View from 315A

The old adage be careful what you wish for seemed especially appropriate yesterday as Tennessee trailed South Carolina with 12 seconds remaining at the SEC Tournament in the Georgia Dome. The previous day I had been rooting for South Carolina to be Tennessee’s opponent and ,now, it appeared as though the Gamecocks might upset the Vols. Chris Lofton dashed their hopes with a 3-point shot with 11.4 seconds remaining, sealing an 89-87 win and validating our hotel reservations.

Tennessee had won their previous two meetings with USC by an average of 28.5 points, including a 33-point win in Knoxville just five days earlier. So when they were playing LSU, whom UT had only beaten by 2, the Gamecocks seemed like the softer opponent. LSU had also been playing well, compiling a 5-4 record since firing their coach on February 8. I was pleased with South Carolina 77-73 win.

South Carolina (14-18) played inspired basketball against UT, knowing their next loss would mean the last game for Coach Dave Odom, who announced his retirement in January. Devan Downey scored 26 and Zam Fredrick added 24 to lead the Gamecocks.

The Vols shot 73 percent in the second half to overcome 18 turnovers. The second half was tightly contested throughout with six ties and eight lead changes. Much like the Florida home game this year, Tyler Smith scored all 13 of his points in the second half. At one juncture, he scored eleven consecutive points. He also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Tennessee had four players in double-figures. Wayne Chism led the team with 23 points and 7 rebounds.

For awhile, it seemed like the Volunteers’ woes in the conference tournament would continue. Despite his success, the win was Bruce Pearl’s first at the event. UT lost last year in the first round to sixth-seeded LSU, 76-67 in overtime. The previous year, South Carolina knocked off the eastern division champions, 79-71.

SMA and I stayed to cheer Arkansas to victory over Vanderbilt, as they vied to be Tennessee’s next opponent. Since our last loss was at Vanderbilt and since they were the only other nationally ranked opponent left in the field, we wanted them to lose. They did, 81-75. We can only hope our dream does not become another nightmare.

Random Game Notes:

• Prior to the game, Tennessee was awarded the trophy representing its first outright SEC title in 41 years.
  
• Tennessee is in the semifinals of the SEC tournament for the first time since 1991. The Vols have not won the championship since 1979.
  
• Lofton’s game-winner was only his second three-pointer of the game on ten attempts.
  
• Unfortunately, Zam Fredrick’s full first name is not Shazam, but rather Zambolist.
  
• Most of Fredrick’s points came in the first half on open looks from behind the three-point arc when he was mismatched with a Tennessee post player.
  
• Dave Odom finishes his career with a 406-278 record. He was 128-104 at South Carolina.
  
• At the outset of the tournament, the All-SEC team was announced. Chris Lofton and Tyler Smith made the first team, while JaJuan Smith made the second. J.P. Prince was named the conference’s best sixth man and Bruce Pearl shared the coach of the year honors with Kentucky’s Billy Gillespie. (Seriously?) Finally, JaJuan Smith was Tennessee’s lone representative on the All-Defensive team.