Tennessee's 2015-16 Schedule

[Volup1]

11/9/15 vs. Carson-Newman College ^ Knoxville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m. ET
11/15/15 vs. Central Arkansas Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
11/18/15 vs. Penn State Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
11/20/15 vs. Syracuse Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
11/23/15 vs. Chattanooga Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
11/27/15 vs. Albany Knoxville, Tenn. 12:00 p.m. ET
11/29/15 vs. Texas Knoxville, Tenn. 2:30 p.m. ET
12/2/15 vs. East Tennessee State Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
12/6/15 vs. Virginia Tech Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
12/11/15 at Wichita State Wichita, Kan. TBA
12/16/15 at Stanford Palo Alto, Calif. 9:00 p.m. ET
12/19/15 at Oregon State Corvallis, Ore. TBA
12/30/15 vs. Stetson Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
1/4/16 at Missouri Columbia, Mo. 7:00 p.m. ET
1/7/16 vs. Florida Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
1/10/16 vs. Auburn Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
1/14/16 at Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark. 9:00 p.m. ET
1/18/16 at Notre Dame Notre Dame, Ind. 7:00 p.m. ET
1/21/16 vs. Vanderbilt Knoxville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m. ET
1/25/16 at Kentucky Lexington, Ky. TBA
1/28/16 at Mississippi State Starkville, Miss. 9:00 p.m. ET
1/31/16 vs. Alabama Knoxville, Tenn. 3:00 p.m. ET
2/4/16 vs. Arkansas Knoxville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m. ET
2/7/16 at Texas A&M College Station, Texas TBA
2/11/16 at Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 9:00 p.m. ET
2/15/16 vs. South Carolina Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
2/18/16 vs. Ole Miss Knoxville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m. ET
2/21/16 at LSU Baton Rouge, La. TBA
2/25/16 at Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. TBA
2/28/16 vs. Georgia Knoxville, Tenn. TBA
SEC Tournament
3/2/16 First Round Jacksonville, Fla. TBA
3/3/16 Second Round Jacksonville, Fla. TBA
3/4/16 Quarterfinals Jacksonville, Fla. TBA
3/5/16 Semifinals Jacksonville, Fla. TBA
3/6/16 Finals Jacksonville, Fla. TBA

 

[triaddukefan]

Darn shame the SEC didnt schedule TN and SC to meet twice in the regular season.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Darn shame the SEC didnt schedule TN and SC to meet twice in the regular season.

I agree... they could have played up to 3 games in a season (including conference tourney)

 

[UcMiami]

Triad - agree. Don't know how they plan the home and homes but this is two years in a row when the likely #1 and #2 teams play only once.

Also interesting that they start with nine home games followed by a Wichita and two games on the west coast all in mid Dec.

 

[Coler]

Interesting that Rutgers isn't on it. But given that this year's team is pretty young and needs to get some confidence in the OOC to be ready for the B1G, I can't say I'm unhappy with not having a Tennessee game this year.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Interesting that Rutgers isn't on it. But given that this year's team is pretty young and needs to get some confidence in the OOC to be ready for the B1G, I can't say I'm unhappy with not having a Tennessee game this year.

I dont like when teams do that as well... play the hand you're dealt. great experience and it helps you get better.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Not a bad OOC Schedule, but there are 6 Cup Cake Teams on it. Is it my imagination or are the Lady Vols decreasing their OOC Schedule? Still Lady Vols schedules is stronger then most in the country.

 

[DaddyChoc]

how strong can any team's OOC schedule be... you're playing friends, mid-majors (who may be good) and teams in the area.

Is Rutgers, Villanova, Oklahoma, Penn State, Missouri, VTech, NCState, Perdue, Texas, WVa, Bowling Green, good teams to have on your OOC? What makes a "strong" OOC schedule?

 

[stwainfan]

The Texas game will be a good early season game.

 

[RPM101370]

The best part of looking at a Tennessee schedule pre-season is (a) knowing that one of these cream puffs is going to jump up and bite them in their orange asses for an amazing WTF loss, and (b) trying to predict who it will be.

I say go Albany!

 

[SCGamecock]

Darn shame the SEC didnt schedule TN and SC to meet twice in the regular season.

Unfortunately, Kentucky is SC's permanent rival in the SEC, so they're the only team that the gamecocks are guaranteed to play twice a year.

In the SEC, each team has a permanent rival that they play twice and then two rotating opponents that they play twice per season. Tennessee's permanent rival is Vanderbilt.

Last season, our rotating rivals were LSU and Alabama. This season our rotating rivals are A&M and Ole Miss. The only way we'll play Tennessee more than once this season is if we meet them in the tournament.. and it'll be that way for the next couple of seasons since the Vols were our rotating rival during the 2013-2014 season I believe.

