Strange: Suddenly looking like a champion

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Everything about the night said championship.

The Colonial Life Arena was packed to the rafters Thursday and the crowd was rocking. It was Senior Night for South Carolina. It was March. ESPN was in the house.

Even the SEC Eastern Division standings said championship.

And here’s the good news for UT coach Bruce Pearl, who has pulled and tugged at this team all season long, often with no result but frustration:

For 40 minutes, Tennessee played like a champion.

Here’s the better news:

It was the second time in five days Tennessee played like a champion.

The team that started the season with a bull’s-eye on its back has been on a long, strange trip. Ups, downs. Hot, cold. Ankles and knees have been sprained from fans jumping on and off the bandwagon.

But after a sizzling win at Florida last Sunday and an 86-70 romp over the Gamecocks on Thursday night, Tennessee is on top of the SEC East with the finish line in sight.

The Vols come home to Senior Day on Sunday against Alabama with a chance to clinch the East title outright.

This team has spent much of the season answering questions about not living up to expectations — keeping in mind those expectations might have been a bit oversized to begin with under the circumstances.

There was not a hint of underachieving in the Vols’ body of work this particular week.

“It’s the right time to be stepping your game up,’’ UT guard Josh Tabb said Thursday night.

In two tough environments, the Vols definitely stepped up their game this week. Florida hadn’t lost at home all season, South Carolina only once, to Clemson.

If Florida and South Carolina had been the first two rounds of an NCAA tournament bracket, Tennessee would be advancing to the Sweet 16. Furthermore, after watching these past two games, I’d give UT a fair shot at winning in the Sweet 16.

“We’re not talking about that,’’ said UT junior J.P. Prince.

“We’re just focusing on playing one game at a time and nothing about peaking.’’

Oh, but Prince was talking plenty Thursday night.

Near the end of the first half, the teams came out of a timeout and were waiting for the official to put the ball in play.

Prince was paired with South Carolina’s Zam Fredrick near the baseline and yapped non-stop. On and on, he went, a one-way conversation.

Later, Prince explained:

“I just told Zam, ‘Not tonight. I know it’s your Senior Night but it’s not happening.’

“I started out the game saying that and we just continued that conversation the whole game.

“I told him, ‘You’re not gonna win on Senior Night.’ I apologized, though.’’

Prince didn’t just talk the talk. He walked the walk, especially in the second half when he scored 16 of his 20 points.

Among the various items scribbled on his sneakers was:

The Chosen Prince, The Memphis Legend.

The Prince played like a king in the final 20 minutes as Tennessee separated itself from the Gamecocks with authority.

He even hit his second 3-pointer of the season to put the Vols up 61-49. Tyler Smith erupted off the bench in celebration when Prince swished the 3-pointer. Talk about a sign things are going your way.

There were other signs, one, actually, on UT’s opening possession.

When South Carolina came to Knoxville in January, Wayne Chism fouled out without scoring in only 11 minutes. Several of his fouls were the result of Gamecocks hitting the floor at the least contact.

The game Thursday night was only 48 seconds old when Smith went on the drive and South Carolina’s Mike Holmes hit the deck. Smith got the call, Holmes got the foul.

Chism would end up playing 28 minutes this night and announcing his presence with 15 points and eight rebounds.

All the Vols’ most experienced players all played like, well, the most experienced players. Smith was terrific. Prince was electric. Tabb and Brian Williams were more than solid off the bench.

This looked like the team you imagined in a best-case scenario. It’s been a tough road to arrive at this point. Adapting to a new style of play to suit this year’s personnel has been marked by fits and starts.

“For three years we played (uptempo) like South Carolina plays,’’ said Pearl.

“We’ve battled through carving out our identity and we’ve managed to still win the East.’’

So now that the Vols are finally winning that battle, it poses a new challenge, but a welcome one.

“This is the first time since early in the season,’’ said Pearl, “that I’ve got to be concerned with how we handle success.’’

That comes with the territory when you’re playing for championships.

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

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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