University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Hoops Central: Arizona State
March 19, 2016 | Women's Basketball
March 19, 2016
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 7 seed Lady Vols (20-13) will put their undefeated second round record on the line against No. 2 seed Arizona State (26-6) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Tempe, Arizona on Sunday at 6 p.m. PT/ 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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Gameday Time & Broadcast Info
- Opponent: Arizona State
- Tipoff: 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: Lady Vol Network
- Online: Live Audio,
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#7 Tennessee
Roster Schedule 2015-16 Stats Game Notes
#2 Arizona State
Roster Schedule 2015-16 Stats Game Notes
First Round: Lady Vols 59, Green Bay 53
Recap Highlights Press Conference Quotes Stats Photos Game Notes
Game Week in Review
The Lady Vols opened up the NCAA Tournament with a 59-53 win over Green Bay in the first round. ...Read more
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Mark Jones (PxP) and Gail Goestenkors (Analyst) will describe the action for the Tennessee-Arizona State television broadcast on ESPN and the live stream via WatchESPN. Mickey Dearstone will handle the call for the IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcast.
GAME 34: TENNESSEE VS. ARIZONA STATE
- No. 7 seed Tennessee (20-13, 8-8 SEC) has advanced to the second round of the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Regional of the 64-team 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.
- The Lady Vols will face No. 2 seed and #11/11-ranked Arizona State (26-6, 16-2 Pac-12) on Sunday evening in Tempe, Arizona.
- The game is set for 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) at Wells Fargo Arena on the Arizona State University campus.
- The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 and will play a yet-to-be-determined opponent on March 25 in Sioux Falls.
- Tennessee advanced to the second round on Friday afternoon by defeating No. 10 seed Green Bay, 59-53, coming from eight down in the first half.
- Arizona State, meanwhile, romped to a 74-52 win over No. 15 seed New Mexico State to move along to Sunday.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
- Mark Jones (PxP) and Gail Goestenkors (Analyst) will describe the action for the Tennessee-Arizona State television broadcast on ESPN and the live stream via WatchESPN.
- Mickey Dearstone will handle the call for the IMG College/Lady Vol Network radio/online broadcast.
UT'S NCAA TOURNEY HISTORY
- UT is seeking its 34th passage to the NCAA Regional round, where it has posted a 27-6 record in 33 previous trips to the Sweet 16.
- The only season UT did not make the regional level was 2009, when UT lost its opening round contest to Ball State in Bowling Green, Ky.
- To do so this season, the Lady Vols must defeat the highest seed they've beaten since knocking off No. 2 seed LSU in the 2008 NCAA Final Four semifinals on April 6 of that season. UT also had to beat No. 2 seed Texas A&M in the Elite Eight to get that opportunity.
- The Lady Vols are 121-26 in NCAA tournament play, and they rank first in games played (147) and victories (121) in NCAA tourney history.
- Tennessee is second in winning percentage at .823 in tourney play.
- The Lady Vols are making their 35th appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship, and UT is the only program to appear in all 35 tournaments.
- Tennessee is an at-large qualifier for the tourney field, finishing tied for seventh in the Southeastern Conference and making it to the semifinal round of the league tourney.
- As a No. 7 seed, this is the lowest Tennessee has been slotted in the NCAA Tournament. The previous low was as a No. 5 in 2009.
- No. 7 NCAA women's seeds have 13-62 record all-time in second-round play, so the Lady Vols are facing a tall order.
- Before this season, Tennessee had been either the top or No. 2 seed six straight years and in 17 of the past 18 NCAA tournaments.
- UT has advanced to 18 NCAA Final Fours and won eight of them (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008).
- Tennessee has finished second in the nation five times and third on five more occasions.
- UT has made the Elite Eight 27 times, posting an 18-9 record in that round.
- The Lady Vols have seen their season ended in the regional championship game in four of the past five years but in the Sweet 16 in 2015.
