Adams: Consistency a relevant goal

The goal has been stated consistently and concisely from the first practice through the second half of the SEC season. It invariably comes up in any state-of-the-team discussion.

"Our goal is to get to San Antonio (the site of the women's Final Four)," Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt said again Saturday afternoon as her fifth-ranked team prepared for this afternoon's game with Florida.

No one would accuse her of aiming too high. It's bigger news when the Lady Vols don't make the Final Four, as underscored by the Ball State calamity of last March .

Tennessee has been to six of the last eight Final Fours and won two of the last three national championships. Its ranking (No. 5) and record (22-2) suggest this team isn't far off the beaten path.

The Florida rematch reminds you of something else. Never mind the record or the ranking. This UT team has evinced vulnerability too often, as in last month's last-second 66-64 victory over the Gators, whose own competency is debatable in light of a 24-point loss to Alabama and Thursday's 70-30 mishap against LSU.

UT's uneven play might go unnoticed on a different landscape. But with Connecticut towering so prominently above the field, every flaw in the top-tier competition is magnified.

In almost any other season, a 22-2 UT team would be cast as a championship candidate, and Summitt would be raising her goals accordingly. Now, you might envision the Final Four as a UConn coronation, more so than a competition.

As one 39-0 season has segued into a 25-0 follow-up, no one has come within single digits of the Huskies. They have won 19 games this season by 33 points or more and handled other nationally ranked teams with ridiculous ease.

You don't have to play them to notice that, although parity might be pervasive elsewhere, UConn seemingly has no peer.

Summitt said she has watched only two UConn games. That's enough for her to conclude: (1) UConn has the two best players in the country in Maya Moore and Tina Charles; (2) No one is currently equipped to beat the Huskies at the top of their game.

But don't take that as a concession speech. While UConn might be championship ready, UT at least has an upside. Its starting lineup often varies from game to game. So does its starting point guard.

"We've got a lot of games left," Summitt said. "We've got the tournament. While we are a work in progress, we are getting better."

If the Lady Vols are curious about what a finished Final Four product should look like, they only have to check out the Huskies.

When UConn played second-ranked Stanford in December, Summitt was glad to hear that most of her players had watched the game.

"I wanted them to see the quality of play," she said.

The Huskies contributed most of the quality in a 80-68 victory, which, in the context of their runaway success, passes for a close call.

UT knows about really close calls. Last month's game in Gainesville and Thursday's game at Ole Miss each turned the Lady Vols' way on a final basket by Angie Bjorklund. They might have gained more than victories in the process.

Summitt regards the SEC as a superior league to the Big East, and believes that competitive balance will better prepare her team for post-season play. The obvious counterpoint: UConn is in a league of its own.

That's not UT's immediate concern. Neither is the Final Four. Achieving consistency is a more relevant goal.

And the uncertainty isn't all bad.

You know what UConn will look like in March. You don't know about UT.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284.