WBB Preview: #17/17 Lady Vols at #18/18 Ole Miss

January 23, 2026 | Women's Basketball

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No. 17/17 Tennessee (14-3, 6-0 SEC) hits the road for a Monday afternoon top-20 SEC match-up with No. 18/18 Ole Miss (17-4, 4-2 SEC) in Oxford, Mississippi.

Due to inclement weather, the Lady Vols and Rebels now will tip at 3 p.m. CT (4 ET) in Sandy and John Black Pavilion, with the contest carried on the Lady Vol Radio Network (AM990/Knoxville) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (Ch. 106 & 190). TV/stream info. will be announced later.

UT enters on a seven-game winning streak and has been victorious in nine of its last 10 after edging No. 11/12 Kentucky, 60-58, in Knoxville on Thursday night. Kim Caldwell's squad is one of just two unbeaten teams in league action entering Sunday's slate of games.

UM, meanwhile, has won three of its past four and is coming off an 82-61 victory at Missouri on Thursday night.

This is the 63rd meeting between these programs, with Tennessee owning a 53-9 advantage in a series that began in 1977. The Lady Vols have won nine of the past 10 match-ups vs. Ole Miss, claiming an 80-71 decision in Knoxville last season.

MORE INFO

GAMEDAY TIMES & BROADCAST INFO

Opponent: Ole Miss
Date: Mon., Jan. 26
Tip-off: 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET)
Venue: The Sandy and John Black Pavilion
Watch: Network TBD
Radio: Lady Vol Network
Online: Live Audio , Live Stats

TENNESSEE

Roster Schedule Game Notes

OLE MISS

Roster Schedule Game Notes

THE LATEST FROM THE LADY VOLS

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BROADCAST DETAILS

Due to inclement weather, broadcast network details will be announced later. Tiffany Greene (play-by-play) and Brooke Weisbrod (color analyst), though, still are expected be on the call for Monday's broadcast.
All of the games included in the ESPN package (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU) will be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
The contest also can be heard on Lady Vol Network stations and by audio stream, with Brian Rice providing play-by-play and Jay Lifford serving as studio host.
A link to the live audio stream can be found on the WBB Preview page or the schedule on UTSports.com.
For a list of Lady Vol Network affiliates, please click 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 (AM990 Knoxville) also will be available on SiriusXM Satellite Radio channels 106 or 190.

A LOOK AT OUR LAST GAME

No. 17/17 Tennessee's highly-touted freshman class combined for 38 points, and the Lady Vols held an SEC opponent below 60 points for the fourth time in five games, seizing a 60-58 victory over No. 11/12 Kentucky in front of a season-high crowd of 12,551 on Thursday night at Food City Center.
The Wildcats (17-4, 4-3 SEC) had the ball with a chance to tie or win it with eight seconds left in the game, but UT knocked the ball loose and forced a jump ball. With two seconds left, UK had alternate possession and another opportunity, but redshirt junior Talaysia Cooper forced UK's 21st turnover to end the threat and deliver the Big Orange (14-3, 6-0 SEC) its first back-to-back wins over ranked teams since the 2021-22 season and extend its winning streak to seven games.
Freshman guard Mia Pauldo continued her strong play since the calendar turned to December, firing in 21 points as the only Tennessee player to score in double figures. Fellow rookie guards Deniya Prawl and Jaida Civil offered Pauldo support, with Prawl contributing an SEC high of nine and Civil chipping in eight. Civil also led the squad in rebounds with nine and tied for the lead in assists with three, as the Lady Vols persevered without injured senior forward Janiah Barker, the team's second-leading scorer.
UK, which was without its star forward Teonni Key, was paced by three players scoring in double digits. Amelia Hassett tallied 16, while Jordan Obi produced a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double and Tonie Morgan added 13 points. UK's leading scorer, Clara Strack, was held to nine points, but she pulled down a game-best 15 boards.

