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Tennessee Lady Vols going for nation’s toughest schedule with visit to Ohio State

ByCaleb Calhoun|
Nov 21, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper coaches during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2021; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper coaches during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports

When you expect to have a great team, you should schedule accordingly. The Tennessee Lady Vols appear to be doing that as they get set to enter Kellie Harper’s fourth year on the job. Based on non-conference play, they’re gunning for the nation’s toughest schedule.

UT just added a visit to the Ohio State Buckeyes for Tuesday, Nov. 8 to their schedule. It’s a homecoming for Jordan Horston, who graduated high school in Columbus before committing to Rocky Top. This is a huge addition that people aren’t paying enough attention to.

Ohio State is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance from this past year. They are a really good team who should be a tough matchup for the Tennessee Lady Vols. The program announced the game and the date on Twitter Thursday.

When you take into account what we wrote about last week, which is about Rocky Top adding a series of home games that should give it the nation’s best home slate, the road slate to go with it should easily give them the toughest schedule. In fact, it may not be close.

We know they’re facing the two teams who competed for the national championship, the UConn Huskies and South Carolina Gamecocks. Meanwhile, they will hose the Indiana Hoosiers, who made the Sweet 16, the UCF Knights, who made the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the Virginia Tech Hokies, who made the Big Dance.

The Stanford Cardinal are usually a regular matchup. They also made the Final Four, and if they face off again, UT would travel there. That also holds true for the Texas Longhorns, who did make the Elite Eight, and again, the Lady Vols would visit them if they faced off again.

Taking all this into account, it’s clear the Tennessee Lady Vols aren’t running from anybody, and why should they? Sure, they lost Rae Burrell and Alexus Dye. However, they added four high-profile transfers and a five-star on the recruiting trail to give them a full roster for the first time in years. As a result, expectations are high.

To deal with that, Harper is clearly channeling Pat Summitt, when the program would regularly play the toughest schedule in the nation. Adding Ohio State wasn’t necessary, but it certainly adds to that, and when you factor in SEC play, the excitement behind UT is through the roof.