KNOXVILLE - After stepping out of Southeastern Conference competition for a matchup against former longtime rival Connecticut, the Tennessee women's basketball team will jump right back into league play Sunday by hosting LSU in the final game of this season's "We Back Pat" week to honor late Lady Volunteers coach Pat Summitt.
The Lady Vols (12-6) lost 60-45 to the third-ranked Huskies on Thursday in Hartford, Connecticut, but they currently sit at 5-1 in the SEC going into the game against the Tigers (14-4, 4-2). Tipoff at Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 1:02 p.m., with SEC Network televising the game.
Here are three keys for the Lady Vols:
1. Continue to defend: Nothing changed against the Huskies where Tennessee's defense this season is concerned, and that was a good thing. UConn was held to 32% shooting from the field and 22% from 3-point range, and the Huskies' 60 points scored are their third-fewest in a game this season. LSU doesn't present nearly the challenge UConn does on that end of the court, with the Tigers having averaged 61.7 points per game in SEC play to rank 10th in the league. The Lady Vols' offense obviously needs work, but if they continue to defend, block shots and get out in transition, they will have a chance in every game they play the rest of the way.
2. Turnovers: The Lady Vols are last in the SEC in turnover margin, committing an average of 17.3 per game and forcing opponents into just 13.4. Their margin ranks 321st out of 348 Division I women's basketball programs, and at this point there really isn't a fix for it. One can blame mistakes on being youthful, but after a while not all mistakes are youthful ones. Tennessee is a team full of quality athletes, but it is also a team full of players who hadn't learned an awful lot about the game of basketball prior to this season. First-year Tennessee coach Kellie Harper can't fix that in a few weeks; it's going to take time. So while you can mask some of the mistakes, the best one can hope for is that those mistakes can be overcome, and there's really just one way to do it.
3. Continue to battle: Despite all the warts, this team is 15-4. Sure, it has no wins over teams that are in ESPN's latest bracketology, but there will be chances to change that. LSU is one of those teams that is currently in the projected field for the NCAA tournament, and for all the offensive problems (turnovers, lack of a consistent outside threat), Harper has her team fighting and competing. The highs and lows of this season have happened and will continue to happen, but this team is learning a lot along the way. It may not mean much now, but it will have to continue if the Lady Vols have NCAA tourney aspirations - which they do, considering the program's history. LSU is the sort of team - similar style, evenly matched - that will present a different challenge, but a good one for Tennessee. Will the Lady Vols rise to meet it?
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.