Indiana vs. Tennessee on Thanksgiving night headlines 2023 Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off

After eating turkey, Southwest Florida college basketball fans will be able to watch some of the top programs in the country for dessert.

The Fort Myers Tip-Off announced its 2023 women's field for the November tournament with Indiana, the No. 1 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament, taking on basketball blue-blood Tennessee as the headliners. The Hoosiers and Lady Volunteers will be the second game of the opening night, Thursday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m., and will be broadcast nationally by FOX.

The three-day event at Suncoast Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College is split into two divisions, the Island and the Shell. The Island Division includes Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Princeton, and has four pre-set matchups. The Shells Division is a bracket format and includes Boston College, Marquette, Wisconsin, and Arkansas.

Combined, the eight programs boast 123 NCAA Tournament appearances and 79 conference regular season and tournament championships. Indiana, Marquette, Oklahoma, Princeton, and Tennessee were all NCAA Tournament participants last season.

Here's a closer look at the teams in the field:

Island Division

Tennessee

Tennessee’s eight national championships and 18 Final Four appearances rank second in NCAA history. The Lady Vols boast 41 NCAA tournament appearances and have reached back-to-back Sweet 16s. Tennessee will have four returning starters, led by All-American Rickea Jackson.

Indiana

The Hoosiers are coming off a program-record 28-win season and a Big Ten Championship. Indiana is led by Mackenzie Holmes, a conference first-teamer and defensive player of the year. In her nine seasons with the program, head coach Teri Moren has won 200 games and led the team to five NCAA Tournament appearances.

Oklahoma

The Defending Big 12 Champions are entering their third season under head coach Jennie Baranczyk, who has led Oklahoma to two 25-win seasons. The Sooners Oklahoma return a pair of starters from last year’s squad – Liz Scott and Nevaeh Tot – along with third-leading scorer Skylar Vann, a two-time winner of the Big 12’s Sixth Player of the Year award.

Princeton

The Tigers have appeared in 10 of the last 13 NCAA Tournaments, including each of the last three. Princeton brings back their leading scorer Kaitlyn Chen to lead a group looking for the Tigers' sixth-straight Ivy League Championship.

Shell Division

Arkansas

The Razorbacks return a trio of starters from last season, including Samara Spencer, who was Arkansas’ second-leading scorer at more than 14 points per game last year, Makayla Daniels and Saylor Poffenbarger, as well as 2021-22 starter Sasha Goforth.

Boston College

Sixth-year head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee has turned the tide for the Boston College program, having won ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2020 and leading the team to a pair of 20-win seasons in her first five years. Three returning starters who all led the team in points, rebounds, and steals return for Eagles.

Marquette

The Golden Eagles have appeared in the NCAA tournament all five years of head coach Megan Duffy’s tenure, and bring back Big East first-teamer Jordan King along with two other starters.

Wisconsin

Entering her third year with the Badgers, head coach Marisa Moseley is coming off a season in which she led the Badgers to their most conference victories in a season since 2011. Conference first-teamer Serah Williams, who started 30 games last season, averaged 12.7 points per game and, led the Big Ten in blocks returns.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Indiana vs. Tennessee headlines 2023 Women's Fort Myers Tip-Off at Suncoast Arena