Hoops Central: RV/RV Lady Vols vs. 17/20 Iowa

 Undefeated Tennessee (6-0) faces its first test away from the friendly confines of Food City Center on Saturday night, as it meets No. 17/20 Iowa (8-0) in the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Lady Vols, who are near to cracking the top 25 in both major polls, will take on the Hawkeyes in the Barclays Center at 7 p.m. ET in a contest televised nationally by FOX as well as carried on Lady Vol Network stations and streamed on UTSports.com and Sirius XM channel 389.

UT and UI face off in game one of a doubleheader at the home of the New York Liberty (WNBA) and Brooklyn Nets (NBA), with No. 2/2 UConn and No. 22/22 Louisville set to face off in the night's second battle. The stated purpose of the Shark Beauty™ Women's Champions Classic is to "celebrate the exponential growth of women's sports and showcase the incredible talent and dedication of these student-athletes."

The Tennessee-Iowa match-up will feature two coaches in their first season leading programs, with Kim Caldwell in year nine as a head coach, season two in NCAA Division I and season one at UT and the Power 4 level. Iowa's Jan Jenson, meanwhile, is in her 25th season with the Hawkeye program but her first-ever as head coach after Lisa Bluder's retirement at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Tennessee claimed victory by its tightest margin of the season on Wednesday night, edging RV/RV Florida State (8-2), 79-77, in Knoxville to remain unbeaten at 6-0. Iowa, on the other hand, has had its eye on the Lady Vols since Nov. 30, capping a two-game run at the Cancun Challenge with victories over Rhode Island (69-62)  on Nov. 28 and BYU (68-48) on Nov. 29 to also remain perfect on the year. 

Tennessee carries a 2-1 series record into the game, including a 1-0 mark at home and 1-1 count in Iowa City. This will mark the first time these programs have met since 1993.

BROADCAST DETAILS

• Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Sarah Kustok (analyst) will have the call for FOX.
• The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play.
• A link to the live audio stream can be found on the Hoops Central page or the schedule on UTSports.com. 
• For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click on the Fans tab at the top of UTSports.com, select Vol Network and then click on the Vol Network Affiliates tab.
• Air-time generally occurs 30 minutes prior to tip-off.
• The Lady Vol Network broadcast also can be heard on SiriusXM satellite radio channel 389.

 INDIVIDUALLY SPEAKING

• COOP IS HOOPIN': Talaysia Cooper has scored 20+ points in her past three games, firing in 33 vs. Liberty, 20 vs. Western Carolina and 22 vs. Florida State to average 25.0 ppg. during that span. She has elevated her season average to 19.7 while shooting 58.3 pct. from the field and 39 pct. on threes.
• 6-0 WITH SIX DIFFERENT FIVES: UT has begun the season 6-0 with six different starting lineups and eight different players appearing in the first five. Talaysia Cooper, Sara Puckett, Samara Spencer and Ruby Whitehorn have five starts each.
• SHARING THE ROCK: UT has had seven different players score in double figures, with Talaysia Cooper and Samara Spencer hitting 10+ in five of six contests. 
• GUARDS HITTING THE BOARDS: Tennessee's top two rebounders are guards. Ruby Whitehorn and Talaysia Cooper lead the way at 7.0 and 6.2, respectively.
• DISHIN' & SWISHIN': Samara Spencer averages 5.2 apg. and ranks second for UT in 3FGs with 12, hitting at a 48 percent clip.
• FABULOUS FINISH: Talaysia Cooper (12) and Zee Spearman (10) combined for all 22 of UT's final frame points vs. Florida. St.  