NOTES FROM THE KENTUCKY GAME

PRESSING DEFENSE: The Lady Vols were stiff defensively against the Wildcats, holding their fourth SEC opponent in the past five contests to fewer than 60 points. UT limited Kentucky to its second-lowest scoring effort all year with 58 points. Their low of 51 came vs. Alabama. UT's defense was strong all game, holding the Wildcats to their lowest first half output this season and tying the lowest half the Wildcats have had in either half this year. The seven points Tennessee surrendered in the first quarter marked its best opening frame effort in SEC play, and UK's 22 first-half points were only two away from the low of 20 it allowed vs. Arkansas in the second half as the lowest surrendered in either half during the current campaign.
MIA MAKING HER MARK: Mia Pauldo's 21 points paced UT for the second time this season, joining her effort of 26 at Mississippi State on Jan. 8. Pauldo has been on fire in SEC play, averaging 16 points per game over the six-game stretch. The freshman has been especially clutch in the fourth quarter of the past two games, scoring 10 against #21/21 Alabama and nine versus #11/12 UK. Pauldo now has scored over 10 points in 11 games this season and five of them have come during conference play.
TURNING THEM OVER: Tennessee has now hurried 11 opponents into 20+ turnovers on the season after forcing 21 against the Big Blue. The Lady Vols are causing an average of 21.59 miscues a game and rank in the top 25 nationally for turnovers forced per contest. UT also came up with 11 steals vs. UK, marking the 12th time the Big Orange has tallied 10 or more in 2025-26.
FRESHMEN CAME TO PLAY: A total of 38 of UT's points came from its highly-regarded freshman class in the win against Kentucky. Mia Pauldo, Deniya Prawl and Jaida Civil were the leading scorers for the Big Orange, and they started it with 21 of the Lady Vols' 29 first-half points. They finished with 38 of the team's 60.

A LOOK AT THE LADY VOLS

Through Jan. 23, UT is tied atop the SEC standings and is No. 15 in the NET.
Tennessee is led by 6-0 redshirt junior guard Talaysia Cooper (14.4 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 4.1 apg., 3.4 spg., 29 3FGs), 6-4 senior forward Janiah Barker (14.3 ppg., 6.9 rpg., 19 3FGs), freshman guard Mia Pauldo (12.1 ppg., 43 assts./20 TOs, 35 3FGs) and senior forward Zee Spearman (11.3 ppg., 6.9 rpg., 18 3FGs).
Senior guard Nya Robertson (8.2 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 32 3FGs) is right behind them.
The Lady Vols rank No. 6 nationally in threes made per game (9.7), with seven games of 10+ treys made (2x in SEC play).
UT is No. 9 nationally in offensive rebounds per game (16.7) and No. 22 in total rebounds per contest (42.71).
Tennessee is No. 25 nationally in steals per game (11.9), No. 21 in TO margin (6.47) and No. 22 in TOs forced per contest (21.59), carding 10+ steals on 12 occasions and forcing 20+ turnovers 11 times.
UT is No. 25 in NCAA scoring offense (79.4) and No. 24 in scoring margin (19.1).
The Big Orange bench contributes 26.6 points per contest, ranking No. 31 nationally.

TRENDING...

The Lady Vols are seeking to start 7-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2022-23, extend their overall win streak to eight games and improve to 7-1 on the road.
In the win over Kentucky, UT ran its win streak in SEC games to six straight, improving upon a Kim Caldwell-era best.
Against Ole Miss, Tennessee will attempt to secure a win over a ranked team for the third straight game, something it hasn't done since defeating No. 22/19 Georgia, No. 10/10 Kentucky and No. 18/18 Mississippi State from Jan. 25-Feb. 1, 2015.
UT has risen to No. 2 in scoring defense in SEC games (61.33) after holding four of its last five league foes under 60 points.
The Lady Vols rank No. 2 vs. SEC foes in field goal pct. defense (.372) and three-point field goal pct. defense (.235).
In SEC play, Mia Pauldo ranks No. 11 overall and second among freshmen in scoring at 16.0 ppg.
UT has committed an average of only 9.7 turnovers in its past three games.
After combining for 23 vs. Alabama, Tennessee's highly-touted freshmen tallied 38 of the Big Orange's 60 points vs. UK.

FAMILIAR FACES

UT's Zee Spearman and UM's Latasha Lattimore were teammates at Miami during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
The Rebels' Denim DeShields is the younger sister of LVFL Diamond DeShields, who played at Tennessee from 2014-17.
UM's Cotie McMahon played for Ohio State last season and faced the Lady Vols in the NCAA Second Round in Columbus last March.
Ole Miss graduate manager Riane Griffin spent three seasons as a basketball manager at UT before graduating in 2023.

