KNOXVILLE, Tenn. —  No. 15/15 Tennessee (14-2, 2-2 SEC) welcomes RV/RV Mississippi State (15-3, 2-2 SEC) for the Big Orange’s 2025 “We Back Pat” game on Thursday night at Food City Center.

The Lady Vols and Bulldogs will meet at 7 p.m. ET in a contest televised by SEC Network and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide as well as audio-streamed on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 106 or 190.

UT is coming off a 30-point road win at Arkansas, outscoring the Razorbacks 28-2 on points off turnovers, 22-10 on fast breaks and 40-22 in the paint en route to a 93-63 triumph on Sunday. The Lady Vols feature five players averaging double figures in scoring, led by redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper, who puts up 18.3 points per game and shoots 51 percent from the field. Cooper is coming off a 20-point effort vs. Arkansas, marking her eighth 20+ scoring outburst of the season. Fifth-year guard Jewel Spear has scored 15 points or more in five of her last six games, dropping season highs of 20 at Texas A&M and 28 vs. Oklahoma, followed by 25 vs. LSU. She eclipsed the 2,000-point mark for her career in the second quarter vs. Arkansas.

Mississippi State also owns a 2-2 SEC record after capturing a 79-68 road win at Georgia on Sunday. The Bulldogs are paced by guard Jerkaila Jordan, who puts up 15.6 ppg. and 6.6 rpg. She is joined in double figures by guard/forward Eniya Russell (13.6 ppg.) and 6-foot-6 center Madina Okot (12.0 ppg., 8.8 rpg.).

Kim Caldwell‘s first Lady Vol team enters the match-up ranked No. 1 nationally in four statistical categories through Jan. 14. UT is tops in the NCAA in scoring offense (96.4), three pointers per game (12.0), three point attempts per game (36.0) and offensive rebounds per game (20.6).  It is second in turnovers forced per game (26.44) and turnover margin (11.75), third in steals per game (14.4), and sixth in bench points per game (33.8).

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

• Opponent: Mississippi State
• Date: Thurs., Jan. 16
• Tip-off: 7 p.m. ET 
• Venue: Food City Center
• Watch: SEC Network
• Radio: Lady Vol Network
• Online: Live Audio, Live Stats

RELATED LINKS

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TENNESSEE

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MISSISSIPPI STATE

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BROADCAST DETAILS

• Sam Gore (play-by-play) and LVFL Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas (analyst) will have the call for SEC Network.
• All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
• The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play and Jay Lifford serving as studio host.
• A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com. 
• For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
• Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• The Lady Vol Network broadcast also will be available via SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 106 and 190.

PARKING, TRAFFIC FLOW, ENTRY ALERTS

• Fans coming to campus looking to purchase basketball parking will do so on-site with a credit card.
• Those parking in the G-10 garage are requested to enter from Neyland Drive.
• There is free public parking on the Ag Campus and a free shuttle to and from there for fans. All shuttles are fully accessible for those with disabilities.
• The shuttle location on the Ag campus is on River Drive near the Brehm Animal Sciences Bldg. and across from the CF lot. Visit https://parking.utk.edu/parking/special-events/athletic/ for maps and more information.
• Shuttles begin two hours prior to tip-off. Return shuttles run one hour postgame or until the Food City Center is cleared. 
• Accessible shuttle loading and unloading for those with disabilities is located next to Arena Dining. 
• For regular shuttles, the unloading and loading areas near Food City Center will be as follows: Prior to the game, regular shuttles will unload at Chamique Holdsclaw and Lake Loudoun Blvd. After the game, regular shuttles will load at Lake Loudoun Blvd and Phillip Fulmer Way.
• All tickets and Tennessee Fund parking passes are digital.
• Fans will again see walk-through metal detectors outside of all Food City Center entrances.  
• Gates typically open one hour before tip for women’s games.

PHILLIP FULMER WAY CLOSURE INFO.

