KNOXVILLE -- An overtime road win against its in-state rival may have been a season-saver for Tennessee.
It's up to the Volunteers, though, to make that the case.
After nearly sustaining a third straight loss, Tennessee hopes to build off Wednesday night's improbable win at Vanderbilt by completing a two-win week against LSU this afternoon.
"It was big," guard Kevin Punter said of Tennessee's 76-73 overtime triumph at Vanderbilt. "We was on a two-game losing streak, so we needed one. Especially to win one on the road in a hostile environment, for us that was key. That was key."
From the players in the locker room to first-year coach Donnie Tyndall, the Vols certainly soaked up the moments after Wednesday's win, but they were back at work with a Thursday video session and practiced Friday afternoon at Pratt Pavilion.
LSU had an extra day to move past a 71-69 loss to No. 1 and unbeaten Kentucky at home Tuesday night. The Tigers erased a 13-point deficit with a 21-2 second-half run and led by six with about seven minutes left, but the Wildcats won by holding the home team scoreless the final four minutes. The Tigers missed a 3 at the buzzer that would have won the game.
Tyndall, who was an assistant coach at LSU under John Brady for four seasons (1997-2001), doesn't expect any lingering aftereffects good or bad to have much of an impact on today's game.
"I think it wipes away once you start the game," he said. "I think you learn from those experiences, so if we happen to be in another tight game, maybe we're a little more poised and composed like we were late in that game, but I think once the ball's tipped up, all that stuff kind of goes out the window.
"It'll be the team that's probably the most excited and ready to play, and it's a big game for both teams, so I'm pretty sure both teams will be excited and ready to go."
LSU, which has lost three of its last four games, isn't a good matchup for Tennessee, which seemingly faces a bad matchup every time out. The Tigers are led by big men Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin, two of the top scorers and rebounders in the SEC. The two average 33 points and 20 rebounds per game between them.
"They've got two guys on the front line that are NBA players," Tyndall said. "Whether it's going to be this year or in a year, they're both guys that are going to play in the NBA. They're long, they're athletic, and as we've talked about all year, a deficiency of our team is our front-line size and physicality.
"We're going to have to do a good job of packing it in in our zone and doubling down or digging down when they catch and doing the best we can to keep them off the glass."
The Vols will take whatever they can get from freshman forwards Tariq Owens and Willie Carmichael, who made his first start in a month against Vanderbilt, but most of the burden in the matchup with Mickey and Martin will fall on Derek Reese and Armani Moore.
Reese had 12 points and eight rebounds against Vanderbilt, and Tyndall said he'll need "to be at least that good or better" against LSU's two stars.
"We know that Jarell and Mickey, they're very good down low," said the 6-foot-5 Moore, Tennessee's leading rebounder. "They're good at what they do. We know they're really some rebound hogs. I think most importantly for our team is being able to box out and being able to focus on what we've got to do on the defensive side of the ball."
"Everything that we do this year is a team effort. I know I'm going to be down there battling with some of these bigger guys, but I know it's going to take the rest of my teammates to rebound down and help me box out some of these guys. It's not about what one person can do."
Tennessee's two games next week are at home against unbeaten Kentucky and at Ole Miss, which is tied for second in the SEC, but the Vols at least enter their toughest three-game stretch of the season off a big win.
"Definitely (it's a boost), knowing that you're still in the race," Punter said. "You've got a team coming in here that people say is an automatic tournament team, and they're 6-5 (in the SEC) just like us. Tomorrow's really important for us to get the win and keep it rolling."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.