Strange: UT fans need to watch scoreboard

Ravern Johnson rose up in his maroon uniform and buried a 3-point basket. Deep into the first half, Mississippi State led by eight points.

Didn't Bruce Pearl say Tennessee absolutely had to win this game Wednesday night? Or else UT's NCAA tournament hopes were dashed?

So there the Vols were in the final days of February, sliding on a slippery slope toward the NIT.

But there was a second half to play. And during that 20 minutes, Tennessee righted itself. The Vols did what they had to do to notch an 81-76 victory at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"If we don't win this game, we're in trouble,'' Pearl said afterward, confirming the dilemma.

But Tennessee's work is far from done. There's more trouble ahead.

Over the past few weeks - and especially last week in double-digit losses at Ole Miss and Kentucky - the Vols have put themselves on a brink of sorts.

They've squandered a large chunk of the equity built in the non-conference season.

Wins over Siena, Georgetown and Marquette seem like they happened last season. How many 3-pointers was it Chris Lofton made against Siena, five or six?

Even starting off SEC play with three road wins seems long ago.

So now it's come to this:

Serious UT hoops fan, your job has become more complicated.

For the first time in the Pearl Era, you can't narrow your focus to just your team. You have scores to monitor from sea to shining sea.

In short, you're living life on The Bubble.

You wake up this morning with some confidence your team is in the bracket, were today Selection Sunday. But some teams will fall out and some will move in the next few weeks.

The last thing you wanted to see was Maryland brushing up its suspect resume by beating North Carolina last weekend.

You could have surely done without Providence rising up and smiting No. 1 Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. Talk about a quality win.

You didn't need Texas A&M throwing in that buzzer-beater at Nebraska. That's three in a row for the Aggies, if you're counting, and you should be counting.

Tonight, you emphatically do not want Cincinnati to beat West Virginia.

You most certainly don't want UAB to upset Memphis tonight. Yeah, it would be a hoot to see Memphis lose, but don't be tempted. You've got to see the big picture and UAB is lurking on The Bubble.

Here's your homework for Saturday: Cross your fingers that Temple doesn't win at Dayton and that Notre Dame doesn't knock off UConn.

It's not too early to get your priorities in line for conference tournament week.

You very much want Butler to win the Horizon League tournament. You're a huge Gonzaga fan when the West Coast Conference tournament tips off.

It will be bad news for The Bubble Brotherhood if somebody upsets Siena in the Metro Atlantic tournament, or Utah State in the WAC.

You'll be safe with either Dayton or Xavier in the Atlantic 10 but if, say, Rhode Island jumps up and steals a bid, it might be your bid.

By the last days of February, Pearl's previous three UT teams were thinking about seeding, not surviving.

Without a doubt, Tennessee took a crucial step toward survival by beating Mississippi State.

"That was a great team effort tonight,'' Pearl said.

Exactly the kind of great team effort UT didn't get at Auburn, Ole Miss or Kentucky.

But that's in the past. The Vols took care of business Wednesday night, so now they still have a viable future.

That future is a visit to Florida on Sunday, then one to South Carolina one week from today.

"We've got a tough row to hoe,'' Pearl said. "We understand that.''

The Tennessee fans also have some hoeing to do. Somebody's got to monitor all those scores.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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