The 27th all-time meeting between the UConn and Tennessee women’s basketball teams will take place on Thursday night in Knoxville’s Food City Center.
While the Huskies lead the rivalry 17-9 with four straight wins, the Lady Vols are under new management in 2025. Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell sparked the program with new energy during the offseason and is looking for a big non-conference win on Thursday in the middle of a challenging conference slate.
UConn won the first three meetings between the programs in 1995 and 1996 but Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols rattled off five wins in their next seven meetings from 1996 to 2000. The Huskies led the rivalry 7-6 through the 2001 season before racking up six straight victories from 2002 to 2004. Tennessee then won three straight from 2005 to 2007 before the rivalry went dormant for more than a decade.
The two programs picked things back up in 2020 with UConn winning four straight meetings leading into Thursday’s game.
As Tennessee looks to start a new chapter in the rivalry under the Kim Caldwell regime, UConn is looking to keep its foot on the gas and make it five straight wins against their longtime program foe.
More from RTI: Tennessee Basketball’s Igor Milicic Makes Unique History In Win Over Missouri
Ahead of the game on Thursday, SEC Network’s Ryan McGee gave a special look at the history between both programs on the court.
Check it out below:
No. 18 Tennessee (16-5, 9-3 home) will host No. 5 UConn (21-2, 6-1 away) at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday night in the Food City Center. The game will take place on ESPN.