- Tennessee's First/Opening Round opponents through the years have included: Jackson St. (1982), South Carolina St. (1983), Middle Tennessee State (1984), Virginia (1985), Iowa (1986), Tennessee Tech (1987), North Carolina A&T (1994), Florida A&M (1995), Radford (1996), Grambling (1997), Liberty (1998), Appalachian St. (1999), Furman (2000), Austin Peay (2001 & 2010), Georgia State (2002), Alabama State (2003), Colgate (2004), Western Carolina (2005), Army (2006), Drake (2007), Oral Roberts (2008 & 2013), Ball State (2009), Stetson (2011), UT Martin (2012), Northwestern State (2014), Boise State (2015) and Green Bay (2016).
- All told, UT has played 83 different opponents during all rounds of the NCAA tourney, including first-time 2016 postseason foes Green Bay and Arizona State.
UT IN THE FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS
- Tennessee is making its 35th appearance in the NCAA First/Second Rounds, and it owns a 55-1 record during those games.
- The Lady Vols are 28-1 all-time in the NCAA First Round and 27-0 in the NCAA Second Round.
- The only blemish is a first-round loss to Ball State, 71-55, in Bowling Green, Ky., on March 22, 2009.
- In NCAA First/Second Round play, UT is 44-0 at home, 3-0 away and 8-1 at neutral sites.
- The breakdown for that is 22-0 home/0-0 away/6-1 neutral for the first round and 22-0 home/3-0 away/2-0 neutral for the second round.
- UT never has played an overtime frame in the NCAA First and Second Rounds.
UT'S NCAA EXPERIENCE
- All 11 of Tennessee's 11 active players possess NCAA Tournament experience, led by Bashaara Graves with 12 games and Nia Moore with 11.
- UT has an 9-3 record in NCAA tourney play over the last three seasons, making the Elite Eight in 2013 and 2015 and falling in the Sweet 16 in 2014.
- Diamond DeShields averaged 17.8 points over four games for North Carolina in 2013-14, while Bashaara Graves has averaged 9.4 points and 7.8 rebounds during her career and posted 14.5 and 8.3 averages a year ago.
- DeShields has hit double figures in all five games of tournament play, tallying a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds vs. Michigan State in 2014.
- Graves registered double-doubles in 2013 (11/10 vs. Louisville) and 2015 (21/14 vs. Pitt) and had a high of 24 points vs. Boise State last season.
- Te'a Cooper's NCAA debut turned out well, with the rookie leading UT with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting vs. Green Bay.
A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS
- Tennessee enters Sunday night's contest having won four of its last five games to stand at 20-13.
- It's UT's best stretch since defeating #7/7 Oregon State and #20 Missouri during a victorious three-out-of-four run from Dec. 19 to Jan. 4.
- This marks the 40th-straight season UT has posted 20 or more wins.
- The Lady Vols had their biggest come-from-behind victory of the season vs. Green Bay, erasing an eight-point second quarter deficit.
- In her first NCAA Tournament game, freshman Te'a Cooper stepped to the forefront and helped push her team past upset-minded Green Bay with a game-high 15 points.
- Cooper hadn't scored in double figures the past three games.
- Diamond DeShields was in double figures for the fifth straight game with 14 points.
- With only 10 turnovers vs. Green Bay, Tennessee has had six straight games of 13 or fewer miscues and has averaged 11.2 turnovers per contest during that span.
- Mercedes Russell pulled down 13 rebounds vs. the Phoenix, marking the 12th time this season she's grabbed 10 or more.
- Diamond DeShields leads Tennessee in scoring, averaging 13.9 per contest, but she has fired in 18.0 ppg. the last five contests.
- DeShields has scored 20 or more points in three of her past five games and has done so eight times time this season and 22 times in her career.
- DeShields went over 1,000 career points in the LSU game on Feb. 21.
- Bashaara Graves also scores in double figures at 10.2 per game and averages 8.3 rebounds.
- Graves went over 1,000 rebounds vs. Mississippi State and became UT's fifth member of the 1,000 points/1,000 rebounds club. She ranks No. 4 all-time in rebounding at 1,019.
