NCAA Women Day 1: UT Lady Vols vs. Oral Roberts

Today is the first day of the women's basketball tournament, and Tennessee gets their action at 1:30 PM in the friendly confines of Thompson - Boling at 1:30 PM EST. Here's the schedule information up front:

TV: ESPN2

'Net: ESPN3 (no blackout listed at the moment I'm typing this)

Audio: MickeyPhonic

Stats: GameTracker

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As for today's game, the Lady Vols are a #2 seed and Oral Roberts is a #15 seed who was selected by virtue of winning the Southland tournament. They're not a bad team, with an RPI that places them in Auburn territory, but the only two games against notable opponents were versus Baylor and Nebraska, and those went about as you'd expect. (They did lose to Arkansas 80-57 very early in the season, if that helps.)

The player of note is Kevi Luper, who averages 19 points per game (on 17 shots), 4 boards, and about 2.5 steals. That places her somewhat in Meighan Simmons territory in terms of production for the team, although I have no idea how fast she is or if OR fans ever have NO NO NO NO YES YES YES moments. After Luper is the point guard Jaci BIgham, who is second in the team with about 13 points a game on 10.5 shots and has a solid PG's A/TO of 207 assists to 122 TOs (about 7 assists and 4 turnovers per game).

The rest? 6'-3" Sarah Shelton holds the post, but no other player exceeds 6' tall, as is often the case for women's teams... The Golden Eagles take about a third of their shots from beyond the arc... Despite an 18-12 record, they are underwater on rebounds by about 1 per game (35.5 vs. 36.5)... Coach Cullen has been there for 17 years... Bernadett Balla has the best basketball name and will be worth listening to Mickey pronounce at least once.

No prediction today. The things to watch for are: an early and decisive lead that allows UT to play their depth, and Isabelle Harrison's status. Oh, and winning. Winning would be nice.