Game Thread: SEC Tournament First Round. #18/14 Lady Vols (9 seed) vs. Texas A&M (16 seed). Wed., March 5, 11 am ET, SECN

[Orange.]

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Venue:
Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Greenville, SC
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This is the eighth time Greenville has played host to the SEC Tournament. The Lady Vols are 10-6 in games played in the city.

Tennessee enters the 2025 SEC Tournament with eight active players with SEC Tournament experience: Talaysia Cooper, Edie Darby, Tess Darby, Jillian Hollingshead, Sara Puckett, Jewel Spear, Samara Spencer, Avery Strickland. Two Lady Vols also went to the SEC Tournament with other teams before transferring to UT: Jillian Hollingshead with Georgia and Samara Spencer with Arkansas.


Media:
TV: SECN
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Audio-stream: UTSports.com and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Ch. 81).
Live stats: (during the game) StatBroadcast Mobile Stats


The Lady Vols:
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After winning four straight over Auburn, Ole Miss, Alabama and Florida, the Lady Vols enter the tourney on the heels of losses at No. 15/14 Kentucky (82-58) on Feb. 27 and vs. Georgia (62-58) on March 2.

The LVs are ranked 18 in the AP Poll and 14 in the NET rankings.

On Jan. 2, the LVs won a 91-78 victory over A&M in College Station. Jewel Spear led UT win 20 points.

Tennessee players with double-figure scoring averages this season include fifth-year guard Jewel Spear (13.2 ppg., 68 3FGs), junior guard Ruby Whitehorn (11.8 ppg.), junior forward Zee Spearman (11.7 ppg., 6.0 rpg.) and senior point guard Samara Spencer (10.4 ppg., 4.9 apg.).


Talaysia Cooper questionable
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Look at that smile.

The Lady Vols have been led this season by redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper, a member of the John R. Wooden, Naismith and Ann Meyers Drysdale Player of the Year Watch Lists and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. She puts up 16.7 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 3.2 apg. and 3.0 spg. and shoots 45 percent from the field. Cooper has eleven 20+ scoring efforts this season, including 25 at Kentucky on Feb. 27.

Cooper is listed as questionable on the SEC injury report Tuesday. She rolled her ankle in the second quarter against Georgia on Sunday. Cooper is traveling with the team.


Texas A&M

Texas A&M tied for 13th in the conference standings with Arkansas, Auburn and Missouri and received the No. 16 seed due to the SEC tiebreaker criteria of record versus the group of tied teams.

Sahara Jones (9.9 ppg.) is currently the Aggies' top scorer and rebounder (7.1 rpg.). Aicha Coulibaly was the Aggies' leading scorer at 12.8 ppg., but she is out due to injury.

A&M is managing only 57.9 points per game vs. league foes, while allowing 74.3. Texas A&M is shooting 37.4 percent and turning the ball over 17.6 times per contest vs. SEC teams.


Tournament bracket:

The winner of the Tennessee-Texas A&M game will advance to the 2nd round against No. 8 seed Vanderbilt (21-9, 8-8 SEC) at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday.

 

[Voltopia]

I have no earthly idea what's going to happen with this game. I don't know what Tennessee we'll see. I don't know what to expect. Not the faintest idea.

 

[GiveHim6InSC]

Go Lady Vols!! Get on em early and often!!!

 

[Orange Maniac]

Headed to Greenville. See you all there. It will take me longer to get across Atlanta than from NE Atlanta to Greenville. Hoping for an easy game today, but who knows?

 

[Rooster1]

i am expecting a convincing win, even if Cooper does not play in this one.

 

[Higbee]

made it to championship game 2005 and 2023 ..what ???

 

[Orange.]

Let’s get this done, LVs! Fight, ladies, fight!

 

[Hooper22]

Coop is out stretching and warming up. Good sign !

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Beat A&M then Vandy and get this train back on the tracks!

 

[chuckiepoo]

 

[th2421]

Cooper is now listed as a game-time decision on the injury report.

Here she is:

 

[th2421]

Cooper may play, but she's not starting. But neither are Spencer or Whitehorn:

 

[Vols2015]

Cooper may play, but she's not starting. But neither are Spencer or Whitehorn:

I like the starting lineup change! Spencer and Whitehorn played awful last two games.

 

[87&91ALUM]

You can do this Lady Vols! Start the tourney off with solid play, a lot of scoring, great defense, and take home the trophy on Sunday!

 

[volsagain]

Spearman needs to be rebounding missed 3s not shooting them .

 

[th2421]

Cooper's in!

 

[Rons1989]

For the love of god Ruby you need a countermove nobody falling for that anymore

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Putting the ball in the basket, we are not very good!

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Lucky A&M not playing well on offense either right now. One of them will get a roll soon and that may decide it.

 

[glv98]

Ugh. We will win but this isn't the start we hoped for,


And Coop was never really questionable

 

[brittannica]

Coop is so impactful for being so young.

 

[ShortyMac10]

Playing on the first day can be a blessing or a curse
Blessing:better acquainted with the rim
Curse:you can go home 1st day

 

[Volfan2012]

2 of 10 20 percent. forcing the turnovers not getting anything out of them.

 

[winkles18]

We need an offensive coach this is ymca basketball just pick up ball that's it...

 

[gule]

LV offense has fallen into a black hole.