This year, Mike Strange wrote it. Last year, I wrote it. Who'll write it next year?

As far off as 2050 and beyond, I've got the feeling that some News Sentinel column-droid will spend an early March night typing the following words, "the Vols can make fans forget about their early SEC Tournament exit with a couple of wins in the Big Dance."

And that's true. True that the NCAA tournament trumps the SEC tournament. And also true that Tennessee never has what it takes when the SEC holds its annual get-together.

Heck, there should be a move to give the Big Orange a permanent No. 12 seed.

Unfortunately for UT fans, their Tourney Terrors aren't limited to SEC play.

Regardless of the year or the tournament, the Vols seem to live down to that old March adage: "in like a lion, out like a lamb."

A sacrificial lamb.

Let's take a walk through the Hall of Horrors, shall we?

As you know, UT is the only school not to reach the semifinals of the SEC tournament since Arkansas and South Carolina came to play in 1992.

That's just the hors d'oeuvre.

In their last three trips to the NIT they've gone one-and-done versus Georgetown, College of Charleston and George Mason. They haven't won more than one game in an NIT since Don DeVoe led the Vols to a third place finish in 1985.

That was seven NIT appearances ago.

DeVoe's tournament record is actually far better than any other UT coach. He led UT to their last SEC tournament title in 1979, their first NCAA tournament win, and five NCAA wins overall.

That's the high-water mark at Tennessee. Jerry Green ranks second behind DeVoe with three NCAA wins. Bruce Pearl is third with his victory over Winthrop last year.

That's it.

That can't be it, you say? Oh, that be it. Wade Houston, Kevin O'Neill and Buzz Peterson never even reached March Madness.

Ray Mears only managed losses to Dayton, Indiana, Virginia Military and Syracuse in his trips.

And if Dayton and VMI look bad to you, check out the Vols' five most recent NCAA tournament losses: Illinois State, Southwest Missouri State, North Carolina, Charlotte, and Wichita State. Aside form North Carolina, that's not exactly a murderers' row.

No matter how you slice it, Pearl has inherited an awful tournament legacy/curse.

Despite that, he has already re-armed the Vol program. UT basketball is healthy on and off the court for the first time since the Reagan Era. Tennessee is getting plenty of national attention and exposure, too.

But what they aren't getting is respect. Basketball is a tournament sport. If you don't do well in March, you don't get respect (ask Tubby Smith).

Regular season wins shouldn't be taken for granted or marginalized, but lose badly at the end of the year, and fans are left with a bad taste in their mouths (ask Phillip Fulmer).

Tennessee fans should enjoy the thrills of 20-win seasons (once so rare in these parts), but eventually they'll come to judge the Vols and Pearl on championships, Final Fours and Sweet 16s (ask Pat Summitt).

Without the postseason wins, respect isn't given. Shoot, it's not GIVEN anyway.

With apologies to Charlton Heston, you have to pry respect from someone else's cold, dead hand. You have to take it from them.

You earn respect. You earn it by winning when it counts. And that's March. And that's usually when Tennessee goes into hibernation.

Can Pearl change that? Eventually he'll need to. Not this year, maybe not next, but the time will come when 20-win seasons, fair or not, will only be as good as the tournament finishes that follow them (ask any Division I coach).

There's no debating that the Vols have the talent to re-write history this season. Frankly, it would be a nice change of pace after covering so many March Meltdowns.

But I'm a "believe it when I see it kind of guy." So when some Butler, Wisconsin or Wright State appears in their bracket later today, I'll know that those type teams won't run with Tennessee. And that's usually been bad news for the Vols.

There's an old joke that goes like this: "You're either a man or a mouse, so which is it? Come on, squeak up."

That applies to the Vols heading into this year's Big Dance. Are they ready to go out and earn some respect? Or are they cursed to keep reliving the program's nightmarish past?

Well, squeak up.

John Pennington hosts The Hall's Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.