Tennessee’s women will see a familiar in-state opponent Thursday night when Middle Tennessee State comes to Food City Center for a 6:30 p.m. EST tipoff on SEC Network+.
The Lady Vols enter at 3-0, while the Blue Raiders are 1-1. It will be the 26th all-time meeting between the programs, a series that dates back to Jan. 15, 1971.
Tennessee has owned the matchup for most of that stretch, going 24-1 overall and 13-0 in games played in Knoxville. The only blemish came on Dec. 6, 2023, when Middle Tennessee State won 73-62 in a neutral-site game in Huntsville, Alabama.
The teams last met on Nov. 20, 2025, when Tennessee rolled to an 85-41 win in Murfreesboro.
Here’s how the series has unfolded over the years, with Tennessee stacking up win after win across the decades: 55-45 and 47-39 in 1972, 43-42 and 58-43 in 1973, 77-33 in 1974, 69-32 in 1974-75, 73-70 in 1975-76, 87-66 in 1976-77, 87-79 in 1977-78, 87-63 in 1978-79, 63-48 in 1979-80, 66-47 in 1980-81, 70-52 in 1983-84, 88-64 in 2006-07, 84-61 in 2007-08, 81-2 in 2008-09, 69-52 in 2009-10, 82-43 in 2011-12, 88-81 in overtime in 2012-13, 67-57 in 2013-14, 87-62 in 2020-21, 89-75 in 2024-25, and 85-41 in 2025-26.
Tennessee first played Middle Tennessee State on Jan. 15, 1971.
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