Know Thy Enemy: Georgia at Tennessee (WBB)
By bzell
By Brent Zell
Georgia and Tennessee have an interesting rivalry. The No. 6 Lady Vols own the overall series 41-15, but those 15 losses to UGA are the most to any school in the SEC. The No. 15 Lady Dogs (12-2 overall, 1-0 in SEC) will go for the 16th win in Knoxville starting at 7 p.m. EST. Meet this year’s version of Orange Crush.
TENNESSEE
Record: 10-3 overall, 1-0 in the SEC.
Coming In: Has won three straight, most recently downing Chattanooga 90-47 Tuesday in Knoxville.
Mascot: The Volunteer. Statistically, the Volunteer State isn’t all that big on volunteering compared to some states. Tennessee ranked below the national averages in volunteering almost across the board from 2008-2010. Tennessee does do better than the national averages, however, in tutoring/teaching and general labor. So kind of an ironic mascot, then? Not so. When my wife and I were moving to Georgia, we stopped at a gas station just inside the Tennessee border to ask for directions. At least five total strangers cheerfully tried to help us. So somtimes, yes, stats can lie.
Well, This Is Interesting: Tonight’s game is the first of four games Tennessee will play against ranked teams this month. The Lady Vols face No. 9 Kentucky Jan. 12 in Lexington, No. 21 Vanderbilt Jan. 15 in Knoxville and No. 3 Notre Dame Jan. 23 in South Bend, Ind. Tennessee wraps up the brutal month by traveling to Athens Jan. 29 for the second game against UGA.
But Here’s The Thing: Tennessee seems to be OK with a tough schedule so far. The Lady Vols are 4-2 in games
this season against ranked teams. The average score of their four wins was 79-63.75.
Watch This Player: The teams are nearly identical on statistics, including each having four players who average double figures in points. However, if guard Kamiko Williams notches double digits for Tennessee, she could swing the difference. That effort certainly made the difference before, as Tennessee was 14-0 last season when she scored 10 or more points. Williams missed the Lady Vols’ first 12 games while coming back from knee surgery, but made her season debut Tuesday and notched two points, four assists and two steals in 16 minutes of playing time.
Coverage: Comcast Sports Southeast (TV); Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network (Affiliate List); GeorgiaDogs.com (Audio)