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Tennessee Lady Vols: 5 keys for SEC play in 2017-2018

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 23: Tennessee fans cheer prior to the start of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 23, 2004 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 23: Tennessee fans cheer prior to the start of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 23, 2004 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

The Tennessee Lady Vols enter SEC play undefeated. Here are five keys for the women’s basketball Volunteers to dominate the conference.

The Tennessee Lady Vols are bringing back shades of the Pat Summitt days for the first time in a long time. Holly Warlick’s team will begin Southeastern Conference Play 12-0. It’s the first time they are undefeated heading into conference play since before Summitt’s final two national championships.

A mix of returning stars, key role playing veterans, and the No. 1 recruiting class in the country is behind this resurgence. Warlick and the Tennessee Lady Vols have run over most people on their schedule so far.

And fans on Rocky Top are all on board with thinking this team can be back on the level that the South Carolina Gamecocks and Mississippi State Bulldogs have been at. What reason do they have to not think that?

However, despite all the hype, there are questions. The Lady Vols are No. 7 in both polls in the country, but their RPI is No. 15. That’s because of their No. 94 ranked strength of schedule.

For a program that developed a reputation as the top scheduling team in the country, that’s not good. But the issue was the fact that teams like the Stanford Cardinal, whom the Tennessee Lady Vols did schedule, are not as good as people thought they would be.

As a result, Tennessee’s only real quality win is against the Texas Longhorns. But that’s a major win considering it’s Texas’s only loss and they are a Top 10 team. That will change, though. After all, Tennessee still has to play the No. 2 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on the road.

The real test for the Lady Vols, however, comes in SEC play. Tennessee gets South Carolina twice this year along with the Texas A&M Aggies, who are playing really good basketball. They have a single game against Mississippi State, which is still brutal, and the Missouri Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats are no pushovers.

So with a road game against the Kentucky Wildcats on the slate for the conference opener on New Year’s Eve, let’s see what this team needs to do to own the SEC once more. These are the five keys for the Tennessee Lady Vols to destroy SEC competition.