• Due to the resumption of construction and upgrades to Neyland Stadium, basketball fans and media members should be advised of immediate changes to normal traffic patterns on Phillip Fulmer Way and Peyton Manning Pass during the rest of the 2024-25 season. 
• Phillip Fulmer Way from G-10 garage to Neyland Stadium Gate 21 vicinity is now closed.
• The G-10 garage will not be accessible southbound on Phillip Fulmer Way. 
• Phillip Fulmer Way will be closed to southbound traffic at Middle Drive, and it will not be accessible via Peyton Manning Pass.
• For events at Food City Center, G-10 and Staff 5 parking areas will be accessible via Lake Loudoun Boulevard, but it is strongly recommended that vehicles enter G-10 via Neyland Drive. 
• Lot G5/30 is only accessible from Lake Loudoun Blvd.

INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

• COOP IS THE REAL DEAL: Guard Talaysia Cooper is having a break-out season, leading UT in scoring (18.3 ppg.) and steals (3.6 spg.), hitting double figures 14 times, carding eight efforts of 20+ points and notching seven quarters where she scored 10 or more points, including 12 and 10, respectively, in the fourth period vs. Florida State and Iowa.
• “FEAR DA SPEAR”: Jewel Spear is enjoying her best stretch this season, averaging 19.8 ppg. in SEC play, hitting 18 of 31 three-point tries in league action (58.1 pct.) to run her season total to a team-high 41 treys.
• SMOOTH SAMARA: Samara Spencer (11.3 ppg., 5.6 apg.) ranks No. 5 nationally in assist/turnover ratio (3.42) with 89 assists, is 11 dimes short of her third 100+ assist season and is second on the team with 38 three-pointers (team-best 42.7 percent).
• DEPENDABLE RUBY: Ruby Whitehorn is UT’s third-leading scorer at 13.0 ppg. contributing 10+ points in her past 10 games and ranking third in rebounding (4.9 rpg.). 
• ZEE STEPPING UP: Forward Zee Spearman has been in double figures nine times, averaging 11.2 ppg. and a team-high 5.6 rpg. while shooting 54.4 percent.

FROM A TEAM PERSPECTIVE

• PILING UP POINTS: The Lady Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, generating 96.4 points per game. The lowest a Kim Caldwell team has ranked in ppg. is No. 4, where she was in 2023-24 (85.3) at Marshall.
• MAKING THREES IN BUNCHES: UT ranks No. 1 in 3FGs made per game at 12.0 and has hit 10+ treys 12 times, eclipsing the old school best of six. It has hit 10+ threes in its past six games, notching its best streak.
• CRASHING O-BOARDS: UT is No. 1 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 20.6. It has twice reached 30+ this season.
• TURNING OVER THE OPPOSITION: UT is No. 2 in turnovers forced per game (26.44) and No. 2 in T.O. margin (11.75). Arkansas had 22 miscues on Jan. 12 for the 12th 20+ T.O. game (7th with 30+) by a foe in 2024-25.
• RACKING UP STEALS: UT is No. 3 nationally in steals per game (14.4). It now has 12 games of 10+ steals and 230 total in 16 games. It had 159 in 33 games a year ago.
• THAT’S A 10-COUNT: Tennessee has prevented its foes from getting the ball over halfcourt in 10 seconds a total of 17 times in 16 games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• UT’S BEST START SINCE 2017-18: UT opened at 13-0 for the first time since 2017-18 (15-0) and the seventh time ever.
• SECOND BEST START FOR COACH: UT’s 13-0 start was the second-best opening of a season in Kim Caldwell‘s nine years as a head coach behind her 29-0 start at Glenville State in 2021-22 on the way to 35-1. 
• TENNESSEE’S BEST COACHING START: The win over N.C. Central on Dec. 14 gave Kim Caldwell eight straight to open her tenure, making it the best coaching debut in Lady Vol basketball history. She upped it to 13-0.
• UT NO. 16 IN NET RANKINGS: UT is at No. 16 in the NCAA’s NET rankings as of Jan. 14. 
• NO. 18 TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: The Lady Vols’ full schedule ranks No. 18 on the NCAA Toughest Schedule report (1/14).
• CHASING 2,000/500 STAT LINE: Jewel Spear now as 2,000+ points and needs 16 rebounds to have 500 for her career.
• EYEING 1,000: Junior Ruby Whitehorn (919) is closing in on 1,000 career points.
• 1,500/500/500 IN SIGHT: Samara Spencer sits at 1,549 points, 466 rebounds and 454 assists, standing 34 boards and 46 dimes from a 1,500/500/500 career stat line.