- Reserve point guard Te'a Cooper was named to the Coaches SEC All-Freshman Team, while DeShields and Graves were selected to the Associated Press All-SEC Second Team.
- Tennessee started its 13th different lineup of the season vs. Green Bay, going with Jaime Nared, Bashaara Graves, Mercedes Russell, Jordan Reynolds and Diamond DeShields for the first time.
- UT's opponents this season have the highest combined winning pct. (.675, 515-248), and that translates to UT having the No. 1-ranked strength of schedule in the NCAA.
- At 20-13, the Lady Vols are No. 28 in the RPI and stand 8-9 vs. teams with a top-50 RPI.
- Holly Warlick is in her fourth season as Tennessee's head coach, and she possesses a 106-33 record during that time. She is only the 17th women's basketball coach to reach 100 wins in her first four seasons at the NCAA Division I level.
A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE
- Arizona State beat New Mexico State, 74-52, on Friday night, but the Sun Devils have dropped two of their last three.
- ASU lost its regular-season finale at #14 UCLA, 74-61, and fell, 75-64, to #10 Cal in the Pac-12 Tournament.
- Guard Katie Hempen hit six three-pointers and finished seven of eight from the field for 20 points in the win over NMSU on Friday. Elisha Davis added 13 points and six assists.
- Sophomore Sophie Brunner paces Arizona State with 10.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Hempen and Quinnn Dornstauder chip in 9.5 ppg.
- ASU shared the Pac-12 regular season title with Oregon State, a team Tennessee beat in Corvallis on Dec. 19, 53-50, when the Beavers were ranked No. 7.
- The Sun Devils score 63.9 per game and allow only 54.3 per contest.
- Among common opponents, ASU beat Kentucky (68-64 in overtime) in its opener on Nov. 15 and lost to South Carolina (60-58) on Nov. 27. The Sun Devils beat Syracuse (61-54) and Stanford twice (49-31 & 63-61 OT) but lost to Oregon State (67-44).
USA TEAM MEMBERS REUNITE
- Tennessee's Holly Warlick served as an assistant coach, and three players in Sunday's game were on the USA's gold-medal-winning World University Games team over the summer.
- Mercedes Russell and Diamond DeShields of Tennessee and ASU's Katie Hempen were on that squad.
TENNESSEE HISTORY IN ARIZONA
- UT will be playing its fifth game in the state of Arizona and is 4-0 when appearing in the Grand Canyon State and 2-0 at Wells Fargo Arena.
- On Friday, UT beat Green Bay, 59-53.
- The Lady Vols played at Arizona in 1993 (W, 65-63), vs. Arizona State at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix in 2000 (W, 67-63) and at Arizona State in 2006 (W, 83-74).
- Tennessee is 6-0 all-time vs. schools from Arizona (3-0 vs. UA/3-0 vs. ASU).
- UT head coach Holly Warlick was on Tennessee's staff for all six of those games.
- Lady Vols associate head coach Kyra Elzy got wins as a player vs. UA in the 2000 NCAA Tournament in Knoxville and vs. ASU at the match-up held at Bank One Ballpark.
- Elzy, however, did not play in that 2000 contest vs. ASU.
- The UT football team captured the 1998 BCS National Championship by defeating Florida State, 23-16, on Jan. 4, 1999 at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in ASU's Sun Devil Stadium.
THE SERIES VS. ASU
- Tennessee is 3-0 all-time vs. Arizona State, winning at home, on the road and at a neutral site.
- The last meeting came on Nov. 21, 2010, in Knoxville, with UT winning, 80-64.
- UT is 1-1 vs. Pac-12 teams this season, falling at #15/14 Stanford (69-55) on Dec. 16 and winning at #7/7 Oregon State (53-50) on Dec. 19.
- Tennessee is 65-19 all-time vs. the Pac-12.
- UT's Diamond DeShields had 28 points, eight rebounds and five steals vs. ASU when her former team, North Carolina, played the Sun Devils in 2013.
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