ATLANTA — Several people praised Tennessee’s basketball fans Friday.
South Carolina coach Dave Odom went the furthest, comparing the Vols’ support to the Kentucky fans who annually turn the Georgia Dome into “Catlanta” for the Southeastern Conference tournament.
“The UT orange pulled a UK blue,” Odom said. “They were in the eyesight of everybody today. They bought tickets, and they got in there.
Odom said he expected his Gamecocks to “have a little bit of an advantage” Friday afternoon, considering fans from every other SEC school would want tournament favorite Tennessee eliminated as soon as possible.
“But I underestimated the wallets of the Tennessee people,” Odom said. “They went out and bought tickets, much like Wildcats usually do.
“Wildcats had better get in line if they (want) tickets.”
UT coach Bruce Pearl said he expected to see even more orange today, as his team is playing in a semifinal for the first time since 1991.
The more the merrier for Tennessee (29-3) today, because its opponent has been woeful on the road all season. Arkansas (21-10) was 15-1 at home this season, but the Razorbacks were 2-7 on the road and are 4-2 on neutral floors.
Arkansas defeated 18th-ranked Vanderbilt in a Friday semifinal, but the Commodores have been similarly inept away from home. Vandy was 19-0 at Memorial Gymnasium and is 7-7 everywhere else.
The Vols certainly won’t have an athletic advantage over the Razorbacks, but most teams don’t. Arkansas has quick, tough guards and one of the nation’s most physically imposing frontcourts with All-SEC wing Sonny Weems surrounded by five rotating post players who are 6-foot-8 or taller.
But all of that talent hasn’t fared well outside of Fayetteville’s Bud Walton Arena.
“That’s always been a different kind of animal for us,” Arkansas center Darian Townes said. “That’s just how it’s always been with us. We get on the road, and we start beating ourselves.
“Getting this one was big. Hopefully we’re past all of that stuff.”
The Razorbacks, like South Carolina, sounded happy to get another shot at Tennessee. Arkansas trailed by four points at halftime before losing 93-71.
“Definitely,” Razorbacks senior point guard Gary Ervin said. “Who wouldn’t want another shot? If we play like we did today, we can beat a lot of teams on a neutral site.
“Tennessee’s a great team. I’m not taking anything away from them. They’ve got their respect around the country, and they do a lot of great things on the defensive and offensive end. It’s going to be a tough game ... but we’re excited.”
First-year Razorbacks coach John Pelphrey spoke about the Volunteers for about one minute. In that time, he twice used the word “awesome” and slipped in a “spectacular.”
“They’ve got two guys at every position,” Pelphrey said. “We need everybody contributing and getting into it. We know how tall the order is.”
Especially if Tennessee fans turn out like Pearl said they will.
“If you think it was good today, it’s going to be unbelievable tomorrow,” Pearl said. “I want to ask the state troopers in the state of Tennessee to please stay off of I-75 South, but I want to alert our fans that once we cross the border, heads up, I’m not responsible.
“Our fans are going to come down the road in huge numbers.”
Regardless, Ervin said Arkansas’ biggest factor is “our own focus.
“When we do what we’re supposed to do, we’re usually in good shape,” he said.
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