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Tennessee Lady Vols’ only break on full 2022-23 schedule: SEC draw

By Caleb Calhoun

Jan 9, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas A&M Aggies at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 9, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view before the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas A&M Aggies at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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We’ve been writing extensively over the past month about just how brutal the Tennessee Lady Vols’ schedule is looking for 2022-23. When you have a team as loaded with expectations as Kellie Harper’s team is, it makes sense, but their non-conference slate is insane.

From powerhouse programs to mid-majors to circled wins, every part of that slate is rough. However, in the release of the full schedule Wednesday, which you can now see here, Harper’s team does get one break, albeit insignificant.

The Tennessee Lady Vols’ three SEC opponents that they will play at home and on the road this year could be a lot tougher. They always face the Vanderbilt Commodores, a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2015-16.

On top of that, though, Harper’s team draws the Ole Miss Rebels and Florida Gators. Ole Miss lost three starters and four of eight rotational players while adding no scholarship recruits. Sure, they added five transfers, four of whom started most of last year.

Only one player on Ole Miss, though, Purdue Boilermakers transfer Brooke Moore, averaged double figures last year, and she averaged 10.3 points per game. As a result, a drop-off is expected in Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s fifth season on the heels of a 23-9 record and first round exit from the NCAA Tournament.

That leaves Florida, and yes, they are the one brutal non-conference team UT plays twice. The Gators added three starters from three different schools last year who all averaged double figures and a fourth who averaged double figures before getting hurt.

They also return three starters. As a result, Kelly Rae Finley should do at least as well as she did her first year there, when UF went 21-11 and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Still, only getting them is a break for the Tennessee Lady Vols.

UT avoids the South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs twice, and those are the two other top 25-caliber SEC schools along with them. Not only do they avoid them, but they get both at home. When you take that into account, you couldn’t ask for much more on the SEC front.

Rocky Top gets a mediocre and probably bottom tier team as two of the three SEC opponents it will face twice. The other one is upper-echelon but not a powerhouse. Meanwhile, they play the two best teams in the league outside of themselves only once each, both at home.

Next. Projecting Lady Vols' 2022-23 starting lineup. dark

Make no mistake, the Tennessee Lady Vols’ schedule is still insane. Harper isn’t running from talent, and there’s a good chance it’ll be the toughest in the nation. However, SEC play is one area in which they somewhat get a break, and it actually gives them a chance to win the SEC regular season championship if all goes well.