Lady Vols basketball has a ranked matchup with Louisville in its return to the Women’s Champions Classic.
No. 18 Tennessee (7-2) faces No. 17 Louisville (10-3) at the Barclays Center in New York on Dec. 20 (11 a.m. ET, FOX). The Lady Vols played in the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic last season and beat Iowa, which will play UConn in the second game of the showcase this year.
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Here’s what you need to know about Tennessee’s matchup with Louisville.
Louisville coming off first ranked win of the season
All three of Louisville’s losses were to ranked teams, and it finally came out on the winning side in its fourth ranked matchup. The Cardinals went to overtime with North Carolina, and they held the Tar Heels scoreless in overtime to win 76-66 on the road.
Louisville forced 16 turnovers, 11 of them steals, in the win. The Cardinals also got themselves to the free-throw line more than UNC, and went 14-for-17 compared to UNC shooting 7-for-12.
“I have watched them a lot, and I’ve been watching them in real time and I think that they always play higher than they’re ranked,” Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell said Dec. 17. “I think that they’re a top 15 team in the country … They play a way that I respect. They play positionless. Everyone can shoot, everyone can drive. They’re a very skilled team. They can also put the clamps on you defensively.”
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Louisville’s three losses are to No. 1 UConn (79-66), No. 13 Kentucky (72-62) and No. 3 South Carolina (79-77).
Tajianna Roberts leads balanced Louisville offense
Louisville is led in scoring by sophomore guard Tajianna Roberts, who’s averaging 13.1 points along with 2.7 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Forward Laura Ziegler averages 11.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
Ziegler and Roberts are the top two 3-point shooters on the team, too, although Louisville isn’t afraid to shoot from deep. Five players average over two attempts from 3-point range and they average 23.2 3-point attempts as a team per game.
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The Cardinals share the ball well as a team, and they have multiple playmakers on the court at any given time. Four players average at least 2.5 assists.
“I think they push the ball really well, and they can do both. They can push in transition well, they can play slow. They have a ton of different sets,” Caldwell said. “They’re the deepest team we have played … Every player has to be ready to guard and to play team defense.”
What Kim Caldwell wants to see in last big game before SEC play
Tennessee has two games left before SEC play begins, and the matchup with Louisville is the big test going into the conference schedule.
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Caldwell’s top priority against the Cardinals is Tennessee’s transition offense. The Lady Vols have to be able to score in transition or they’re pressing and forcing turnovers for nothing.
Ideally, Caldwell wants them scoring off of every forced turnover. But they aren’t even getting a shot off on every turnover at this point.
“That’s where I’m having a hard time of, hey, you got to be able to shoot. You got to put yourself in an advantage where you can get a layup off of these,” Caldwell said. “And we’re not even putting pressure on the rim to try to get the shot off. Sometimes we’re turning it right back over and, and that’s not acceptable.”
Caldwell wants to see their shooting percentage go up, which will be helped by improved transition offense. She also wants to see a good rebounding effort, especially on the offensive glass.
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Lady Vols vs Louisville prediction
Tennessee 76, Louisville 70: This game will likely go down to the wire with two evenly-matched teams. But the Lady Vols will prove they have turned a corner after their West Coast trip and come out on top to inspire some confidence going into SEC play.
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: Will Lady Vols basketball get first ranked win vs Louisville? Our prediction
