Strange: It will be battle of will, skill

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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