Looking to reset, Lady Vols open tournament play Friday night

Friday night, the Lady Vols open NCAA Tournament play against South Florida in Columbus, Ohio. 

They say the NCAA Tournament is a new season and the Lady Vols are certainly trying to turn the page on how they finished the regular season and the SEC Tournament. 

“I think we hit a wall and I still can’t quite put my finger on what caused it,” head coach Kim Caldwell said. “He were playing pretty well. We were number 11 in the country. I thought we had really turned the corner and we just ran into a brick wall. I don’t know if we were just gassed, fatigued and we got a little out of shape. Did we start to take things for granted. I think as a coach you learn you are still coaching young people and you have to mix it up from time to time. You have to keep it fun. You can’t just assume because you have some success that everyone is going to stay locked in and be hungry. You have to continue to make things exciting and fun down the stretch because sometimes winning isn’t enough for some players.”

Friday night’s tip will mark the 43rd consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols are the only program to never miss the NCAA Tournament field. It’s an achievement Caldwell recognizes and understands, but her focus is only improving at the end of the year. 

“I’m happy we are in the tournament. I remember when I first got here there was some question, I think we were projected as a first four team out. So when you put tin perspective it is good that we can keep the streak alive. The last two weeks of the I don’t know if as a coach it will ever be something I can get over. But you have to reframe it and say we are a five seed in year one. We are top-20 in year one and move on trying to get better from the mistakes we made in the back half of the season,” Caldwell explained.

It will be 15 days since Caldwell’s team has played when they tip off against South Florida. Tennessee needed the break. The Lady Vols were clearly fatigued so the break was welcomed. Caldwell, who admits she loves to practiced, was happy to have the extra time, but how to manage that long of a lay off this time of year is always a debate.

“You will find out quickly if we did it right,” Caldwell said. “We tried to take a couple days off to rest and to lighter days to continue to rest, then we ramped it up. It was like boot camp for a couple of days and now we are kind of back into the normal swing of things. We will tamper down till tip off.” 

Friday night’s match up is very much a conflict in styles. Tennessee wants more possessions, more shots and opportunities for more turnovers. South Florida wants to be more methodical and they are very much about half court offense. 

“They are an excellent offensive team,” Caldwell said. “They run a lot of sets and different actions. We are going to have to sit down and guard them in the half court if we are going to have a chance.

“I think Vanderbilt is a really good comparison. I think Richmond is a good comparison. They all play together. They are a very balanced team. They run their sets to death.”

Tournament play is different regardless of what level you play at. Caldwell has had tournament success winning a national title at Glenville State and she has also had struggles as evident by last years loss by Marshall against Virginia Tech. 

So what’s key to making a run in March. Caldwell said about doing the right things over and over. 

“I think you have to be consistent,” Caldwell offered. “I think that is something we have struggled with all year. We will look like one team one quarter and a different team the next. You just have to be consistent. You have to be resilient and relentless. Those are still things we are working on, so hopefully we look more consistent after this break.”

Tip off Friday night is set for 8pm ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.