Strange: UT fits in absolutely nuts SEC

The SEC's basketball day began Saturday morning in Thompson-Boling Arena with ESPN's College Basketball GameDay show and a crowd that had apparently guzzled Red Bull for breakfast.

By the time it ended 12 hours later in exactly the same spot, the landscape had shifted. Again.

"It's gonna be crazy. It's gonna be absolutely nuts,'' Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said after the smoke had cleared shortly before midnight.

"Every one is going to be huge. Look today at what happened. It's gonna be a marathon.''

Pearl was referring to the SEC regular-season title chase, which hits the halfway point this week.

UT's 79-63 win over Florida was the final installment of a day that shook the status quo.

Each passing week casts the SEC power struggle in a different light than the week before.

Seven days ago, a buzz was building that Kentucky would run away and dominate. Check that.

It was a humbling week for the Wildcats, losing at Ole Miss on Tuesday then at home to South Carolina on Saturday.

The surprising Gamecocks are apparently going to have to be reckoned with, judging from last-second wins over Florida and Kentucky.

Ole Miss opened a dramatic afternoon with an impressive road win at Mississippi State. Nice week for the short-handed Rebels, who hadn't won in Starkville since 1998.

Not that it impacts the race, but Vanderbilt getting a road win, even at Auburn, was unexpected.

Also irrelevant to all but triva buffs, Alabama beat Georgia in what is likely the first SEC game between dueling interim coaches.

By bedtime, LSU was looking good in the West. The Tigers are 5-1 after a week in which they snatched a win at UT and held serve at home Saturday against Arkansas.

New coach Trent Johnson isn't nearly as bombastic as Pearl but he is having a Pearlesque immediate impact on the program.

As for the SEC East, it's a four-team race again after Saturday.

The Vols are fourth in the standings, exactly where they began the day. But they gained ground all the same.

Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina are knotted at 5-2. The Vols are a half-game back at 4-2 as they head back on the road in the coming week.

"There is not a dominant team in this league,'' Pearl said.

There was, however, a spirited, effective team wearing orange and white Saturday night.

It was refreshing several days ago to hear Pearl say that this deep into the season inexperience is no longer an excuse.

That's exactly what Vol fans had been thinking lately.

Inexperience had been Pearl's explanation for so many of Tennessee's shortcomings. It was a valid case.

But less valid now than a couple of weeks ago. The home loss to LSU last Wednesday was UT's 19th game.

In the 20th game, several first-year Vols didn't look the least bit inexperienced.

There was nothing tentative about freshman Scotty Hopson, who scored a career-high 20 points.

Ditto for Bobby Maze, the junior college transfer: 11 points, four assists, zero turnovers. And for Cameron Tatum, the redshirt freshman: 3-of-6 on 3-pointers, two steals.

"Obviously, Scotty was aggressive,'' said Pearl.

"When you play Florida, you play in space. It opened things up for us a little bit.''

In the bigger picture, the day's results around the league opened things up for Tennessee a little bit.

Nobody benefited more than the Vols. They got to showcase their scene, the energy in and around their program, on ESPN's GameDay stage. And then they secured a win over the Gators they absolutely had to have.

Pearl acknowledged the fans who showed up early and stayed late, as well as UT staff who showed up even earlier and stayed even later.

"I'm really glad they get to wake up in the morning and feel good about the win,'' he said.

That pretty much goes for everyone. It was quite a day.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.