Pearl hoping to avoid tourney letdown
‘The problem is, sometimes you have to give a three-day guarantee on your hotel, and we’ve not been very successful at the SEC tournament,’ Pearl said Monday.
That’s a bit of an understatement.
The Vols have won their first tournament game only once in the past five seasons.
They haven’t won two games in a row since 1991, when a 12-21 Tennessee team played in the SEC championship game but lost 88-69 to Alabama.
The last SEC tournament title for Tennessee? 1979.
Tennessee is looking to build off its regular season success. By winning the SEC regular season title, the fourth-ranked Vols (28-3) earned a first-round bye in this season’s tournament, which begins Thursday in Atlanta.
Pearl has yet to win an SEC tournament game. In 2007, the Vols were eliminated by an LSU team that included All-American Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis, and in 2006 they lost to eventual NIT champion South Carolina.
On Friday, Tennessee will play either LSU or South Carolina.
‘We ironically play against (one of) the two teams that have knocked us off in the last two rounds. There’s no question we’ll use that as motivation,’ Pearl said.
The Vols have a bit more to play for than revenge, though. Pearl said he’s convinced his players have already earned a top seed in the NCAA tournament because of their strength of schedule, quality road wins and top RPI.
An early exit in the SEC tournament might make Tennessee’s case for a No. 1 seed a bit weaker.
‘We’ve got a lot to play for ‘ a lot to play for ‘ in this tournament,’ Pearl said. ‘The difference between being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and No. 2 is very significant as it relates to advancing to the Final Four: almost two to one.’
Pearl doesn’t appear to worried that a deep run in the SEC tournament might fatigue his players come time for the Big Dance.
He said tournament championships can work as both as a momentum killer and momentum builder, but either way it won’t influence the Vols’ approach to the conference tournament.
‘We’re certainly not going to throw off just so we’re fresh for the NCAA tournament. We’re going to go there and try to win it,’ Pearl said.