 

[Wbbfan1]

IMHO a strong OOC Schedule is one where you're playing majority of your OOC games against competitive teams. Using the RPI as a measurement, don't schedule games against teams that have an RPI 150 points lower then your own. Example team has an RPI of 30, schedule games against teams that have an RPI in the 1 to 180 range. Yes, I understand teams schedule games in their local geographic area that will fall outside of my range and that's okay, but it should only be 1 or 2 games. I also like to see teams schedule Road Games and aren't playing 75% or more of their OOC schedule at home. Should be in the 50-60% range.

If I use the RPI against the Lady Vol schedule, it's actually competitive as Central Arkansas (253), Penn State (224) and Virginia Tech (201) fall way outside of my arbitrary 150 number. I did say Lady Vols schedule would be one of the stronger ones, but have to admit looking up Albany (80) Stetson (72) & East Tenn St (120) I was surprised how competitive they were using RPI as a measurement tool. Albany passes the Eye test, Stetson & East Tenn St don't. Lady Vols didn't, but other SEC teams scheduled games against teams with RPI of 300 or greater.

My Arbitrary 150 point RPI range is more difficult for the elite teams that are usually in the Top 10 in RPI rankings. But they should not be scheduling games against Sub 200 RPI unless its against one of their local teams or possibly a home game for one of their players (i.e. Colgate for UConn). If a coach is rebuilding a program, in their 2nd or 3rd they should be scheduling game(s) against traditional Top 25 teams to draw more local fan interest. IMHO Dawn Staley has done it right, as her team improved so did her OOC Schedule. WBB needs more OOC Games that have the potential to be televised Nationally to grow the game.

how strong can any team's OOC schedule be... you're playing friends, mid-majors (who may be good) and teams in the area.

Is Rutgers, Villanova, Oklahoma, Penn State, Missouri, VTech, NCState, Perdue, Texas, WVa, Bowling Green, good teams to have on your OOC? What makes a "strong" OOC schedule?

 

[Wbbfan1]

I understood that the SEC had a rotating schedule, but would like to see them do what the Big East did when Notre Dame and UConn were members. Those two teams were automatically paired up for a second game as long as they were the two best teams in the conference. SEC could do the same with the Lady Vols and So Carolina. Guarantees another Nationally Televised Game. SEC could get rid of the permanent rival and have one of the additional conference games be based on the Final Prior year standings This year if this approach was used, Lady Vols would have a 2nd game against So Carolina. Miss St against Kentucky etc. This way you would have the best teams in the conference playing each other twice on an annual basis. In WBB, local Rivals aren't going to draw fans, unless one or both of the teams are the elite in the conference.

Unfortunately, Kentucky is SC's permanent rival in the SEC, so they're the only team that the gamecocks are guaranteed to play twice a year.

In the SEC, each team has a permanent rival that they play twice and then two rotating opponents that they play twice per season. Tennessee's permanent rival is Vanderbilt.

Last season, our rotating rivals were LSU and Alabama. This season our rotating rivals are A&M and Ole Miss. The only way we'll play Tennessee more than once this season is if we meet them in the tournament.. and it'll be that way for the next couple of seasons since the Vols were our rotating rival during the 2013-2014 season I believe.

 

[mtsuraider06]

I understood that the SEC had a rotating schedule, but would like to see them do what the Big East did when Notre Dame and UConn were members. Those two teams were automatically paired up for a second game as long as they were the two best teams in the conference. SEC could do the same with the Lady Vols and So Carolina. Guarantees another Nationally Televised Game. SEC could get rid of the permanent rival and have one of the additional conference games be based on the Final Prior year standings This year if this approach was used, Lady Vols would have a 2nd game against So Carolina. Miss St against Kentucky etc. This way you would have the best teams in the conference playing each other twice on an annual basis. In WBB, local Rivals aren't going to draw fans, unless one or both of the teams are the elite in the conference.

This year, we play Vandy, Alabama, and Arkansas twice. Other than South Carolina at home, our tough games are all on the road (Missouri, TAMU, LSU, Kentucky, & Mississippi State).

We do have three Big Monday games (Notre Dame, Kentucky, and South Carolina), and also play Texas, Stanford, Auburn, TAMU, LSU, and Georgia on ESPN networks. The rest will be on the SEC Network. Tennessee will be on TV a lot this season.

I don't like the fact that we have the first eight games at home.

I personally think we should schedule how they do on the Mens side: split the 14 teams into the East & West Divisions, play each team once, but have your multiple opponents (other than traditional rival) be from your own division. If that were the case, Tennessee could alternate between Kentucky, USC, Georgia, Florida, or Missouri for the remaining two double opponents.

