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Tennessee Lady Vols exposed as average SEC team in loss to Gamecocks

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Tennessee Volunteers fans get ready before a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 17: Tennessee Volunteers fans get ready before a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 17, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The Tennessee Lady Vols lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks Friday in the women’s basketball SEC Tournament. Here’s what that exposed about the Volunteers.

Turns out, this year was no different than the previous two. The Tennessee Lady Vols just had a lot more good fortune to look like a better squad.

Going into the SEC Tournament, Holly Warlick’s squad getting a No. 7 seed was not reflective of how good the team was in the eyes of many. After all, they started the year 15-0 with their collection of freshmen from last year’s No. 1 recruiting class and two elite seniors Jaime Nared and Mercedes Russell.

At the same time, Tennessee was the second highest SEC team in the RPI, only behind the Mississippi State Bulldogs, with their 23-6 overall regular season record and 11-5 SEC record. That 11-5 record was tied with the fourth seed in the conference.

So Tennessee showed that they could really play with anybody in the league outside of MSU, which is on UConn’s level this year. And, despite criticism of Warlick, analysts bought in. They shouldn’t have.

The Tennessee Lady Vols would have gone 9-7 in the SEC regular season were it not for one big break: They got to face the Gamecocks without A’ja Wilson both times. That showed on Friday.

South Carolina, on a neutral court, beat Tennessee by double-figures with Wilson coming off the bench. It was her first game against the Lady Vols all year, and she had 24 points. Given that she wasn’t even at 100 percent, it’s safe to say Dawn Staley’s team would have dominated Tennessee both times in the regular season if she were then.

South Carolina never trailed and at one point went on a 16-0 run. They simply dominated. And it came in front of a Lady Vols friendly crowd at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

So now, looking back, it’s time to reset what we thought about this year’s Tennessee Lady Vols team. All things being equal, they should have finished the regular season 21-8 with two quality wins: the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs, both at home. And they would firmly be the No. 7 SEC team.

The squad that lost at home to the Alabama Crimson Tide seems like a more accurate interpretation of the Tennessee Lady Vols than the one that finished in the Top 10 of the RPI. As we clearly showed, that’s an inflated ranking with two undeserved quality wins.

Tennessee will still make the NCAA Tournament. And yes, they are a dangerous team who will get a high seed. But this is not a program right now looking any better than the one that fell out of the Top 25 the previous two years. And it’s certainly not a national title contender.