Lady Vols need balance as they hunt second straight SEC win

Sunday Kim Caldwell and the Lady Vols host Ole Miss as Tennessee is playing back to back home games for only the second time since November. 

The Rebels are coming off a 39 point win at struggling Arkansas. But Ole Miss has won two straight including upsetting 8th ranked Kentucky in Oxford. For Caldwell and her first Lady Vol team it’s another game in the grinder that is the SEC.

“It’s tough. It’s brutal. You don’t have a night where you can breathe. You have to show up every night. You have to keep getting better. It’s by far the most challenging basketball of my career,” Caldwell said

The challenge Sunday against the Rebels will be scoring. Ole Miss comes in as the best defense in the SEC. Alabama on January 12th is the only SEC team the Rebels have allowed to 70 points or more this season. For the year, opponents are averaging 54.4 points a game against the Rebels. Conversely, Tennessee leads the league in scoring at just over 90 points a game.

For the Lady Vols’ offense, it’s about balance. After having just four players combine for 77 points at LSU. Everyone in Tennessee’s regular rotation scored in the first half of Thursday night’s 99-61 win over Auburn.

“We are our best when we get something from everyone, when everyone shows up, and whether it’s three points or four points, but when everyone gives us something on the stat sheet, we are at our best,” Caldwell said. 

Obviously everyone gave Caldwell something in the win, but the bigger trend is what this team is giving Caldwell in the paint. Tennessee has scored 40+ points in the paint for three straight games. It’s the first time that has happened in conference play. The surge in paint points has been fueled by the play of Zee Spearman who is averaging 15 points a game in the last three outings. 

“Honestly, I was just tired of getting yelled at about it (inconsistency) so I decided to change my attitude and good things are coming from it,” Spearman said candidly after the Auburn win. 

The Lady Vols also had 23 assists on 39 made field goals in Thursday night’s win. That’s tied for the second highest single game assist total this year. 

“We shared the ball, and so the ball didn’t just get stuck. We moved the ball around on offense. Everyone gave something on defense. And I think when we do that, and our energy is good and we’re all connected, then it just all kind of flows.”

Tennessee will be look for that flow on Sunday. And that flow will start on the defensive end. Ole Miss plays two starters over 30 minutes a game and the five starters all average 25 minutes or more a game in basically what’s a rotation of seven players. Ole Miss is comfortable at a slower pace and obviously Tennessee is looking to speed them up. Tennessee forced 21 turnovers against Auburn and had 22 points off turnovers. Their highest total since the Mississippi State game a month ago. 

Tip off is set for noon ET and it can be seen on the SEC Network.