On Saturday at 2:15 PM PT on ESPN2 and Varsity Network radio, #3 Stanford women’s basketball will take on #7 Tennessee on the road in Knoxville, TN. Stanford comes in at 7-2 overall while Tennessee comes in at 9-0.

Last time out: On Wednesday, Stanford took care of business against UC Davis, winning 68-42. Hannah Jump was the top scorer for Stanford with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Cameron Brink had a double-double consisting of 11 points and 10 rebounds.

RECAP: #3 Stanford WBB wins low scoring battle against UC Davis

History of the Stanford-Tennessee rivalry: Stanford and Tennessee will be facing off for the 38th time on Saturday. Their rivalry goes back to the days when the late Pat Summitt was coaching Tennessee. Over the last 30+ years, both programs have been among the most elite teams in the country. Tara VanDerveer has guided Stanford to three national championships while Summitt guided Tennessee to eight.

Even with Summitt now passed on, Tennessee continues to remain a major force under the guidance of third year head coach Kellie Harper, who is a Tennessee alum (1999). Harper has done a great job of building on the foundation left for her by her former coach and mentor.

In their 37 meetings, Stanford has a record of 12-25 and a 3-13 record on the road. Stanford has however won the last two matchups: 78-51 at Stanford on December 18th, 2019 and 95-85 at Tennessee on December 18th, 2018.

On Tennessee: The Lady Vols are led by junior guard Jordan Horston, who is averaging 15.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Junior center Tamari Key is close to averaging a double-double with 9.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while graduate forward Alexus Dye is a couple clicks of the dial away from a double-double average of her own with 9.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Senior guard/forward Rae Burrell is out indefinitely with a knee injury that was thought to be a torn ACL but thankfully is not. She scored 12 points in her lone game this year.

As a team, the Lady Vols average 67.3 points per game on 40.9% shooting from the field, 25.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 59.5% shooting from the foul line. They’re averaging a +17.3 rebound margin, 13.0 assists, 6.3 assists, 6.6 blocks, and 18.2 turnovers per game. Their opponents are averaging 54.2 points per game on 31.1% shooting from the field, 29.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 65.3% shooting from the foul line.

The Lady Vols are undefeated this year with wins over the two teams who have defeated Stanford: South Florida (52-49) and Texas (74-70). Both games were at home. So, on those grounds a lone, not to mention their ranking, Tennessee is a team who probably should be favored to win this game. Especially with it being in Knoxville.

Keys to the game: If Stanford wants to win this game, the first thing they have to do is hold their own inside. Tennessee is a really good rebounding team and they know how to get after it on the glass. Cameron Brink is going to need to come up big for the Cardinal in this one.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is get some threes to drop. Tennessee is holding opponents to 29.0% shooting from deep and they’ll look to make it tough on Stanford to get going in that department. If Hannah Jump is able to heat up from 3-point range and others are able to feed off that, that’ll be huge for Stanford.

Lastly, Stanford needs to just play a clean game. They need to take care of the basketball and make their free throws. It’s really that simple. If Stanford is turning the ball over and missing foul shots, Tennessee will win this game. If Stanford is taking good care of the ball and making foul shots, I think Stanford has a really good chance to win.

Prediction: This is really tough given how well Tennessee has played and with the game being on the road. Being totally honest, I could see this game going either way and I wouldn’t be surprised. What would surprise me is if this game wasn’t close one way or the other. With that all said, I do think Stanford is starting to find their groove and are playing better basketball with each passing week. Stanford 70 Tennessee 68 is my prediction.

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