Vols’ focus now is all American

KNOXVILLE — St. Patrick’s Day was “It is what it is” day in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Coach Bruce Pearl pinched his Tennessee basketball team back into reality one day after Sunday’s disappointing NCAA tournament selection news.

None of the coaches and players wanted to be a No. 2 seed, but they knew it was a possibility. As impressive as UT’s resume was — “I’d stack it up with anybody’s,” Pearl said — the Vols muddied their futures by losing to Arkansas in an SEC tournament semifinal.

The seed wasn’t a shock. The region competition was.

Many have called the East Regional this tournament’s toughest bracket. Aside from UT, the East features No. 1 overall seed North Carolina, Final Four-caliber No. 3 seed Louisville and a mess of mid-major monsters. Seventh-seeded Butler is ranked 12th in this week’s Associated Press poll and 10th in the coaches’ rankings, and the Bulldogs beat UT on a neutral court last season.

Tennessee’s other possible second-round opponent — No. 10 seed South Alabama — is “stupid talented,” according to Pearl. The Jaguars beat Mississippi State at home and lost at Vanderbilt and at Ole Miss by a combined six points.

“You never know what to expect, but I don’t think we saw this coming,” Vols senior point guard Jordan Howell said. “We didn’t take care of business in the SEC tournament, though, so what can you say?

“It is what it is.”

And it starts Friday in Birmingham with a 12:15 p.m. EDT game against No. 15 seed American University. Tennessee will be the small Washington, D.C., school’s first NCAA tournament opponent.

“At the end of the day, everyone has six games for a national championship,” UT sophomore forward Duke Crews said. “It’s time to look at American. A 2-15 game is a trap game.

“I’m sure they’re excited about playing us.”

Pearl’s personality generally prevents poor preparation. His teams have been beaten, but they’re rarely flat. This week is a tough test, though, considering the Vols’ focus since clinching the SEC championship was on getting a No. 1 seed. Pearl has barked those words at the Vols every day.

“I wanted them to understand the importance and the difference between being a 1 and a 2 or 3, and how that translated almost into 2-to-1 (better) chances of getting to Final Four,” Pearl said. “Losing to Arkansas and then not getting the 1 seed, 18 hours later, I can’t make that pain go away. The kids are disappointed, but we will be ready to play on Friday, and hopefully again on Sunday.

“I’ll tell you right now, I don’t know that we have one of the 10 best teams in country. I don’t know if we’re one of 20 best. But I can tell you I still believe based on what we did in regular season, we should’ve been a 1 seed.”

But there’s also nothing Pearl and his players can do about that now, other than sophomore forward Tyler Smith’s plea to “use this as serious motivation.

“It’s time to get excited,” Smith continued. “If you’re not excited to play in this tournament, why are you out here? A 2 seed ain’t the end of the world. We can still get where we want to be.”

Pearl coach of year

Pearl was named SEC coach of the year Monday by The Associated Press, while Tyler Smith and senior guard Chris Lofton were named first-team all-conference. Senior guard JaJuan Smith was left off the six-player first team and seven-player second team but received honorable mention.

Vanderbilt senior wing Shan Foster was named AP SEC player of the year, while Florida freshman guard Nick Calathes was newcomer of the year.

Pearl and Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie last week were named co-coaches of the year in a poll of their peers. The SEC coaches voted Tyler Smith and Lofton on the first team, JaJuan Smith on the second team and UT sophomore wing J.P. Prince as sixth man of the year.