FROM A TEAM PERSPECTIVE

• RACKING UP STEALS: UT is No. 2 nationally in steals per game, averaging 16.3 and grabbing 13 or more in five contests.
• THAT'S A 10-COUNT: Tennessee has prevented its foes from getting the ball over half court in 10 seconds a total of 10 times in six games. UT forced only five violations the previous five years combined.
• PILING UP POINTS: The Lady Vols rank No. 1 nationally in scoring offense, generating 95.0 points per game. The lowest a Kim Caldwell team has ranked in scoring is No. 4, which Marshall did last season (85.3).
• MAKING THREES IN BUNCHES: Tennessee ranks No. 1 in 3FGs made per game at 11.2 and has hit 10 or more treys four times this season. That is one shy of tying the school best for most games with double-digit three-pointer production.
• LETTING 'EM FLY: UT also is No. 1 in three-pointers attempted at 38.2 per contest. That's more than the school's previous single-game best of 36 (2010), which this team has eclipsed four times in 2024-25.  
• ELITE ON O-BOARDS: UT is No. 1 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 23.5. It has twice eclipsed 30 this season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• A NUMBER THAT COUNTS: UT is No. 1 nationally with 17 other teams with a win percentage of 100 through Dec. 4.
• WINNING THE FIRST SIX: Tennessee has won its first six games for the initial time since beginning 2021-22 at 9-0.
• FAST STARTS FOR CALDWELL: UT's 6-0 start is the second-best opening of a season in Kim Caldwell's nine years as a head coach behind her 29-0 start at Glenville State in 2021-22 on the way to 35-1. 
• CHASING A UT BEST: A win over Iowa would give Kim Caldwell seven straight to open her tenure, tying Kellie Harper for the top debut-season start in Lady Vol history. 
• DRAWING CROWDS: UT has drawn six crowds of 9K+ thus far, which marks the best attendance start since 2013-14.
• 8K SEASON TIX: UT has sold 8,000+ season tickets -- the most since 2015-16.
• UT NO. 30 IN NET RANKINGS: UT stands at No. 30 in the NCAA's NET rankings through Dec. 4 after defeating No. 27 Florida State. Iowa checks in at No. 29.
• NO. 39 TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: The Lady Vols' cumulative schedule ranks No. 39 on the NCAA's Toughest Schedule report.

SCORING POINTS AS CALDWELL TEAMS DO

• Tennessee is averaging 95.0 points per game to rank No. 1 in the nation in scoring.
• UT stands No. 21 in scoring margin at 28.7.
• Five times Kim Caldwell's teams have led the nation in scoring, with all five coming at Glenville State in 2019-20 (106.8), 2018-19 (102.3), 2020-21 (98.4), 2021-22 (95.5) and her first season as a head coach, 2016-17 (94.1). She was No. 4 in NCAA Division I in 2023-24 at Marshall (85.3).
• UT scored 89 or more points in each of the first five games of a season for the first time in school history. It had previously set the record at four straight to open a campaign.
• It also marked only the third time Tennessee scored 89+ in five straight games at any point and the fifth time it has done it four times in a row.
• UT has had five straight contests of 89+ points in 2024-25 11/5 to 11/26), 1987-88 (12/13 to 1/3) and 1997-98 (1/6 to 1/20), and four in a row in 1993-94 (1/2 to 1/13) and 2000-01 (2/1 to 2/11).

LEADERS BEYOND THE ARC

• Tennessee ranks No. 1 nationally in three-pointers attempted per game at 38.2. 
• That average is higher than the old 2010 school record for most threes attempted in a game (36) by the Lady Vols. UT has topped that mark four times in 2024-25.
• UT also is No. 1 in three-pointers made per game, firing in 11.2 per contest through the Florida State game.
• The program best average for three-pointers per game is 6.8, which came last season (223 in 33 games).
• The Lady Vols attempted a program-most 695 treys in 2023-24 in 33 games.
• Tennessee has made 67 treys in six games, already ranking higher than the school's season total in 1989-90 (43), 1987-88 (27) and 1988-89 (6).

NO. 2 IN STEALS PER GAME

• As of Dec. 5, Tennessee ranks No. 2 in the NCAA in steals per game at 16.3 per contest with a total of 98 through six games.
• UT's 92 steals over the first five games in 2024-25 was the most to begin a season in program history, topping the previous best of 81 in 2001-02.
• UT recorded double-digit steals totals in the first five games of the season, marking the first time that happened since opening the 2007-08 campaign with five in a row. 
• The last occasion when the Big Orange began a campaign with more than five straight was in 2006-07, when it reeled off eight-straight 10+ steal tallies.
• The record for most 10+ steal performances in a season is 35, which occurred in 1997-98. No. 2 is 28 (2007-08, 1988-89, while No. 3 is 26 in 2006-07.
• The Lady Vols are No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in the league in turnovers forced per game at 28.0.
• As a direct result of those numbers, UT has generated 40.7 points per game off those turnovers vs. its opposition (while allowing 15.5 ppg.).
• UT tallied 50 points off turnovers vs. Samford and 48 vs. UT Martin in its opening two games.
• Tennessee also is outscoring its opponents 25.5 to 19.5 in fast break points.
• The Lady Vols got 36 points on the break vs. Samford and 29 vs. UT Martin and Liberty.

