With a top-15 ranking to open the season, you might think a 1-2 start would be a for the Tennessee Volunteers reason to panic.

But when that schedule started with three-straight NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, including two Big Ten teams that likely will be among the top 10 in the polls next week, a 1-2 start, where they hung tough in both losses, isn't anything to worry about.

While three tournament teams to open the season is daunting for anyone, the Volunteers could open with as many as five of their first six games coming against postseason qualifiers, when the Bad Boy Mowers Women's Battle 4 Atlantis tips off Saturday at Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

They'll start Saturday against an improved Rutgers team that isn't far removed from being one of the top programs in the sport, then will face the winner of the South Dakota State and UCLA game.

Should the Volunteers win both of those games, one of these top teams - Gonzaga, Louisville, Marquette or Texas - would be waiting in the finals.

There are absolutely no easy games for anyone in the bracket, and that's all before the Volunteers get into league play in perhaps the deepest and most difficult league in women's basketball, the SEC, home to the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

If there's a team built to handle the rigors of a schedule where there are just as many games against postseason competition, it's a Tennessee team that features one of the top defenders in the country, along with one of the most well-rounded players in the nation. Both could hear their names in next year's WNBA Draft.

Jordan Horston was an All-America honorable mention last season, scoring over 16 points per game and pulling in nearly 10 rebounds a game. She has started a little slowly against the difficult portion of the schedule this year, but she isn't far off last season's averages, including leading the team in rebounds.

Tamari Key also returns and is among the top centers in the country, blocking 3.5 shots per game last season, while nearly averaging a double-double.

If there's a silver lining to the 1-2 start, aside from knowing they were strong against top competition, it's that the Vols have four players in double figures early on, including Rickea Jackson at nearly 17 per game and Jasmine Powell at 13 per night, plus Darby Tess knocking on the door of 10 points per game.

That type of scoring depth is a must in a tournament like the Battle 4 Atlantis, where the condensed schedule and top competition certainly will require more than one option, if a team hopes to lift the championship trophy.

Settling in for the weekend.#GoLadyVols pic.twitter.com/rskQyoVzN5

— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) November 18, 2022

If the Vols are to do so, it will require improved effort on defense and ball security, where they're giving up 77 points per game in the early going, despite shooting both 2s and 3s at a higher clip than their opponents. 

Add in that the Vols are a -20 in turnover differential in the early-season, and it's a recipe that seems like it should sort itself out as the team continues to play together and mesh.

A program like Tennessee is one that expects to win trophies and expects to play deep into March, and part of the strategy for doing that, even dating back to the days of the late, great Pat Summitt, was taking any and all comers onto their schedule.

They did that to open the season, and the Battle 4 Atlantis will help make them more battle-tested when the rigors of the SEC and NCAA Tournament come calling.