How to Watch, Listen: No. 18 Tennessee-No. 21 LSU
How to Watch
-ESPN2 and online or on any mobile device through WatchESPN.
-WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN App, or online at espn.com/watch. Tom Hart (play-by-play) and Daymeon Fishback (analysis) will have the call.
How to Listen
-Local Vol Network affiliate to hear Bob Kesling and Ron Slay calling the action.
-The broadcast is also available on channel 134 on Sirius, channel 190 on SiriusXM and channel 961 on the SiriusXM app.
UT-LSU Series
-Tennessee leads the all-time series with LSU, 65-49, dating to 1933.
-The Tigers hold a 27-26 edge when the series is contested in Baton Rouge. The Vols had won five straight at the PMAC before falling in each of their last three visits.
-Fifth-year LSU head coach Will Wade is a Nashville native and graduate of Franklin Road Academy.
-Saturday marks Tennessee's fifth game this season against an AP top-25 opponent. The Vols are 2-2 vs. top-25 opposition thus far.
-This is the first time since January of 2012 that Tennessee has faced three top-25 opponents in a four-game span. In 2011-12, the Vols defeated No. 13 Florida before falling to No. 20 Mississippi State and No. 2 Kentucky—all consecutively.
-LSU and Tennessee boast the nation's No. 1- and No. 2-rated KenPom defensive efficiencies.
LSU Info
-Prior to splitting its first two SEC games, LSU entered conference play with a perfect 12-0 record, featuring wins over power conference opponents Penn State, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
-After having not faced a ranked opponent during its first 12 games of the season, Saturday's matchup with No. 18 Tennessee marks LSU's third straight game against a ranked foe. The Tigers fell in their SEC opener at No. 11 Auburn, 70-55, before defeating No. 16 Kentucky on Tuesday, 65-60.
-Saturday's game is a matchup of the nation's two top-rated defenses in adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom. LSU's defense ranks No. 1, allowing just 82.7 points per 100 possessions, while Tennessee is No. 2 with a 85.7 mark.
-LSU surrenders just 0.675 points per possession—a mark that leads the nation. The Tigers' defense also ranks near the best in the nation in several other categories: field-goal percentage defense (1st; .347), steals per game (2nd; 12.4) and scoring defense (4th; 55.6 ppg).
-The Tigers' leading scorer, sophomore forward Tari Eason, is a first-year transfer from Cincinnati and was named to the 2021 All-AAC Freshman Team. Averaging 15.6 points per game, Eason currently ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring.
-In Tennessee's home win over Cincinnati last season, Eason started and totaled seven point and seven rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
-LSU's starting point guard and third-leading scorer is Missouri transfer Xavier Pinson. Pinson played three seasons at Mizzou. In 2020-21, he averaged a career-best 13.6 points per game. This season for LSU, Pinson has started all 14 games at point guard, averaging 11.0 points, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
-Senior forward Darius Days, a Preseason First Team All-SEC selection, is LSU's second-leading scorer (14.3 ppg) and leading rebounder (7.9 rpg).
Last Time Out w/ LSU
-A tough day from the field and 20-point outputs from Cameron Thomas and Javonte Smart were too much for the No. 16 Tennessee basketball team to overcome on Feb. 13, 2021, as it fell to LSU, 78-65, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
-The Vols shot just 35 percent from the field, while the Tigers shot the ball at a highly efficient clip of 52 percent.
-Freshman Jaden Springer led the Vols in scoring, finishing with 21 points and eclipsing the 20-point mark for the third consecutive game. Springer also logged six rebounds and a season-high seven assists with just one turnover.
-Classmate Keon Johnson finished with 12 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
• Santiago Vescovi was the third Vol to score in double-figures, with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
-Josiah-Jordan James was all over the stat sheet, recording nine points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
-LSU controlled the majority of the opening half, using a 16-4 run through the middle portions of the period to build a lead as a large as 12.
-Over the final five minutes, the Vols used a 10-3 run of their own to cut their deficit to five, as the Tigers took a slim, 31-26 lead into the break.
-LSU continued to hold the edge as the contest reached its latter stages, taking a 59-49 lead into the final 7:44 of the afternoon.
-The Tigers held off the Vols during the final stretches of the contest to cement the final score.
Memorable Vol Performances Against the Tigers
-Knoxville native Doug Roth blocked a school-record six shots vs. LSU on Jan. 11, 1989, lifting UT to a 100-96 win over the Tigers in Knoxville.
-Anthony Richardson went 14-for-14 from the free-throw line, the best charity-stripe performance in school history, at LSU on Jan. 12, 1985. But the Vols fell that day by a score of 75-65.
-Ron Widby set a UT single-game scoring record, (which stood for 20 years) against LSU on March 4, 1967, scoring 50 points on 19-of-39 shooting (both also single-game records) and 12-of-14 from the charity strip. UT won 87-60 in Knoxville.
-After arriving in the United States and joining the team just seven days prior to the game, guard Santiago Vescovi started and scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists as the Vols fell to LSU in Knoxville on Jan. 4, 2020.
All stats and information courtesy Tennessee Athletics Communications
Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics
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