The Tennessee Lady Volunteers’ downward spiral in the SEC Standings is putting head coach Kim Caldwell on the hot seat. Eagle-eyed fans are now pointing out potential locker room differences that are overshadowing their poor conference run.

Tennessee has not only dropped out of the top 25 of the AP poll rankings but also finds itself towards the bottom of the SEC standings. Head coach Kim Caldwell has publicly criticized players’ mentality and made roster decisions to address potential issues.

Yahoo Sports reporter Caroline Fenton has now raised the same concerns, highlighting that the talk around the Tennessee Lady Volunteers revolves around a difference of opinion in the locker room between the coaching staff and the players.

Fenton highlighted, “What I’m hearing from a lot of Tennessee fans… is maybe the system just isn’t working. Maybe this roster just isn’t equipped to work within this system. And that, I think, is a very fair criticism that goes beyond just it’s been a really difficult schedule. If your roster just doesn’t fit the system, then that is fundamentally not going to work.”

Kim Caldwell’s comments about the players’ mentality after their blowout defeat loss to South Carolina have received widespread criticism. The head coach decided to travel without forward Janiah Barker for the Oklahoma game, citing that she ‘didn’t meet the program requirements.’ Barker is now expected to travel with the team to Baton Rouge for their game against the LSU Tigers.

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Every college program wants a definitive on-court identity, especially in the current age of college basketball, where NIL deals dictate rosters. However, it is the head coach’s responsibility to find harmony between the players’ skill set and the system.

Kim Caldwell cannot expect the players to buy into a system that is not working. The Tennessee head coach needs to instill belief in the players by displaying her trust in them. Caldwell’s comments are likely to have the opposite effect. The 37-year-old has previously admitted that the head coach bears the ultimate responsibility for the program’s performance and results.

While only two games remain in the regular season, their challenge is far from over. The two games can dictate their seeding going into the conference playoffs and the NCAA Tournament, and head coach Kim Caldwell needs to sort out the locker room atmosphere to take advantage of the unique opportunity the Lady Volunteers have found.

Tennessee has a potential quad-one opportunity to improve tournament seeding

Despite the Tennessee Lady Volunteers’ woeful conference record, they can still improve their seeding and land a higher seed going into the conference playoffs and the NCAA Tournament. With back-to-back games against teams above them in the SEC Standings, head coach Kim Caldwell has a unique quad-one opportunity.

Tennessee travels to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers on Thursday night. LSU has an impressive overall record of 24 wins and 4 losses, but has struggled against conference opponents. The Lady Volunteers find themselves just two games behind Kim Mulkey & co. in the SEC Standings, and an upset win could even things out.

Their final regular-season game pits them against the Vanderbilt Commodores, who are 5 places ahead of the Lady Volunteers. While Vanderbilt has NCAA aspirations, Tennessee has come out victorious in 3 of the last 5 meetings and can spring a surprise against the Commodores.

Ideally, if Kim Caldwell can lead her team to win these two games, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers could jump all the way into the top 3 of the SEC Standings heading into the conference playoffs.

Momentum is a potent force, and we could very well see Tennessee go on a run in the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, riding on the back of these wins.