March Madness: What did Tennessee say about Texas on Friday?

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

- On Saturday afternoon, the Texas women's basketball team and Tennessee will meet at Legacy Arena during the third round of the NCAA Tournament.This Sweet 16 scuffle will take place two months after Texas recorded an 80-76 win over the Lady Vols in Austin.

Following the birth of her son, Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell did not accompany her team on that trip.Here is everything that Tennessee said about Texas on Friday during pregame news conferences for senior guards Tess Darby and Jewel Spear and Caldwell:On preventing turnovers against a team like TexasSpear: "I would say just, like you said, taking care of the ball and knowing that possessions are going to be very important in this game.

Sharing the ball and just making the easy pass, that just goes into taking care of your turnovers."On playing a team with a paint presenceSpear: "Oh, yeah, they have really good post players on the offensive side, so we just have to make sure that we rebound.

I remember the first time that we played Texas we didn't do a good job of rebounding as a team and boxing them out.

They have a lot of size, so that's something we are focusing on."On how involved Caldwell was in the game prep for the regular-season matchupCaldwell: "Yeah, I was not very involved in the prep on that one.

A little bit busy.

But, you know, it was interesting to sit at home and watch it and to yell at your team through the TV like a fan as opposed to a coach.

We did go back and watch the film and just treated it like a normal game prep since."On the strength of the SEC, which boasted six Sweet 16 teamsCaldwell: "The SEC is a powerhouse of a conference, and every night you have to show up and play.

When you talk about what it takes to win in March, you have to rebound, be physical, strong on the glass.

I think all of those things will be important for us, and the SEC has definitely prepared us for that."On the challenge of defending Texas in the paintCaldwell: "Everyone is going to have to step up.

Our bigs are going to have to be big, but our guards are going to have to get in there, and it's going to have to be a focused effort.

We're not going to get every rebound.

They average 17 offensive rebounds a game.

They had 25 second-chance points the last time we played them."On defending a team that doesn't shoot a lot of 3-pointersCaldwell: "It's very different for us because we guard each other every day in practice, and we obviously shoot a lot of threes, so we're spaced out a little bit more.

You come into games like this, where you protect the rim more than the 3-point line.

It's a little bit of an adjustment for us on the defensive end.

You have to make sure you know your personnel and know who you are closing out to."Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more.

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Access all of our best content with this tremendous offer.This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas vs Tennessee: What was said at NCAA Tournament.

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