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Breaking Down Tennessee's 2023 SEC Opponents

On Monday, the Tennessee Volunteers received their opponents for conference play for the 2023-24 men’s basketball season. What should we make of it?

On Monday, the SEC announced each school’s conference opponents for the 2023-24 basketball season. Each team in the conferences plays everybody at least once. Still, there is much up in the air year to year. Who do you play once? Who do you play twice? Who do you only play at home? Who do you only play on the road? These questions were all answered on Monday, but let’s take a deeper dive into what it all means.

Last year, the Volunteers played the Crimson Tide just once, and despite the Tennessee victory, Alabama won the SEC regular season title. Alabama lost Brandon Miller, Noah Clowney, and now Jahvon Quinerly, but they are still a top threat in the SEC, and now the Vols will face the Tide twice, once on each floor. This is difficult because it could hurt Tennessee’s record, but it’s another opportunity for growth and a quality win. Tennessee will play rivals Vanderbilt and Kentucky twice, too, but that was expected.

South Carolina HC Lamont Paris

South Carolina HC Lamont Paris

 For a third straight season, Tennessee will also play South Carolina twice. This is favorable, with South Carolina coming off of a 12th-place finish in the SEC and losing star G.G. Jackson. The last school that Tennessee will play twice is Texas A&M. Tennessee has not faced them twice in the regular season since 2013-14, but this year they will. The Aggies came out on top at home last season. Besides the schools already named, Auburn is the biggest perennial threat in the SEC, and Tennessee avoids playing in the jungle. Tennessee’s toughest road test for teams they do not also play at home will likely be a matchup in Fayetteville. It will be exciting to see how it all lines up when dates and times are announced.

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