Crakaveli
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By Chris Low
The only remnant of Tennessee's basketball team yesterday at the Southeastern Conference Tournament was a smattering of orange outside the Gaylord Entertainment Center unloading tickets.
The postseason started ominously for the Vols, who made a quick exit on Friday in a 79-71 quarterfinal loss to South Carolina.
They hope to stick around a little longer in the NCAA Tournament.
"The first thing we said when we walked into the locker room was, 'Remember how this feels,' " junior center Major Wingate said Friday after the loss to South Carolina. "Everybody's going to remember it. The only way to get that bitter taste out of your mouth is to play like we know we can play in the NCAA Tournament."
Even Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl conceded that the Vols (21-7) had faded some down the stretch and weren't playing their best basketball.
But they also wouldn't be the first team to flop in the conference tournament only to regain some momentum in the NCAA Tournament.
"We have a lot of people disappointed right now," sophomore guard Chris Lofton said. "It's our fault. Hopefully, they'll follow us in the NCAA Tournament and we can show them something special."
The Vols' confidence appeared shaken somewhat after losing as the Eastern Division's No. 1 seed to South Carolina.
But even more damaging may be what that loss does to their seed in the NCAA Tournament. They were a No. 3 seed, according to ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi, heading into the SEC Tournament. But his latest projection has them as a No. 4 seed and facing Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round in Jacksonville, Fla.
Working in their favor is a No. 6 RPI rating and No. 3 strength of schedule rating, not to mention quality road wins at Texas and Florida.
Working against them is their record in their last 10 games (6-4). They've also lost four of their last six games.
"We're just ready to play again," Lofton said. "It doesn't matter where it is or who it's against."
They will find out all the details tonight at 5 p.m., when the 65-team field is announced on CBS' Selection Show. The team will watch the show from the Ray Mears lettermen's room at Thompson-Boling Arena.
"This team has bounced back all season, and we will again," senior point guard C.J. Watson said.
Pearl thinks it will be an advantage for the Vols to play somebody they haven't faced this season, especially with their running, pressing style.
"It will help a great deal," said Pearl, who coached Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the NCAAs last year. "South Carolina had us scouted to the nines."
It won't matter who the Vols face if they can't recapture that same edge that led to a 10-1 start in the SEC. They were relentless in closing teams out and ran them into submission.
But lately, Tennessee's been the team seemingly running on fumes.
"We have got to have a stronger inside presence offensively," Pearl said. "We had way too many turnovers on the inside, good looks (against South Carolina). We're going to try and work on that this week and not rely so much on the perimeter."
The only remnant of Tennessee's basketball team yesterday at the Southeastern Conference Tournament was a smattering of orange outside the Gaylord Entertainment Center unloading tickets.
The postseason started ominously for the Vols, who made a quick exit on Friday in a 79-71 quarterfinal loss to South Carolina.
They hope to stick around a little longer in the NCAA Tournament.
"The first thing we said when we walked into the locker room was, 'Remember how this feels,' " junior center Major Wingate said Friday after the loss to South Carolina. "Everybody's going to remember it. The only way to get that bitter taste out of your mouth is to play like we know we can play in the NCAA Tournament."
Even Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl conceded that the Vols (21-7) had faded some down the stretch and weren't playing their best basketball.
But they also wouldn't be the first team to flop in the conference tournament only to regain some momentum in the NCAA Tournament.
"We have a lot of people disappointed right now," sophomore guard Chris Lofton said. "It's our fault. Hopefully, they'll follow us in the NCAA Tournament and we can show them something special."
The Vols' confidence appeared shaken somewhat after losing as the Eastern Division's No. 1 seed to South Carolina.
But even more damaging may be what that loss does to their seed in the NCAA Tournament. They were a No. 3 seed, according to ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi, heading into the SEC Tournament. But his latest projection has them as a No. 4 seed and facing Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round in Jacksonville, Fla.
Working in their favor is a No. 6 RPI rating and No. 3 strength of schedule rating, not to mention quality road wins at Texas and Florida.
Working against them is their record in their last 10 games (6-4). They've also lost four of their last six games.
"We're just ready to play again," Lofton said. "It doesn't matter where it is or who it's against."
They will find out all the details tonight at 5 p.m., when the 65-team field is announced on CBS' Selection Show. The team will watch the show from the Ray Mears lettermen's room at Thompson-Boling Arena.
"This team has bounced back all season, and we will again," senior point guard C.J. Watson said.
Pearl thinks it will be an advantage for the Vols to play somebody they haven't faced this season, especially with their running, pressing style.
"It will help a great deal," said Pearl, who coached Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the NCAAs last year. "South Carolina had us scouted to the nines."
It won't matter who the Vols face if they can't recapture that same edge that led to a 10-1 start in the SEC. They were relentless in closing teams out and ran them into submission.
But lately, Tennessee's been the team seemingly running on fumes.
"We have got to have a stronger inside presence offensively," Pearl said. "We had way too many turnovers on the inside, good looks (against South Carolina). We're going to try and work on that this week and not rely so much on the perimeter."
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