After a gritty overtime win on the road at Georgia, the Tennessee Lady Vols ran into a buzzsaw in Columbia, falling hard to South Carolina in a 93-50 loss that left fans and players alike searching for answers. The fallout was immediate in the latest AP Poll, where Tennessee dropped three spots to No. 22 - a continuation of a slide that’s seen them fall seven places over the past two weeks.
That ranking puts the Lady Vols eighth among SEC teams, trailing a powerhouse group that includes No. 3 South Carolina, No.
4 Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No.
6 LSU, No. 10 Oklahoma, No.
14 Ole Miss, and No. 18 Kentucky.
It’s a tough crowd, and Tennessee’s current standing reflects the brutal grind of SEC play - and the unforgiving nature of a schedule stacked with national contenders.
Tennessee’s resume this season has already included matchups with some of the best in the country, and they’ve taken their lumps. Losses to No.
1 UConn, No. 2 UCLA, No.
9 Louisville, and No. 23 Alabama have highlighted just how steep the climb is to get back among the elite.
The loss to South Carolina, though, wasn’t just another tally in the “L” column - it was historic in the worst way.
The 43-point defeat marks the largest margin of loss in program history. For a school with the legacy of Tennessee - a program built on the championship pedigree of Pat Summitt - that's a gut punch. It was also Tennessee’s fourth loss of the season by 20 points or more, a troubling trend that signals deeper issues than just a tough night on the road.
After the game, head coach Kim Caldwell didn’t sugarcoat things.
“We just had a lot of quit in us tonight,” Caldwell said. “That’s been something that’s been consistent with our team - when we’re not comfortable and things don’t go our way, I have a team that’ll just quit on you. And you can’t do that in big games.”
That kind of honesty is rare, but it also underscores the urgency. The SEC doesn’t offer many soft landings, and Caldwell knows it. “You can’t do that anytime in the SEC, but you certainly can’t do that at a program like this,” she added.
Now, Tennessee heads back to Knoxville after a three-game road swing, looking to regroup and reset. Up next is a matchup with Missouri on Thursday, February 12 - a game that carries a little extra emotion.
Missouri is led by Kellie Harper, who returns to Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time as a visiting head coach since her departure from Tennessee. Harper, of course, is more than just a former coach - she’s a multi-time national champion point guard who played under Pat Summitt and helped define an era of Lady Vols basketball.
Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed on SECN+.
For Tennessee, it’s a chance to turn the page and start writing a better chapter - but they’ll need to bring more than just talent. They’ll need fight.