Let the games begin.

Now that the regular season is over, the Tennessee Volunteers (24-5, 12-4)

are gearing up for the postseason. And they begin today.

The first round of the SEC tournament got underway Thursday at the Georgia

Dome in Atlanta, Ga. Tennessee, along with Louisiana State, Auburn, and

Kentucky earned first round byes due to the teams finishing first and

second in their respective conference divisions.

This year’s tournament should provide the best competition in recent SEC

history. For the first time ever, four teams tied for the regular season

conference crown. Three of those teams came from the SEC East in Tennessee,

Florida and Kentucky. West champion LSU also shared in the

championship.

The Vols finished out the regular season on a two-game win streak. With

impressive victories over Arkansas and Georgia, the Vols hope that their

momentum can carry over into the postseason.

“Our every thought since Monday has been to win this tournament,” Vol head

coach Jerry Green said. “We want to go to Atlanta and win this tournament.

Any team that doesn’t go in wanting to win is not prepared.”

Tennessee should definitely be prepared physically. But are they

mentally?

Many times this season, the Vols have fell into a trance in which

individualism prevails over teamwork. If they want to succeed in the SEC

Tournament, they must overcome individualism.

“We’ve got to get over the individual inconsistency and hit on all

cylinders,” Green said. “We’ve got the capability to put three games

together. It really makes no difference to us who we play.”

Tennessee earned a No. 1 seed going into the tournament, which allows the

team to play South Carolina, who defeated Alabama in Thursday’s first-round

game. The Tennessee-South Carolina game will be televised by Jefferson

Pilot Sports.

“We’re ready to play,” Green said. “However, we’ve got to play good. We

can’t just talk our way through it.”

The Vols beat the Gamecocks twice during the regular season. However, both

of the games were very close until the final minutes. If Tennessee is

matched up with South Carolina, the Vols have to remember that it is hard

to beat a team three times in one year, especially in the SEC.

In the rest of the bracket, (W2) Auburn earned a bye and will play the (W6)

Mississippi-(E3) Florida winner. The Tigers have been strong all season

until lately. Auburn dropped their last four games of the regular season,

three of which were without leading scorer Chris Porter (14.6 ppg). They

will rely on guard Doc Robinson to lead them with his 11.4 point

average.

Porter was suspended almost two weeks ago for taking money from an agent.

His appeal was denied and he will not be allowed to play for the duration

of the postseason.

(E2) Kentucky will face the (E6) Georgia-(W3) Arkansas winner. The Wildcats

are led by Jamaal Magloire and his 13.2 points and nine boards per game.

The ‘Cats have a history in the SEC Tournament with more championships than

any other school.

SEC West champ LSU (25-4, 12-4) awaits the (W5) Mississippi State-(E4)

Vanderbilt winner. LSU is led by Stromile Swift.

Swift can do it all for the Tigers. He leads the team in scoring at 16.5,

and in rebounds with 8.2. He also leads the SEC with 2.9 blocks and shoots

an amazing 62 percent from the floor. Helping Swift will be four other

Tigers who average double figures in scoring.

The Tigers finished the season strong with a nine-game win streak and will

use that momentum in hopes to win the tournament. However, Kentucky has a

multitude of talent and the ability to control any team. Auburn will also

be hungry to prove that they still have a team without Porter.

On the other hand, Florida will be looking to continue their success with

their three-point accuracy in order to go into the NCAA Tournament on a

strong note.

Vanderbilt will also look for SEC leading scorer Dan Langhi (22.4 ppg) to

put up strong performances to lead the Commodores through the tourney.

The SEC is loaded with talent and success. But according to Green, there is

one team that everybody will be cheering for. There is one team that will

be the toughest in the tournament. There is one team that is the best team

in the tournament.

“The University of Tennessee is the toughest team going into the

tournament,” Green said. “We’re 4-1 against the three other teams that tied

for the conference title. We’re ready to play.”

Cocky? No, Green understands that his team can talk big but the game is

played on the court.

“Again, we can talk as much as we want,” Green said. “But we’ve got to play

good.”