With the SEC regular season coming to a close over the weekend, the true madness of March can begin.
The SEC Tournament starts on Wednesday and the Tennessee Volunteers (19-11, 11-7 SEC) look to solidify their résumé and nab a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
“(We) feel good about where our team is right now,” head coach Cuonzo Martin said. “Guys are playing hard. We’ve gotten better on both ends of the floor.”
The Vols will play Mississippi State today at 3:30 p.m. EST and the game is a must win for the Vols. In 2012, Tennessee entered the SEC Tournament riding a similar hot streak, but were bounced in their first game by Ole Miss and were left on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament field.
“Going into this season, you’re losing a key guy but you still had good parts,” Martin said. “For me it was the system. We didn’t play with a level of toughness, level of energy, togetherness on both ends of the floor early in the season, so the eight of last nine was the team coming together and the team getting better.”
Heading to Nashville, there are two SEC teams firmly planted on the bubble, Tennessee and Kentucky.
The Volunteers currently boast the fifty-fifth ranked RPI in the nation — five spots behind fellow bubble team Kentucky.
Though the Vols sit behind the Wildcats, there are a few things that are in UT’s favor heading into the weekend.
First and most importantly, the Volunteers gave Kentucky its worst loss of the season on Feb. 16, 88-58. The two teams split on the year, but the big win looms large coming down the stretch.
Tennessee is also one of the hottest teams in the country, winning eight of its last nine games. For Kentucky, they have brought the train back onto the rails following a tough stretch after SEC Freshman of the Year Nerlens Noel was lost for the season, but did not have a strong finish to the season.
“I think it’s a credit to our guys, our coaching staff. Just staying together, not allowing tough times to discourage you as a basketball player. Not allowing a tough loss to get you down,” Martin said.
The Vols are on the same side of the bracket as No. 1 seed Florida and No. 4 seed Alabama.
“I just feel like we know what we got to do now,” Jordan McRae said. “I feel like last year we weren’t really sure how many games we had to win. Now we’re just in here with our mind at ease … .”
