# 2021–22 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

The 2021–22 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2021–22 college basketball season. Led by former Lady Vol Kellie Harper, in her third year as head coach, the team played their games at Thompson–Boling Arena and were members of the Southeastern Conference.

## Previous season

The 2020–21 team finished the season 17–8, 9–4 in third place in SEC play. They lost in the semifinals of the SEC tournament to South Carolina. They also received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the second round to Michigan.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/3/2021* 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 15 | Georgia College Exhibition | W 108–44 | – | 18 – Burrell | 5 – Tied | 5 – Miles | Thompson–Boling Arena (6,027) Knoxville, TN |
| Regular season |||||||||
| 11/10/2021* 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 15 | Southern Illinois | W 59–49 | 1–0 | 14 – Walker | 13 – Dye | 3 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (5,951) Knoxville, TN |
| 11/12/2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | No. 15 | at UCF | W 49–41 | 2–0 | 14 – Horston | 11 – Horston | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (2,819) Orlando, FL |
| 11/15/2021* 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 16 | No. 23 South Florida | W 52–49 | 3–0 | 24 – Horston | 10 – Key | 4 – Horston | Thompson–Boling Arena (6,017) Knoxville, TN |
| 11/21/2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 16 | No. 12 Texas | W 74–70 $^{OT}$ | 4–0 | 28 – Horston | 18 – Key | 5 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (9,460) Knoxville, TN |
| 11/26/2021* 6:30 pm | No. 11 | vs. Kansas South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | W 68–58 | 5–0 | 14 – Horston | 11 – Horston | 3 – Tied | South Point Arena Enterprise, NV |
| 11/27/2021* 6:30 pm | No. 11 | vs. Oklahoma State South Point Thanksgiving Shootout | W 80–55 | 6–0 | 17 – Horston | 11 – Key | 9 – Horston | South Point Arena Enterprise, NV |
| 12/1/2021* 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 11 | Tennessee Tech | W 76–48 | 7–0 | 20 – Dye | 11 – Key | 6 – Horston | Thompson–Boling Arena (6,374) Knoxville, TN |
| 12/5/2021* 2:00 pm, ACCN | No. 11 | at Virginia Tech | W 64–58 | 8–0 | 17 – Walker | 12 – Key | 6 – Miles | Cassell Coliseum (2,631) Blacksburg, VA |
| 12/12/2021* 2:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 9 | Georgia State | W 84–60 | 9–0 | 16 – Key | 11 – Key | 3 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (6,312) Knoxville, TN |
| 12/18/2021* 5:15 pm, ESPN2 | No. 7т | No. 3 Stanford Rivalry | L 63–74 | 9–1 | 19 – Horston | 12 – Horston | 5 – Horston | Thompson–Boling Arena (10,017) Knoxville, TN |
| 12/20/2021* 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 7 | ETSU | W 112–58 | 10–1 | 19 – Puckett | 11 – Dye | 5 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (6,807) Knoxville, TN |
| 12/27/2021* 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 7 | Chattanooga | W 91–41 | 11–1 | 18 – Key | 9 – Striplin | 8 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (7,252) Knoxville, TN |
| 12/30/2021 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 7 | Alabama | W 62–44 | 12–1 (1–0) | 16 – Walker | 11 – Key | 6 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (8,124) Knoxville, TN |
| 1/2/2022 1:00 pm, SECN | No. 7 | at Arkansas | W 70–63 | 13–1 (2–0) | 17 – Key | 10 – Dye | 5 – Horston | Bud Walton Arena (3,655) Fayetteville, AR |
| 1/6/2022 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 7 | No. 25 Texas A&M | W 73–45 | 14–1 (3–0) | 18 – Horston | 13 – Horston | 5 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (6,235) Knoxville, TN |
