The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Tennessee
No. 8 Women's Basketball preview: Tennessee [Nov. 29, 2015]
11.28.2015 | Women's Basketball
Tip-off between the Longhorns and Lady Vols is set for 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
No. 8/8 Texas Longhorns (4-0) at No. 4/5 Tennessee Lady Vols (5-0)
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. | Thompson-Boling Arena
Time: Sunday, November 29, 2015 | 1:30 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN (Tiffany Greene, Carolyn Peck)
Radio: 104.9 FM The Horn (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio | WatchESPN
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 8/8 Texas opens a two-game stretch against top-10 opponents Sunday when it travels to Knoxville's Thompson-Boling Arena to face No. 4/5 Tennessee. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m. CT and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
The Longhorns (4-0) are led by a trio of players who are averaging double-figure point totals. Senior center Imani Boyette nearly averages a double-double with 13.3 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game. She ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference in rebounding average. Boyette joins UConn's Breanna Stewart as the only two active players in NCAA Division I women's basketball to have scored more than 1,000 career points and have swatted more than 200 career blocks.
Sophomore guard Brooke McCarty follows with 12.5 points per game and 3.3 assists per game, while junior Brianna Taylor, who has led Texas in scoring in the last two games, averages 11.5 points per game.
Texas is the Big 12 Conference leader in both scoring margin (+35.0) and turnover margin (+7.3). The Longhorns have placed at least three players in double-figure scoring in every game this season.
The Longhorns are coming off a 79-52 win against Hampton on Wednesday night. Taylor scored a team-high 16 points and freshman Lashann Higgs turned in her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Texas and Tennessee meet for the 37th time in the history of the two programs on Sunday with the Lady Vols leading the all-time series 23-13. This marks the 34th consecutive season that the Longhorns and Tennessee will meet. The Lady Vols hold an 11-5 advantage in the series when the game is played in Knoxville. Last season, the Longhorns won 72-59 in Austin.
Tennessee enters Sunday's contest with a 5-0 record and is coming off a 63-55 win against the University at Albany on Friday. The Lady Vols have won 27 consecutive home games at Thompson-Boling Arena. Bashaara Graves and Mercedes Russell lead Tennessee in scoring with 14.8 and 14.4 points per game, respectively, and Graves adds 10.3 rebounds per game. Graves also is the Southeastern Conference's leader in field-goal percentage with an 84.6 percent efficiency.
QUICK NOTES
- The Longhorns are looking to win consecutive meetings against Tennessee for the first time since winning four in a row from February 12, 2002 through November 25, 2004.
- Texas ranks sixth in all-time victories by NCAA Division I institutions with 985. Just three teams in the history of the sport have achieved 1,000 wins - Tennessee (1,282), Louisiana Tech (1,061), and James Madison (1,021). The Longhorns are one of only 13 programs nationally to have eclipsed the all-time 900-win plateau.
- Junior Brianna Taylor has led Texas in scoring the last two games with a career-high 19 at Rice and a team-high 16 against Hampton. Taylor is averaging 11.5 points per game this season.
- As a team last season, Texas averaged 16.3 turnovers per game and lost the turnover margin by -1.3. Through four games this season, the Longhorns are averaging 13.8 turnovers per game and are winning the turnover margin +7.3, which currently leads the Big 12 Conference.
- Next up, Texas returns home to face No. 8 Mississippi State on Wednesday, December 2. Tip-off in the Frank Erwin Center is set for 7 p.m. CT on Longhorn Network.