PRESS CAUSES STRESS

• Tennessee's press has resulted in 10 10-second violations by opponents through six games. 
• UT forced a season-most five violations against Western Carolina on Nov. 26.
• The Lady Vols surpassed last season's total of those calls (1) in the season's first game when Samford was whistled twice for failing to cross the timeline in the required 10 seconds.
• Coach Kim Caldwell's squad followed by forcing two more violations vs. UT Martin, with its total of four in 2024-25 through two games even ranking ahead of the Big Orange's combined total for both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons (1).
• Against, Middle Tennessee, the Big Orange defense prevented the Blue Raiders from advancing the ball across the timeline in 10 seconds on one occasion, giving UT five for the season and tying its combined total of violations caused over the previous five years (5).
• With UT not utilizing a press in most cases, the breakdowns of 10-second infractions by opponents during that five-year span were 0 in 2019-20, 0 in 2020-21, 4 in 2021-22, 0 in 2022-23 and 1 in 2023-24.

COOP, THERE IT IS

• Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper is off to a quick start this season, leading the team in points per game (19.7), steals per game (3.0) and blocks per game (0.8) while hitting 58.3 percent from the field and 81.3 percent from the free-throw line. She is second in rebounds (6.2) and assists (3.8) per game.
• Cooper recorded her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds vs. Middle Tennessee on Nov. 12, adding four assists and steals as well.
• She dropped a career-high 33 points vs. Liberty on Nov. 16, just missing a second straight double-double with nine rebounds vs. the Lady Flames. 
• She was named SEC Player of the Week and one of the USBWA's Ann Meyers Drysdale Players of the Week after that performance.
• She followed with 20 points vs. Western Carolina on Nov. 16 and 22 vs. Florida State on Dec. 4.
• "Coop" ranks No. 23 nationally and No. 2 among SEC players at 3.00 steals per game.
• She had a career-high seven steals in the opener vs. Samford and four vs. Middle Tennessee and Western Carolina.
• A year ago while redshirting, Cooper's talent was apparent as she played on the scout team and helped prepare the Lady Vols for their upcoming games.

FOUR NEWBIES SCORING 10+ PER GAME

• Tennessee has five players averaging double figures in points after the first six games, and four of them are playing their first season with the program.
• Talaysia Cooper, who redshirted last season after transferring from South Carolina, paces the squad at 19.7 ppg and has scored in double figures five times, including 33 vs. Liberty, 20 vs. Western Carolina and 22 vs. Florida State.
• Clemson transfer Ruby Whitehorn is second in scoring at 11.7 ppg. with four games of 10+ points.
• Samara Spencer, who spent the previous three seasons at Arkansas, has been in double figures five times, putting up 11.2 ppg. 
• Zee Spearman, who was at Miami the past two years, is Tennessee's fourth-leading scorer at 10.8 ppg., hitting double figures three times, including 25 vs. Samford.
• The Big Orange's top returnees, Jewel Spear (10.4 ppg.), Tess Darby (8.8 ppg.) and Sara Puckett (7.7 ppg.), are the team's fifth, sixth and seventh leading scorers.
• Puckett and Spear have been in double figures three times, while Darby has done so twice.

