Lady Vols host No. 5 UConn, ESPN’s College GameDay travels to Knoxville

Thursday night marks the 26th matchup of the Tennessee Lady Vols (16-6, 8-0 SEC) and No. 5 UConn Huskies (18-2). The Lady Vols-Huskies rivalry dates back to 1995 and remains one of the biggest rivalries in the history of NCAA basketball.

ESPN’s College GameDay will travel to Knoxville to precede the much anticipated matchup with a live broadcast from 7-8 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena. Tip off will follow at 8 p.m. ET.

Kellie Harper’s squad enters Thursday behind a nine-game win streak, standing victorious in 14 of its last 16 matchups. The Lady Vols’ only two losses in their 16 game stint date all the way back to Dec. 4 against then No. 9 Virginia Tech and Dec. 18 to then No. 2 Standford.

A win against the Huskies would mark the longest winning streak by the Lady Vols since a 15-game string from Nov. 12, 2017 to Jan. 11, 2018. It would also be the longest stretch of wins in the Kellie Harper era, replacing a pair of nine-game runs last season.

“It’s a great test for us,” Harper said. “We’ve been playing good teams. In the SEC, we’ve been challenged, but now you go and play a top-five team on a national stage. It’s a big challenge for our team.”

Tennessee is not on such a hot streak against UConn. UConn holds a 16-9 advantage from winning the last three meetings since the continuation of the series in 2020, which followed a 13-year hiatus.

What makes this rivalry so unique is that a third of its games have occurred in the NCAA tournament. In four of those meetings, a national championship was on the line. UConn took home the title in all four championships. The two schools’ programs also feature over two dozen players that moved on to play in the WNBA and an astonishing 19 national championships.

The matchup also honors two of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time. On the Tennessee side is Pat Summit, the all-time winningest NCAA Division 1 college basketball coach, male or female. Summit won eight NCAA women’s tournaments and was recognized as the Naismith College Coach of the Year six times.

On the UConn side is Geno Auriemma, who has won 11 of the last 24 NCAA women’s tournaments and four at the cost of Summit in the finals. Auriemma has become the most accomplished coach in the last decade by boasting a record 111-game win streak which began in the fall of 2014 and lasted till the Final Four of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. In terms of the Naismith award, he holds seven to Summit’s six.

In honor of Summit, the Lady Vols will be wearing their "We Back Pat" shirts for shoot around but will wear their traditional home white jerseys for Thursday’s matchup.

“Pat’s legacy went far beyond this program,” Harper said. “It went far beyond this community. She was able to touch so many lives here, but across the country. The further we get from her time here, the more important it is that we have these moments to reflect and look back on what she did. For our team to be able to wear the Summit jerseys and the SEC to have the ‘We Back Pat’ initiative, it gives us a chance to remember and reflect on her legacy.”

Tennessee surged to an 8-0 conference record after defeating Missouri Sunday afternoon. The Lady Vols and Tigers battled shot for shot, but the Lady Vols secured the 68-65 win over the Tigers with an 8-0 run in the final minute of the game to erase a five-point deficit.

In the absence of Jordan Horston, sophomore Sara Puckett and senior Rickea Jackson led Tennessee to a thrilling win. Puckett shot 7-for-9 from the field and shot 3-for-3 from beyond the arch, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 39.1 seconds on the clock. Puckett finished with a season-high 17 points.

Jackson also reached double figures, finishing with 15 points. Jackson pulled Tennessee to a lead with 1.1 seconds remaining by breaking through the paint, scoring, drawing a foul and swishing a shot from the charity line to win the game.

Horston missed Sunday’s matchup with illness and has not been confirmed active in Thursday’s roster.

“That game gives you a lot of confidence,” Harper said. “Our team can reflect on this game and the poise we had down the stretch. Great confidence, not a lot of panic, but a lot of urgency. The message and communication by the players in the huddle was spot on. I’m really proud to hear those things and see those things and just how competitive our team was down the stretch.”

Controlling the glass was pivotal for Tennessee on Sunday and will be critical in Thursday’s matchup against UConn. Against Missouri, Jasmine Franklin fought for an offensive rebound with 2:17 left in the game, which brought her career total to 1,000. After being outrebounded on the glass 8-2 by Mizzou and surrendering 10 second-chance points in the first half, the Lady Vols rushed out of the locker room determined and won the second half offensive rebounding battle eight to two and gave up just one second-chance point.

“We’ll have to embrace a physical game,” Harper said. “You have to understand it’s coming, and you have to be okay with it. Our players in the paint have to be ready for that game. It’s almost a mental awareness as much as it is a physical awareness.”