HOLDING FOES TO 60 AND FEWER

Tennessee has held four of its first six SEC opponents under 60 points in 2025-26 and ranks No. 2 in conference games in scoring defense at 61.33 ppg.
By comparison, the Lady Vols did not hold any league foe under 60 during regular season SEC play in 2024-25. It did limit Texas A&M to 37 in the SEC Tournament.
UT has held Auburn, Arkansas, No. 21/21 Alabama and No. 11/12 Kentucky to 56, 50, 59 and 58, respectively, this season.
It has been since 2022-23 (5 times) that the Big Orange held as many opponents to 60 points or fewer in league games.

UT/OLE MISS SERIES NOTES

Tennessee leads the all-time series vs. Ole Miss by a 53-9 count and enters this game having won nine of the past 10 meetings.
UT is 25-2 in games played in Knoxville, 22-5 in Oxford and 6-2 at neutral sites.
Tennessee has won 37 of the last 40 meetings with Ole Miss, and the Lady Vols have won 22 straight over the Rebels in Knoxville, with the last UM victory (69-65) on Jan. 31, 1987, in Stokely Athletics Center.
The Lady Vols have lost only twice to the Rebels since 1996, but both of those occasions came in Oxford, including Tennessee's last trip there on Jan. 28, 2024 (80-75) and a meeting on Jan. 12, 2017 (67-62).
This marks the first time these programs have met when both were ranked since the 1996 SEC Tournament.

A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS

Former Ohio State standout Cotie McMahon paces the Rebels in all games (19.4 ppg.) and in SEC play (21.2 ppg.).
Sira Thienou (14.8 ppg.) and Latasha Lattimore (12.5 ppg.) both have stepped up their games in SEC action.
The Rebels are 10-0 at home this season, including a 69-62 triumph over Notre Dame on Dec. 4, 2025.
UM is averaging 15.5 made free throws per contest.

ABOUT THE HEAD COACH

Yolett McPhee-McCuin is in her eighth season as head coach of the Rebels and has compiled a 142-99 record at Ole Miss. She is 236-162 overall in 13 years.
She has guided the Rebels to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including Sweet 16s in 2023 and 2025.
"Coach Yo" led UM to a runner-up finish in the WNIT in 2020-21 despite placing 11th in the SEC.

UM'S LAST GAME

Cotie McMahon's 33-point, 12-rebound double-double propelled No. 18/18 Ole Miss to a dominant 82-61 victory at Missouri on Thursday night.
Sira Thienou and Latasha Lattimore added 17 and 10 points, respectively, as the Rebels broke open a six-point game at the half and won by 21.
UM shot a sizzling 50.8 percent from the field, including 92 percent (11 of 12) marksmanship in the fourth quarter to tally 33 points in the period.

LAST TIME WE MET

After scoring 30 points in Oxford in 2024, Jewel Spear turned in her second straight gem against Ole Miss, firing in 28 on Feb. 16, 2025, as No. 15/16 Tennessee shot 52.5 percent from the field and prevailed, 80-71, in front of 12,402 at Food City Center in Knoxville.
The 5-foot-10 guard was an efficient nine of 11 from the field, knocking down five of seven tries from beyond the arc to match her previous season high in points vs. Oklahoma for the Lady Vols (19-6, 6-6 SEC). Zee Spearman added 14 points and eight rebounds, Samara Spencer contributed 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for a double-double, and Talaysia Cooper chipped in 11 points, six assists and six steals.
Ole Miss (17-8, 8-5 SEC) was paced by 22 points from KK Deans, who had a 6-for-12 day beyond the arc.

LAST TIME WE PLAYED AT OLE MISS

The Lady Vols dropped a heart-breaker on Jan. 28, 2024, in a game that featured nine lead changes and five ties, with the Rebels taking an 80-75 victory in The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss.
Senior Jewel Spear was the game's top scorer, pouring in a season-high 30 points for Tennessee (12-7, 5-2 SEC) on 64.7-percent shooting from the floor. Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson also was in double digits with 15 points and six rebounds on the day.
Ole Miss (15-5, 5-2 SEC) was led by Marquesha Davis with 23 points. Kharyssa Richardson, Madison Scott and Kennedy Todd Williams chipped in 21, 15 and 12.

NEXT UP

Tennessee's three-game week continues on Thursday, as the Lady Vols are slated to play host to Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. ET in Food City Center.
It will mark the second time this season the teams have met, with UT prevailing, 90-80, in Starkville on Jan. 8.
The game will be streamed on SECN+ and carried on Lady Vol Radio Network stations with audio streaming on UTSports.com and SiriusXM Radio (Ch. 384).