Lady Vols vs Louisville - NCAA Women’s Tournament Second Round

The up-and-down nature of this season makes one prone to believe the Lady Vols might be in trouble tonight in Louisville. But the now-everyone-is-good reality of the tournament’s second round could benefit a Tennessee team prone to playing to the level of its competition.

Tonight that’s Louisville, 28-7 with every loss to a Top 20 team. They took a beating from South Carolina and two from Notre Dame (both eventual one seeds) but all the others were by seven points or less. A possible counterpoint: they didn’t beat a Top 10 team this year and only beat #14 Miami in the Top 15.

They had no trouble with Chattanooga in the first round in an 82-62 win. Like the Lady Vols, they’re a three-headed monster: 5’10” guard Asia Durr leads them with 19.1 points per game and 40.9% from the arc. 6’2” forward Myisha Hines-Allen 13.9 points and 9.2 rebounds. And 6’0” forward Mariya Moore adds 11.9 per game. No other player averages more than 6.4 per game.

Will the Lady Vols live to play another day? A potential rematch with Baylor awaits in the Sweet 16. We’ll see if the Lady Vols can make it there at 6:45 PM ET on ESPN2.