TAMPA, Fla. - So, Tennessee battles to the brink of an SEC tournament championship and whom should the Vols find in their way today?
Not whom they expected.
It's not LSU, the regular-season champions. Gone in a flurry of missed shots Saturday.
It's not Kentucky, who has won more SEC tourney crowns (25) than the rest of the league combined. The Blue Mist evaporated Friday.
It's not South Carolina, the Eastern Division co-champions. One and done.
Don't know about you, but I didn't see Mississippi State coming out of the top half of the bracket here at the St. Pete Times Forum.
In a tournament that was supposed to be unpredictable, the higher seed has won every game - with the exception of Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, a No. 3 seed, eliminated a No. 2, South Carolina, and a No. 1, LSU.
"Me myself, I didn't think they would be here, either,'' said UT guard Josh Tabb.
"LSU's been good. It tells you anybody can win night in and night out in this league.''
Days, too. Mississippi State has won three afternoons in a row: by 19 against Georgia on Thursday; by 14 against South Carolina on Friday; by 67-57 Saturday in the semifinals.
Now, comes the fourth day.
In Tennessee, the Bulldogs face a team that had a first-round bye and has played lights out Friday against Alabama and Saturday against Auburn.
History suggests fatigue will attack State's will at some point today.
"I promise you I'd like that problem a lot more than the other problem you (could) have,'' said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury. "It's a good problem to have.''
Only three times has a team won four games in four days to capture the title. Tennessee had a gas-tank-hits-empty moment in the second half of the 1991 championship game against Alabama.
But fatigue can be overcome. Georgia proved it last year, even winning two games in one day when a tornado blew the schedule off course.
"Fatigue,'' said Bulldog guard Ravern Johnson, "isn't in anybody's mind. We want this too bad to be tired.''
Both teams obviously want it, but for different reasons.
"They're fighting for their NCAA (tournament) life,'' said UT's Tyler Smith, "and we're fighting for a great seed. It goes both ways.''
The Bulldogs have scarcely been on the NCAA tournament radar all season. They likely need a title today just to make the bracket as the SEC's automatic rep.
Tennessee's want-to is two-fold.
Winning the tournament enhances its NCAA resume. The higher your seed, the higher your chance of advancing.
Then there's the history thing. The most recent SEC tournament trophy in UT's display is inscribed 1979.
"(Friday) night after the Alabama game, we had a meeting,'' said UT freshman Cameron Tatum, who is having a whale of a tournament. "Everybody talked about past Tennessee teams, being the No. 1 ranking (2008), and what they did, and the 1970s teams.
"Why not make our own legacy? Why not make our own tradition or history here?
"Why not win the SEC tournament?''
Then just beat Mississippi State. Again.
The Vols prevailed 81-76 when the Bulldogs came to Knoxville on Feb. 25. It was a battle all the way.
There's a reason State is playing today. The Bulldogs can put four shooting threats on the floor, flanking 6-foot-10 Jarvis Varnado, the shot-blocking demon who is the two-time SEC defensive player of the year.
Varnado blocked seven LSU shots Saturday and altered no telling how many others as the Tigers finished a miserable 31 percent.
"We're gonna test him,'' vowed UT's J.P. Prince. "We're gonna go at him.
"We're not gonna back down.''
Mike Strange may be reached at strangem@knoxnews.com or 865-342-6276.
© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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Comments » 16
grvol writes:
Tn hasn't cut down any nets since 1979. The chance to do that should has to keep Prince and Smith out of a coma. Please no coma game tomorrow.
Rick4UT writes:
We need this game...It will move us up 1 seed in the Big Dance...... Go Vols!!!!
elizabethtonvol72 writes:
Please, please don't go to sleep on us tomorrow! We need this so bad! Go Vols!!!
TWintVol writes:
Best coaching job of the Pearl era. Give bruce a raise! He is undoubtedly the best coach we have ever had period. Ray Mears was the father but Bruce is "The Daddy"!
wallandhiker writes:
LSU has not played well at all lately. Miss. State lost at home to AUburn by 20-something a couple of weeks ago and that was about as ugly a game as I saw all year. Maybe that was what they needed.
If Tennessee keeps playing the wide-open basketball they have lately, they should be able to run a tired MSU team into the ground in the second half tomorrow. The worst thing we could do is revert to the slow, grinding style we struggled with mid-season.
hotrodvol writes:
The Bulldogs better have their running shoes on.
wallandhiker writes:
You never know how long a young team will take to gel. If UT had played this way all season, wonder what our record would be? I think we definitely beat Memphis, and maybe lots of others.
The Gators think the class they have coming in will take them back to the top, but they better not count their chickens, especially if Calathes goes pro.
bigrob writes:
#1 seed? i would be happy with a 3 seed! And i think so would the team.And i agree that it is an unbelievable coaching job. It`s only a matter of time before pearl proves to the world that he is one of the greats!
Layla_Kiffin_is_hott writes:
the best seed we can hope for is a 5 seed... there is no way we come close to a 3 seed..
wallandhiker writes:
Read closer -- he said "move us up 1 seed", not "to a #1 seed."
Jamey1210 writes:
We have gotten pretty good seeds since pearl has been here. I for one see us a 7 seed if we loose and a possible 4 but probably a 5 seed if we win. Just an opinion but I would be happy with both after the season we had
VOLKING writes:
I think he meant it will move us up one spot in the seeding...like from 6 to 5.
VOLKING writes:
Good post. Wide open all the way! Wear them down.
WeLoveTennesseeVols writes:
The dogs will fold, too upsight, too uptight, too tired(it will hit them). Will we take advantage of it? If we stay and remain focused and on the same page as a team. Play your game and quit worrying about the other team. Defense them until they quit! Fold up their tents. I really like this match up, it is the best I can see, now let's just take the trophy back to ole Rocky Top!
beachvol1 writes:
Hopefully this team hasn't run of gas themselves and can conntinue to pressure on defense and get it out on offense...Mississippi State is a good ball club and a lesson should have been learned at Knoxville with the close margin of victory in that contest...going to be tough on the inside and now if anyone can step it up with some good outside shooting, the Vols have a good chance to win it...
johnlg00#206211 writes:
If the Vols take it right at Varnado, they had better take it strong. The key to scoring on a great shot blocker is to get into his body. If our guys start trying to be cute, just flipping it up there, Varnado will feed them a lot of balls. All of our guys have to be thinking DUNK when they go in.
We also need to push the tempo as much as we can, especially early on, to wear MSU down for the second half. It would be a BIG help if we can get some early fouls on Varnado. If we can't score on a run-out, we need to work the ball not only to get better shots inside but also to force MSU to play a LOT of defense. Quick shots in the half-court offense will kill us. GO VOLS!!! NEUTER THE BULLPUPS!!!
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