasn’t the Lady Vols fourth game in eight days, I might believe they could rally for an upset to help right the ship. But Tennessee has been sliding and tired legs against a fast-paced Sooners offense isn’t looking good for UT.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks:knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols basketball vs Oklahoma prediction. Who will win SEC matchup?