 

[mtsuraider06]

In the SEC, we do care about traditional rivals. It doesn't matter if it's WBB, softball, football, or baseball...when your rival comes to town, fans come out.

Ask any Tennessee/Vandy, Alabama/Auburn, Georgia/Florida, Ole Miss/Mississippi State fan, and they will tell you the same thing. Not every team in the SEC has a "traditional" rival, but most do, and we want to beat the living hell out of them every time we play.

 

[mtsuraider06]

Interesting that Rutgers isn't on it. But given that this year's team is pretty young and needs to get some confidence in the OOC to be ready for the B1G, I can't say I'm unhappy with not having a Tennessee game this year.

I think the game in Knoxville was pushed back to next season, as the series was started back up last year when we came to New Jersey. Could be wrong though.

 

[DobbsRover2]

With 14 teams in the SEC and the 16-game conference schedule, it takes 6 years to blow through the 12 conference opponents besides your traditional rival. UTenn and USCar last played two regular season games in 2010-11, so presumably if the cycle starts over with the same pair from six years before, the Vols will play USCar and LSU twice along with Vandy next year.

Still not clear why the BY does not yet have a thread looking for predictions on how many games the Vols will lose this year. Usually it's up by June even without any knowledge of the full schedule, and the best answer to the question for a UConn fan always is: "There can't be enough."

 

[TerpWomenFan]

how strong can any team's OOC schedule be... you're playing friends, mid-majors (who may be good) and teams in the area.

Is Rutgers, Villanova, Oklahoma, Penn State, Missouri, VTech, NCState, Perdue, Texas, WVa, Bowling Green, good teams to have on your OOC? What makes a "strong" OOC schedule?

Ohio State's schedule. UConn, Notre Dame, South Carolina. Plus they play Maryland twice.
Of UConn always have a great OOC schedule but they have to.
I saw Baylor have a really easy OOC schedule this year. They play in the WNIT probably against USF and DePaul but that's it.

 

[stwainfan]

Dobbs I think if there are no major injuries. I don't see this team losing more than three games.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Dobbs I think if there are no major injuries. I don't see this team losing more than three games.

That would seem optimistic to me, but maybe Holly really does have a queen of diamonds up her sleeve. The Vols scheduled three OOC road testers. At home they would likely win maybe all but one of them but on the road it's always a different matter. They should win the home OOC, but I'm thinking that the SEC road games will offer some losses this year. My guess would be 5 before the Tourney, if DD plays as expected.

 

[stwainfan]

That would seem optimistic to me, but maybe Holly really does have a queen of diamonds up her sleeve. The Vols scheduled three OOC road testers. At home they would likely win maybe all but one of them but on the road it's always a different matter. They should win the home OOC, but I'm thinking that the SEC road games will offer some losses this year. My guess would be 5 before the Tourney, if DD plays as expected.

I think the OOC games ND, OSU, Texas, Stanford will be the toughest games. If Russell plays as expected that a big factor for Tennessee. Graves is also one that can produce.

 

[meyers7]

Dobbs I think if there are no major injuries. I don't see this team losing more than three games.

Well I don't think you can beat SC twice, so there's at least 1 loss. You won't beat ND, that's 2. You'll lose your last game of the season, that's 3. And then I would bet on 1 out of the blue loss to someone you shouldn't lose to. So at least 4 losses.

 

[triaddukefan]

Triad - agree. Don't know how they plan the home and homes but this is two years in a row when the likely #1 and #2 teams play only once.

Also interesting that they start with nine home games followed by a Wichita and two games on the west coast all in mid Dec.

In ND's first year in the league..... both Duke and ND were projected top 5 teams... so they played home and home. Last year they didnt. I wouldnt be suprised if FSU and ND played a home and home this year.... as both teams are probably projected to be top 5-6 squads.

 

[Nuyoika]

Well I don't think you can beat SC twice, so there's at least 1 loss. You won't beat ND, that's 2. You'll lose your last game of the season, that's 3. And then I would bet on 1 out of the blue loss to someone you shouldn't lose to. So at least 4 losses.

Chattanooga... that'll be the other loss.

 

[stwainfan]

Well I don't think you can beat SC twice, so there's at least 1 loss. You won't beat ND, that's 2. You'll lose your last game of the season, that's 3. And then I would bet on 1 out of the blue loss to someone you shouldn't lose to. So at least 4 losses.

I do agree that SC and ND will be the best teams on the schedule. ND if Lloyd had stayed may be better this year than without her. I do think Turner will be one of the best players in the country. Neither game will be easy.