KNOXVILLE — A win today would do so much for the Tennessee men’s basketball team.
UT could wipe away what little doubt lingers about its NCAA tournament chances. The Volunteers could move off the bubble before they ever really fell that far. They could finish a regular season full of turmoil with serious momentum toward a March charge.
“It would be nice to stop all that (bubble) talk,” sophomore guard Cameron Tatum said.
And that can happen this afternoon.
That’s the good news for the 19th-ranked Vols. But there’s also bad news. Their noon opponent in the Southeastern Conference game is second-ranked Kentucky (27-1, 12-1).
UT (20-7, 8-5) stands fourth in the SEC Eastern Division — with a 1-4 record against UK, Vanderbilt and Florida — and another loss to the Wildcats would virtually cement the Vols in that spot heading into the conference tournament.
But a win could change many things.
“It’s in our minds, just knowing that we could be the only team to beat two No. 1 seeds,” said senior point guard Bobby Maze, who played a pivotal role in UT’s January upset of top-ranked Kansas. “I think that would be big for us, and it would just give our fans something special. They’ve supported us. They’ve done a great job this season.
“I think this would be the biggest win for our season right here, beating Kentucky on our home floor going down the stretch and going into the tournament.”
The Vols pushed the Wildcats in a tight game for more than 30 minutes in Rupp Arena two weeks ago, but Kentucky controlled the final moments for a 73-62 win.
“Kentucky is one of the best teams that I’ve seen in a long time with five minutes or six minutes to go,” Maze said. “Those guys, their defensive intensity picks up, and they find a way to get baskets and to win games.
“You’ve got to play 40 minutes against these guys if you want to beat them.”
Pearl, whose underdog suits fit better than anything in his wardrobe, has lamented all week that he used his best Kentucky-based scheme at Rupp. He’s also said several times that the Wildcats have sharpened their game in the past two weeks.
“Both teams could have played better up there, but don’t misunderstand me: With eight minutes to go in a tie ballgame at Kentucky, I’m in a good mood,” Pearl said. “I’m happy, but at the same time I feel like I know we’re going to have to play a lot better this time than we did last time.”
“I’ve had teams — I haven’t had many — but I’ve had a few teams where we were the best team in the league and the most talented team in the league,” Pearl said. “You’ve got to struggle through February and some parts of January in that situation. You’ve just got to struggle through them. But once you get to late February, you can see March, and that’s kind of where Kentucky is right now. They can see it, so they’re really, really, really playing well.”
In that case, it will take a really, really, really good effort for the Vols to withstand the Wildcats.
And that’s the only way UT can have a “great” season, according to Pearl.
“Seasons are judged based on how you do against Kentucky,” he said. “We can have a good year without beating Kentucky, but we can’t have a great year without beating Kentucky. It’s the most important game in the SEC for Tennessee basketball.
“Now, with that said, that should be the same for any team in the SEC. Kentucky is the benchmark.”
Today, as always for this game, should be quite the scene. There will be even more orange than usual, with UT fans being asked to wear their orange “OUTLIVE” T-shirts — which have been sold in Knoxville stores for weeks, with proceeds funding cancer screenings for East Tennesseans.
More than 2,200 East Tennesseans got free cancer screenings last year, thanks to the $93,000 raised by “OUTLIVE.” For a second consecutive year, Pearl purchased nearly 3,000 T-shirts that will be waiting in student section seats.
“The ‘OUTLIVE’ game last year saved lives,” Pearl said. “This game is going to do the same thing. It’s inspiring to play in it, and to have this place be all up in orange.”
Maze said “it’s a special feeling when you can use basketball for even bigger things.”
On a smaller level, though, beating Kentucky is also a special feeling.
“We were disappointed, because we felt like we had the game up there,” Tatum said. “We just kept thinking, ‘You know what? We actually could have beaten that team. We actually could have done what no other team did this year, and that’s beat them at their home.’ It was such a disappointment, but at the same time, it was like, ‘We know we can beat this team, and we just have to take advantage of that when they come into our house.’
“The opportunity is there. It’s just up to us to take it.”
Other contacts for Wes Rucker are www.twitter.com/wesrucker and www.facebook.com/tfpvolsbeat.