KNOXVILLE - For a basketball team stocked with players lacking NCAA tournament experience, there is no substitute for the real thing.
But what the Tennessee Volunteers experienced in the Southeastern Conference tournament at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis this past weekend offered a test run of sorts that brought mixed results.
"The first-round game against Mississippi State was tough," coach Rick Barnes said. "We didn't play great. Everything that goes around the NCAA tournament, the big stage of that, I didn't think we handled that well on the first day."
Tennessee's Jordan Bone (0) steals the ball from Kentucky's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (22) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball championship game at the Southeastern Conference tournament Sunday, March 11, 2018, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)Barnes was also displeased with how the Vols handled the pressure-packed environment of Sunday's championship game. They had a slow start in a 77-72 loss to Kentucky.
"Again, it's new experiences for these guys," said Barnes, who is preparing for his 23rd NCAA tournament as a head coach. "They're doing everything for the first time. But the fact is we'll learn a lot from this past weekend in terms of tournament basketball, I think, because each game was different and each situation was different."
The Tennessee team left for Dallas on Tuesday afternoon. As the No. 3 seed in the NCAA South Regional, the Vols will open play Thursday at 12:40 p.m. EDT against No. 14 seed Wright State at the American Airlines Center.
The 13th-ranked Vols (25-8) have played - and won - in venues large and loud or small and subdued all year. Now the stakes are raised. It's win or go home. There is no bigger tournament waiting if the Vols lose.
"Nothing is going to change," sophomore point guard Jordan Bone said. "We've just got to sharpen everything up. I don't feel like anything is going to change. We're going to be true to ourselves and what we've been doing all season and get us up to this point, and we've just got to be ready to go in the tournament."
Tennessee's preparation for this event started when Barnes was hired before the 2015-16 season and started beefing up the program's nonconference schedule. Though it didn't help their standing in the Rating Percentage Index, the Vols scrimmaged both Davidson and Clemson before this season. Both of those teams are in the NCAA tournament, as is Lipscomb, which the Vols beat on Dec. 9.
"Everything we've done is to try and prepare you to see different styles," Barnes said.
Barnes added that the coaching staff isn't going to treat the NCAA tournament "like it's the end of the world" even though it's a new experience for his team. The idea is to stick with what got the Vols from being predicted to finish 13th in the SEC before the season to being ranked 13th nationally entering the Big Dance.
"With everything we've done, hopefully with the scheduling from the very beginning - starting three years ago to right now - they've learned," Barnes said. "I think that's what got us to this point."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.