This story is free to read.

Three things to look for as the Lady Vols host Howard’s Bison for final test before SEC play starts

In this Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, photo, Tennessee women's basketball coach Kellie Harper talks with Rae Burrell during the exhibition game against Carson-Newman in Knoxville, Tenn. Harper makes her debut Tuesday at East Tennessee State needing to stabilize a program that has lacked chemistry and consistency. (Saul Young/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP) In this Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, photo, Tennessee women's basketball coach Kellie Harper talks with Rae Burrell during the exhibition game against Carson-Newman in Knoxville, Tenn. Harper makes her debut Tuesday at East Tennessee State needing to stabilize a program that has lacked chemistry and consistency. (Saul Young/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP)

By Gene Henley December 28, 2019 2 min read

KNOXVILLE – The 22nd-ranked Tennessee women’s basketball team plays Sunday for the first time in eight days with a nonconference matchup against Howard University at 2 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena.

After this, the Lady Volunteers (9-2) have six Southeastern Conference games before a Jan. 23 date at Connecticut. Then they finish their regular-season schedule with 10 more SEC games.

Howard’s Bison are 8-4 with four straight wins.

Here are three things to watch for in the game:

1. Learning curve: There are still questions about how good this Tennessee team actually is. The Lady Vols do have a nice win at Notre Dame from early November, but the Fighting Irish have lost four of their six home games and are just 5-7 overall this season.