Coming off their first Sweet 16 appearance in six years, with a ton of talent back and with five high-profile newcomers, the Tennessee Lady Vols are set to begin the 2022-23 year with tons of expectations. They have an immediate first test in the process.
UT, ranked No. 5 in both polls, heads north to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes for a rare top 20 matchup as the season-opener for both teams. It’ll be the start of Kellie Harper’s fourth year as head coach on Rocky Top as she looks to build on last season.
Ohio State, led by 10th-year head coach Kevin McGuff, comes in ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll and No. 15 in the Coaches Poll. They are coming off a Sweet 16 appearance on their own and the Big Ten regular season championship. Here is all the information you need for the Tennessee Lady Vols’ season-opening matchup.
Broadcast information
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Live stream: Fubo TV
- Radio: Lady Vol Network; Ohio State Sports Network
- Listen online: UTSports; OhioStateBuckeyes.com
In their exhibition matchups, UT beat the Carson-Newman Eagles 108-63 on Sunday, Oct. 30. However, Ohio State was even more dominant in theirs, beating the Notre Dame College Falcons 118-33 the next day, an insane blowout.
Rae Burrell, Keyen Green and Alexus Dye are UT’s only significant players lost from last year. Green suffered a season-ending injury in January, and Burrell played most of the year hurt after missing the first two months. Amidst all that, they still reached the Sweet 16.
Now, they return Jordan Horston, who missed the end of last year due to an injury, and they add four high-profile transfers, led by All-SEC Mississippi State Bulldogs scoring specialist Rickea Jackson. They also added a five-star in Justine Pissott, and they return Marta Suarez, who missed all of last year due to injury.
This is all why they come in ranked No. 5. However, Ohio State has its own reason for hype, as the Buckeyes return four starters and five of their eight rotational players. They also add two four-star freshmen and two transfers from Power Five schools.
All of this should make this an interesting matchup. Next up for the Tennessee Lady Vols is their home opener against the UMASS Minutemen this Thursday. Ohio State, meanwhile, will next visit the Boston College Eagles on Sunday.