Memphis was a decent game but they wouldn’t stand much of a chance with CKC in year 2 so I figure it was a great idea to look at some different teams w/ a different style of play.
Also the small group of fans constantly talking about these away games are simply missing the point. It’s not a single game on the schedule that is not winnable.
Many of the ranked road games the Lady Vols will be favored to win including NC State, Louisville, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, among others.
I’m not sure where Standford, Middle Tennessee State, and a few others will be early in the season when they play Tennessee but the Lady Vols will be heavily favored in those games.
Lastly, just because a game is on your homecourt doesn’t mean you will win.
UConn, UCLA, South Carolina, and LSU will get beat by this 2025-2026 LV team if they assume like some of the fanatics that playing on the road is an automatic disadvantage.
The 2024-2025 LV team literally won the road in the NCAA tourney against an highly ranked opponent on their homecourt a handful of months ago on their way to the Sweet 16. I don’t see any non conference opponent that will present more of a challenge to play in their arena than Ohio State.
I think Coach Caldwell knows exactly what she’s doing and is using that as an advantage inside of the locker room.
I wish we were playing Memphis again.
"Including our conference opponents, our schedule includes the top six teams and 10 of the top 20-ranked programs in the early preseason polls," Caldwell said. "We have our work cut out for us, but I believe our challenging non-conference opponents will better prepare us for what we're going to see in the Southeastern Conference.
"We're a little out of balance in terms of home and away ranked opponents, and that's something that takes some time to even out."