The Lady Vols will get another shot at the No. 6 Tigers tomorrow in the SEC tournament after knocking off Florida 71-67 on Friday. Game time is 6:30 p.m. EST from North Little Rock, Ark. It will be televised on Fox Sports South.Auburn (28-2) beat Tennessee 82-68 before a school record crowd of 12,067 at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in January.
Tennessee (22-9) has "struggled" this year because it's pretty young, but I wouldn't ever get too comfortable against a Pat Summitt-coached team. The Lady Vols are kind of like the killer in a horror flick. It's best not to assume he/she is dead. (Also, never go skinny dipping or walk outside to investigate a strange noise.)
Remember, a 10-loss Tennessee team once won a national championship. Would you write off the two-time defending national champs? Didn't think so.
Things to watch tomorrow:
- The free throw disparity or lack thereof: Summitt was ticked off that the Lady Vols didn't get to the line more often against the Tigers in the first time. The numbers back up her displeasure. Auburn went 24-for-29 from the line in the first game. Tennessee was just 10-for-13. You think a Summitt-coached team is going to shoot 16 fewer free throws than its opponent in the SEC tournament? Dream on.
- The Shekinna Stricklen-DeWanna Bonner battle: I'm not sure if these two will be guarding each other, but they put on a scoring showcase in the first meeting. Stricklen finishing with 26 points and Bonner with a career-high 35.
- The Angie Bjorklund factor: Bjorklund was a no-show in the first meeting, scoring three points on 1-for-7 shooting. Her season average is 11.5 points and she's making 40.8 percent of her 3-pointers. Plus, she's coming in hot, having just scored 25 points against Florida after going 6-for-10 from 3-point range.
- The fatigue factor: Tennessee will be playing its third game in three days. Although Auburn's game against Ole Miss today was closer than expected, tomorrow will still be just game No. 2 for the Tigers. Don't underestimate (or even misunderestimate) the role fatigue plays in these conference tournaments.
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