The expectations of finishing second-to-last in the SEC have apparently gone by the wayside.
At the halfway point of its season, Tennessee sits at 10-5 (2-1 SEC) with a pair of victories against ranked opponents, the latest of which seems to have placed the Volunteers in the postseason discussion.
Following their 74-69 victory over No. 19 Arkansas on Tuesday, the Vols found their way into CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm’s NCAA tournament projection as a No. 9 seed.
Donnie Tyndall, however, isn’t buying into all the newfound hype.
“I never believe those people when they say bad stuff, and I never believe them when they say good stuff,” the first-year Tennessee head coach said. “Everyone has an opinion. Those prognostications and opinions don’t mean anything right now. We’ve got a lot of basketball to be played.”
Enter the Vols’ opponent on Saturday, the Missouri Tigers, who endured an identical situation during the offseason, welcoming a new head coach as an exodus of players left the program.
“He (Missouri head coach Kim Anderson) has maybe one more guy than we did returning,” Tyndall said. “He got the job late and tried to put together a roster. His team is playing extremely hard, and I think he’s doing a great job of coaching those guys. They’ve made progress, and I think it shows week to week.”
That progress, though, took a hit Tuesday when the Tigers traveled to Lexington, Kentucky, only to get dismantled by the No. 1 Wildcats 86-37.
But the Vols aren’t allowing that loss to detract from Saturday’s contest.
“You don’t want to go in there thinking it’s an easy game because no game in the SEC is easy, no matter your record — and not really just the SEC because you could lose to any team, any day,” junior forward Derek Reese. “So we are going to take them serious like we are playing one of the best teams in the country. We can’t get complacent.”
For one Vol, though, Saturday will also be a homecoming of sorts.
Junior guard Kevin Punter, who at one point this offseason was committed to Missouri before decommiting on May 5, played two seasons in Sedalia, Missouri, for State Fair Community College where he averaged 20.3 points per game last year
But Punter isn’t making this matchup about him.
“I know a lot of people are talking about that, but for us it’s just a regular game,” Punter said. “I get to go back to the city I was in for junior college, which is pretty exciting, but for us it’s another road game and we want to go out there and get the win.”
Based on Tuesday’s victory versus Arkansas, Tyndall said on Thursday that he expects to once again go with the starting lineup of Josh Richardson, Devon Baulkman, Robert Hubbs III, Armani Moore and Reese, with the only possible change being Punter filling in for Baulkman.
The Vols and Tigers are scheduled to tip off inside Mizzou Arena at 6 p.m. EST.