FAMILIAR FACES

• Tennessee assistant coach Gabe Lazo was an associate head coach at Mississippi State and spent two seasons in Starkville before joining Kim Caldwell‘s Lady Vol staff prior to the 2024-25 season.
• He helped the Bulldogs to a pair of 20-win seasons, a top-15 prep signing class and a top-three portal class.
• At UT, he helped Kim Caldwell sign a highly-regarded five-player portal class and a 2025 prep group that is considered either the No. 1 class by 247Sports or the No. 2 unit by ESPN.
• First-year Mississippi State assistant coach Samantha Williams spent three seasons at Tennessee on Kellie Harper’s staff.
• MSU junior guard Denim DeShields is the younger sister of LVFL Diamond DeShields (2014-17) and the daughter of former UT track standout Tisha (Milligan) DeShields.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME

• Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper led four players in double figures with her eighth 20-point effort of the season, as No. 16/15 Tennessee rolled past Arkansas, 93-63, on Sunday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
• Cooper scored exactly 20 points vs. the Razorbacks on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and added a game-high four steals to lead the Lady Vols (14-2, 2-2 SEC). Junior forward Zee Spearman knocked down a career-best trio of three-pointers to tally 18 points and eight rebounds, while junior guard Ruby Whitehorn supplied 17 points and senior forward Sara Puckett was a rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards. In her return to Fayetteville, where she spent her first three college seasons, senior point guard Samara Spencer directed UT’s offense with eight assists and no turnovers while adding four rebounds and three steals. 
• Arkansas (8-11, 1-3 SEC) was paced by Izzy Higginbottom, who led all scorers with 26 points. Carly Keats was the only other Razorback scoring in double figures, tossing in 10.

POSTGAME NOTES VS. ARKANSAS

• JEWEL JOINS THE 2K CLUB: Jewel Spear became the 10th player in program history to reach and surpass 2,000 career points. Spear sank her 2,000th point on a free throw at the 2:38 mark in the second quarter. The fifth-year guard finished with six points, two rebounds and six assists against Arkansas. Spear became the fifth transfer to hit 2K, joining fellow transfers Rickea Jackson (Mississippi State), Cindy Brogdon (Mercer), Jill Rankin (Wayland Baptist) and Patricia Roberts (Emporia State), who also reached that plateau. Sunday’s contest against the Hogs marked Spear’s 136th career game, her 47th as a Lady Vol.
• ANOTHER COOP 20-PIECE: Talaysia Cooper netted her eighth 20-plus performance of the season and her career, tallying a team-leading 20 points. Cooper hit seven of 14 field goals and knocked down one of three three-pointers. The redshirt sophomore finished with three rebounds, two assists and four steals. Cooper’s last 20-point scoring affair came against LSU on Jan. 9, when she carded 24 points.
• SPENCER DROPPIN’ DIMES: Senior point guard Samara Spencer carded eight assists with no turnovers vs. her old school. It tied her second highest total of the season and pushed her totals to 89 assists vs. 26 turnovers on the season. Her flawless effort with the ball was her third this year without turning the ball over.
• HOT FROM THREE: Tennessee carded its 12th performance of knocking down ten or more three-pointers in a single contest, hitting 12 against the Hogs. Eight Lady Vols made a three-pointer, with Zee Spearman leading the charge with three. Tennessee notched its highest three-point game against N.C. Central, draining an NCAA, SEC and school-record 30 treys. The Lady Vols have tallied 10 or more three-pointers against the following programs: N.C. Central (30), MTSU (15), Liberty (14), Tulsa (14), Memphis (12), Arkansas (12), LSU (11), Western Carolina (10), Winthrop (10), Texas A&M (10), Oklahoma (10) and Samford (10).
• DANGEROUS ON DEFENSE: The Lady Vols forced Arkansas to turn the ball over a total of 22 times during Sunday’s win, posting a 28-2 advantage on points off turnovers and racking up 15 steals for its 12th double-digit effort in that category. Arkansas’s two points were the fewest points Tennessee has allowed off of turnovers all season long. Twelve of Tennessee’s foes thus far have committed at least 22 miscues: NC Central (44), Samford (37), Western Carolina (37), Oklahoma (31), UT Martin (31), Iowa (30), Winthrop (30), Texas A&M (25), Liberty (25), Tulsa (23), Arkansas (22) and MTSU (22). Tennessee also collected a 10-second violation versus the Hogs. This season UT’s press has resulted in 17 10-second violations by opponents through 16 games.  