| 1/9/2022 1:00 pm, SECN | No. 7 | at Ole Miss | W 70–58 | 15–1 (4–0) | 20 – Horston | 11 – Horston | 4 – Walker | SJB Pavilion (2,713) Oxford, MS |
| 1/13/2022 9:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | at Vanderbilt Rivalry | W 65–51 | 16–1 (5–0) | 16 – Horston | 13 – Horston | 5 – Horston | Memorial Gymnasium (2,489) Nashville, TN |
| 1/16/2022 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | No. 19 Kentucky Rivalry | W 84–58 | 17–1 (6–0) | 14 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 5 – Horston | Thompson–Boling Arena (10,012) Knoxville, TN |
| 1/23/2022 2:00 pm, SECN | No. 5 | at No. 13 Georgia | W 63–55 | 18–1 (7–0) | 19 – Horston | 11 – Horston | 4 – Horston | Stegeman Coliseum (5,117) Athens, GA |
| 1/27/2022 8:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 4 | at Auburn | L 61–71 | 18–2 (7–1) | 21 – Horston | 9 – Dye | 4 – Burrell | Auburn Arena (2,314) Auburn, AL |
| 1/31/2022 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 7 | Arkansas | W 86–83 $^{OT}$ | 19–2 (8–1) | 24 – Horston | 11 – Horston | 6 – Tied | Thompson–Boling Arena (7,071) Knoxville, TN |
| 2/3/2022 6:00 pm, SECN | No. 7 | at Florida | L 59–84 | 19–3 (8–2) | 10 – Dye | 8 – Key | 3 – Miles | O'Connell Center (3,809) Gainesville, FL |
| 2/6/2022* Noon, FOX | No. 7 | at No. 10 UConn Rivalry | L 56–75 | 19–4 | 26 – Horston | 8 – Horston | 3 – Horston | XL Center (13,719) Hartford, CT |
| 2/10/2022 6:30 pm, SECN | No. 13 | Missouri | W 76–62 | 20–4 (9–2) | 21 – Horston | 13 – Horston | 5 – Horston | Thompson–Boling Arena (6,468) Knoxville, TN |
| 2/13/2022 Noon, SECN | No. 13 | Vanderbilt Rivalry | W 66–52 | 21–4 (10–2) | 16 – Horston | 13 – Horston | 7 – Horston | Thompson–Boling Arena (8,933) Knoxville, TN |
| 2/17/2022 7:00 pm, SECN+ | No. 12 | at Alabama | L 64–74 | 21–5 (10–3) | 20 – Key | 13 – Key | 5 – Horston | Coleman Coliseum (2,001) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 2/20/2022 1:00 pm, ABC | No. 12 | at No. 1 South Carolina College GameDay | L 53–67 | 21–6 (10–4) | 14 – Burrell | 11 – Dye | 2 – Dye | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| 2/24/2022 6:30 pm, SECN+ | No. 16 | Mississippi State | W 86–64 | 22–6 (11–4) | 23 – Key | 15 – Key | 7 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (7,009) Knoxville, TN |
| 2/27/2022 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | No. 8 LSU | L 54–57 | 22–7 (11–5) | 12 – Key | 9 – Key | 3 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (11,613) Knoxville, TN |
| SEC tournament |||||||||
| 3/4/2022 9:30 pm, SECN | (3) No. 18 | vs. (11) Alabama Quarterfinals | W 74–59 | 23–7 | 21 – Burrell | 14 – Dye | 7 – Burrell | Bridgestone Arena (7,704) Nashville, TN |
| 3/5/2022 7:30 pm, ESPNU | (3) No. 18 | vs. (7) Kentucky Semifinals / Rivalry | L 74–83 | 23–8 | 26 – Dye | 10 – Dye | 10 – Walker | Bridgestone Arena (9,072) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| 3/19/2022 3:00 pm, ABC | (4 W) No. 18 | (13 W) Buffalo First round | W 80–67 | 24–8 | 19 – Burrell | 11 – Tied | 4 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| 3/21/2022 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4 W) No. 18 | (12 W) Belmont Second round | W 70–67 | 25–8 | 20 – Dye | 11 – Dye | 8 – Walker | Thompson–Boling Arena (5,484) Knoxville, TN |
| 3/26/2022 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4 W) No. 18 | vs. (1 W) No. 4 Louisville Sweet Sixteen | L 64–76 | 25–9 | 22 – Burrell | 10 – Key | 4 – Walker | Intrust Bank Arena Wichita, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=Wichita. All times are in Eastern Time. 2021–22 Schedule |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 15 | 15 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 19 | | |
| Coaches | 12 | 12^ | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 17 | | |
^Coaches' Poll did not release a second poll at the same time as the AP.