Ranking Tennessee Basketball's SEC schedule from hardest to easiest
Tennessee on Tuesday night put the finishing touches on a perfect record in non-conference play for just the fifth time in program history and the first since the Vols went 6-0 in the COVID-altered 2020-21 season.
The 1997-98 team was 11-0 in conference play and the 1980-81 team and 1956-57 team both went 8-0.
The tests get much tougher for No. 1 Tennessee (13-0) with the start of SEC play against No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) on Saturday (1 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) at Food City Center. After that it’s road trips to No. 6 Florida and Texas next week.
There won’t be any nights off in the SEC, with 13 of the league’s 16 teams currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN, 10 ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 and 15 of the 16 ranked No. 52 or higher in the NET.
Here’s a look at how Tennessee’s SEC schedule is ranked, from the most difficult game (at Auburn) to the easiest (home vs. South Carolina), based on KenPom.com’s win percentages:
Ranking Tennessee’s SEC Schedule
| Team | Date | Location | AP Rank | NET | KenPom Rank | KenPom Win% |
| Auburn | Jan. 25 | Away | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25% |
| Florida | Jan. 7 | Away | 6 | 4 | 6 | 47% |
| Texas A&M | Feb. 22 | Away | 13 | 20 | 22 | 57% |
| Kentucky | Feb. 11 | Away | 10 | 18 | 22 | 59% |
| Texas | Jan. 11 | Away | 34 | 35 | 34 | 65% |
| Oklahoma | Feb. 8 | Away | 12 | 43 | 40 | 67% |
| Ole Miss | March 5 | Away | 24 | 39 | 32 | 68% |
| Florida | Feb. 1 | Home | 6 | 4 | 6 | 71% |
| Vanderbilt | Jan. 18 | Away | NR | 34 | 50 | 75% |
| LSU | Feb. 25 | Away | NR | 52 | 56 | 76% |
| Alabama | March 1 | Home | 5 | 9 | 9 | 77% |
| Kentucky | Jan. 28 | Home | 10 | 18 | 22 | 82% |
| Mississippi State | Jan. 21 | Home | 17 | 19 | 23 | 82% |
| Arkansas | Jan. 4 | Home | 23 | 41 | 39 | 87% |
| Georgia | Jan. 15 | Home | NR | 27 | 47 | 89% |
| Missouri | Feb. 5 | Home | NR | 49 | 55 | 91% |
| Vanderbilt | Feb. 15 | Home | NR | 34 | 50 | 91% |
| South Carolina | March 8 | Home | NR | 86 | 65 | 92% |
Auburn is by far the toughest test, with the Tigers ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 and No. 1 in both KenPom and the NET, but the trip to No. 6 Florida (13-0) on Tuesday will be provide a very tough start on the road.
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The toughest home game for Tennessee, according to KenPom, will be Florida on February 1, while the most winnable road games will be at Vanderbilt on January 18 and at LSU on February 25.
Tennessee is the SEC’s defending regular-season champion after going 14-4 in the league last season, finishing one game ahead of Auburn, South Carolina, Kentucky and Alabama, which all finished 13-5.
KenPom currently projects Tennessee to go 13-5 in the league again this season — the Vols have a 65% or better chance to win 14 of the 18 SEC games — but finish second behind Auburn, which is projected to go 15-3.