UT/MSU SERIES NOTES

• Tennessee has a 40-8 all-time record vs. Mississippi State after winning three of the past four meetings.
• UT is 18-3 vs. MSU in Knoxville, 18-3 vs. the Bulldogs in Starkville and 4-2 at neutral sites.
• After State had the upper hand from 2016-20, winning seven of eight and three straight in Knoxville, the Big Orange has won its past two at home vs. MSU.
• State has a 2-0 record in overtime games between these programs, winning a 65-63 affair in Starkville on Jan. 29, 2016, and a 91-90 double-overtime thriller at Humphrey Coliseum the last time these programs met on Feb. 26, 2023.
• UT and MSU have faced off six times in the SEC Tournament, with the Lady Vols owning a 4-2 record.

A LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS

• Mississippi State started 8-0 and went 13-1 in non-conference play before opening 2-2 in SEC play.
• After losing at Kentucky and vs. South Carolina in week one, MSU bounced back with wins vs. No. 10/11 Oklahoma and at Georgia last week.
• Jerkaila Jordan paces State at 15.6 ppg., while Eniya Russell (13.6 ppg.) and Madina Okot (12.0 ppg., 8.8 rpg.) also score in double figures. 
• The Bulldogs hold foes to 58.7 ppg. and force 17.4 turnovers per contest.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

• Sam Purcell is 60-26 in his third season as head coach of the Bulldogs.
• In 2023-24, Purcell led MSU to a 23-12 record and became the only head coach in program history and one of five in the SEC since 2000 to surpass the 20-win mark in each of their first two seasons. 
• Purcell totaled the most wins (45), most SEC wins (17) and most NCAA Tournament wins (2) of any MSU women’s WBB coach through their first two seasons.
• Purcell’s career stops include Auburn (student manager/video coordinator/admin. asst.), Tulsa (asst. coach), Georgia Tech (video coordinator/asst. coach) and Louisville (asst. coach/associate coach).

MSU’S LAST GAME

• A season-best shooting day for Mississippi State propelled the Bulldogs past Georgia, 79-68, on Sunday. 
• MSU shot 48.3 percent from distance and hit a season-best 14 threes to overcome 17 turnovers.
• Eniya Russell led the way with 21 points, while Madina Okot added a double-double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Jerkaila Jordan tossed in 11 points.
• MSU led 41-27 at the half and staved off a UGA rally.

LAST TIME WE MET STATE

• The Lady Vols overcame a 13-point second-quarter deficit to win, 75-64, over MSU at Humphrey Coliseum on Feb. 18, 2024, the last time these teams met.
• Tennessee (11-6, 4-1 SEC) was led by fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson, who turned in 19 points and seven rebounds. Junior Kaiya Wynn came off the bench to contribute a career-high 13 points, and fifth-year senior Jasmine Powell and junior Sara Puckett each tallied 11.
• Defensively, the Big Orange forced State into 15 turnovers on the evening and allowed the hosts only 19 points combined in the middle two quarters. 
• Erynn Barnum led MSU with 15 points in that contest.

LAST TIME WE MET IN KNOXVILLE

• UT moved to 3-0 in SEC play with an 80-69 home win over MSU on Jan. 5, 2023, in the last meeting here. 
• Jordan Horston set new season highs of 27 points and 14 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year. 
• Rickea Jackson and Tess Darby had 18 and 13 points, respectively.
• MSU’s Jessika Carter and Debreasha Powe had 21 each.

UP NEXT

• The Lady Vols make their way to Nashville this weekend, where they’ll face in-state rival Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon in Memorial Gymnasium.
• Tip-off between the Big Orange and the Commodores is set for 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET) with SECN+ streaming.
• The game also will be available on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via audio stream on UTSports.com.