With January coming to an end, spring sports are in full swing. While some have yet to start, others are in the heat of their season, moving through the thick of their hardest competition.
Women’s basketball
Lady Vols basketball takes on the No. 1, undefeated UConn Huskies. In the 28th matchup of these two historic programs, Tennessee is looking to build its single-game winning streak, as it won 80-76 last season at home.
Tennessee’s record is currently 14-4, as it just recently ended a seven-game winning streak in a game against Mississippi State on Thursday night. This loss also marked their first conference defeat of the season, dropping them from first to third in SEC standings.
With the game hosted in Hartford, No. 15 Tennessee will have to break its two-game loss streak on the road to the Huskies but enter the game 6-1 as visitors this season.
This could prove to be a specifically challenging match for the Lady Vols unless they start out strong. Looking at their performance against Mississippi State, getting a jump on scoring and staying consistent could be significant in their results for the weekend.
Men’s basketball
The Vols move on from their big overtime win against Georgia on Wednesday to face the Auburn Tigers on Saturday.
Tennessee currently holds a one-game win streak against Auburn, winning its last meeting 70-65 in the SEC Tournament semi-finals. Both teams enter the game unranked, leaving them to fight for conference rankings above all. Currently in the SEC standings, Auburn sits at fifth with a 5-3 record, while Tennessee sits in eighth with a 4-3.
Moving into the weekend, head coach Rick Barnes is looking to build on his recent 850th career win coming off the Georgia game. Much of the success in that game came from the high number of rebounds and consistent scoring, which proved especially helpful in the visiting environment.
Track and field
Tennessee track has two separate meets on Friday and Saturday this weekend: The Bob Pollack Invitational at Clemson, which will take a majority of the team’s roster, and the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University, which will consist of a group of the team’s distance runners. As it stands, the men’s division ranks first in the nation, while the Lady Vols rank eighth.
The following weekend will split the team up once again, taking some to the Windy City Invite in Chicago, and others to Blacksburg, Virginia, for the Doc Hale Invite.
Swim and dive
Allen Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center will host a meet with Duke this Friday, which will also be senior day for Tennessee. In the rankings, the Lady Vols currently sit at fourth in the nation and the Vols at sixth, moving up from their previous spot at eighth.
Following this, the team will once again participate in the SEC Championship, which will also be hosted at home starting Feb. 16.