LOOKING BACK AT THE LAST GAME

• Tennessee women's basketball remained unbeaten this season, outlasting a talented Florida State squad, 79-77, in a see-saw affair in front of a crowd of 9,529 on Wednesday night at Food City Center. 
• The Lady Vols (6-0) used a 13-0 run to build a 20-point second-quarter lead and took an 18-point advantage into the intermission before the Seminoles stormed back via a 13-point run of their own to grab a one-point edge, 53-52, with 3:03 to go in the third period. UT quickly retook the lead and ended up staving off the visitors in the fourth quarter as redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper (12) and junior Zee Spearman (10) combined for all 22 of their team's points in the frame and the Big Orange outworked FSU on the glass, 13-6, including 8-2 on the offensive end.
• Spearman scored the decisive points on a fadeaway jumper with 24 seconds remaining and grabbed FSU's missed shot attempt just before time expired to seal the outcome.
• For the third straight game, Cooper eclipsed 20 points and led Tennessee in scoring, dropping in 22 on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Spearman finished with 13, followed by senior Samara Spencer with 11. Cooper, Spencer and sophomore Alyssa Latham each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the charge on the boards, as UT finished with a 50-39 differential, including 23-10 on the offensive end in a battle between two teams residing just outside of the top-25 polls.
• Florida State (8-2), which saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end, was led by the nation's leading scorer, Ta'Niya Latson, who fired in 38 points. Joining her in double figures were O'Mariah Gordon with 16, Makayla Timpson with 13 and Sydney Bowles with 10. Timpson also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double.

UT/UI SERIES NOTES

• Tennessee possesses a 2-1 all-time series record vs. the Hawkeyes, including 1-0 at home and 2-0 on the road.
• These programs have not met since 1993, but Tennessee did play on the Hawkeyes' home court at the 1997 Iowa City Regional and beat UConn, 91-81, on its way to an NCAA Final Four and national title. 
• Tennessee is 109-29 all-time vs. programs who are currently members of the Big Ten Conference. 

A LOOK AT THE HAWKEYES

• Iowa features three players averaging double figures in points, led by senior Lucy Olsen at 17.3 ppg. She is joined by senior Addison O'Grady (15.0) and junior Hannah Stuelke (14.3).
• Olsen suffered an injury prior to playing in the Cancun Challenge and has missed the past two games. 
• The Hawkeyes are winning by 19.5 points per game (77.8-58.3) on average, and are shooting 49.2 percent from the field.
• The last time Iowa started 8-0 or better was in 2004-05, when the team opened at 13-0.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

• Jan Jensen is in her first season as head coach after serving as associate head coach to Lisa Bluder for 24 seasons at Iowa before Bluder retired after the 2023-24 campaign.
• She played her college ball at Drake under Bluder and served as an assistant coach there with Bluder from 1993-2000.
• Jensen is the first coach in Iowa women's basketball history to begin her tenure 8-0.

IOWA'S LAST GAME

• Iowa defeated BYU, 68-48, on Nov. 29 at the Cancun Challenge in Riviera Maya, Mexico, to close out a 2-0 run at the tournament.
• Junior Hannah Stuelke led the Hawkeyes, tying her season high with 16 points, including six on a pair of three-pointers. Senior Addison O'Grady followed with 12 points, and freshman Aaliyah Guyton had a career-high 11 points. 
• Sydney Affolter helped her team win the war on the glass, 37-28, pulling down a game-high 10 boards.
• Iowa out-shot BYU, 47.1 percent to 30.2, and it connected on 11 of 23 three-point attempts for 47.8-percent accuracy.

THE LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET

• Tennessee and Iowa last met in the 1993 NCAA Mideast Regional Final at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City on March 27, 1993.
• The homestanding Hawkeyes grabbed a 28-21 lead by the half and outscored the Lady Vols by nine in the second half to move on to the NCAA Final Four with a 72-56 victory.
• UI shot 45.8 percent from the field and enjoyed an 82.4 performance at the free-throw line, where it made 28 of the 34 opportunities it had there.
• UT, meanwhile, suffered through a 30.3-percent shooting day and could only manage to connect on 12 of its 24 attempts at the charity stripe.
• Iowa's Tia Jackson led all scorers with 21 points, while Laurie Aaron and Necole Tunsil chipped in 18 and 10, respectively. Toni Foster was big on the boards, grabbing 12 caroms. 
• Tennessee was paced by Tiffany Woosley and Nikki McCray, who supplied their team 11 and 10 points, respectively. Vonda Ward just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. 

UP NEXT

• Tennessee returns home following its trip to NYC and has six days to recover and prepare for a Dec. 14 home match-up with NC Central. 
• The Lady Vols and Eagles will take the court for a Saturday matinee at Food City Center, with tip slated for 2 p.m. ET.
• The game will be streamed live on SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide and via UTSports.com.
• After that home date, Tennessee hits the road for a Dec. 18 showdown vs. Memphis at FedExForum and Dec. 20 and 21 tilts with Richmond and Tulsa, respectively, at the West Palm Beach Classic in Florida.