Everywhere you looked inside Food City Center, you saw the same sign.

From the base of the basket to the sidelines, Lady Vols basketball coach Kim Caldwell had posters set up that said the same thing.

"REBOUND REBOUND REBOUND ELEVATE TO THE ELITE 8"

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The message couldn't be more clear. Caldwell wants Tennessee to out-rebound Texas in its upcoming Sweet 16 bout on Saturday.

"I think it's really important in March that you have to rebound," Caldwell said. "You have to rebound and you have to hit foul shots. That's just something we've been talking about. It was a major key in our last game against Texas."

This has been something Caldwell has emphasized throughout the year. She always wants her teams to have an advantage on the glass.

With the season on the line in the NCAA Tournament, she just hopes the team takes her message more seriously now.

In an attempt to grab the Lady Vols' attention, that's where the signs came into play. She knows how long a season can be and any sort of change may get noticed.

"We're just trying to make things a little different for postseason," Caldwell said. "I think it's a new season and sometimes it can get monotonous, it can get kind of routine. You're still in the same building, you're still wearing the same practice gear, so just trying to make it a little bit different for them just because it's such a long year."

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The last time Tennessee met the Longhorns, it fell 80-76 on the road. The Lady Vols lost the rebounding battle 39-24, as well.

While she thinks her team improved its rebounding effort in the wins over South Florida and Ohio State in the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, she knows keeping an emphasis on it will go a long way in an attempt to reverse the rebounding numbers against Texas.

After all, the last time her team played the Longhorns, it made her question if they were even capable of rebounding at the proper level to make this type of run. As she watched from home due to the birth of her child not allowing her to make the trip, Caldwell admitted she had those second thoughts on her team.

"The work's never done," Caldwell said. "I do think we rebounded well last week. It's a new week. It's a bigger opponent, it's a more physical opponent and we just have to continue to do that. Focus, effort. And there have been some games this year where I have questioned, are we capable? Are we capable of rebounding with this team? And watching the Texas game was one of them. So just making sure that we have a focused effort with a sense of urgency on the boards."

Now, with a little less than a week to prepare for the Sweet 16 with the effort of extending what's already been a season that's topped many expectations, Caldwell is hoping any sort of messaging, figurative or literal, will help get her team over a top-seed Texas squad.

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