Tennessee had a desirable stay at last year’s Southeastern Conference basketball tournament, advancing to the championship game of a loaded, 16-team field.
The Volunteers defeated Texas in the quarterfinals and Auburn in the semifinals before coming up short against Florida, but forward Felix Okpara is the only Tennessee player who competed in the two triumphs in Nashville who is making the return trip to Bridgestone Arena. A similar run will have to occur with almost an entirely new cast of characters.
“The excitement right now is definitely very different,” Vols freshman forward DeWayne Brown II said Tuesday in a news conference. “I feel like there is going to be more of an urge with everybody, because everybody knows it’s win or go home.”
The No. 25 Vols are seeded fifth after their 21-10 regular season that included an 11-7 record in SEC contests. They will open tournament play Thursday around 3 p.m. Eastern against the winner of Wednesday’s 3 p.m. game between 12th-seeded Auburn (16-15, 7-11) and 13th-seeded Mississippi State (13-18, 5-13).
Tennessee is not exactly a current picture of health, with junior forward Cade Phillips (shoulder) out for the season and with three freshmen — forward Nate Ament (ankle) and guards Amari Evans (ankle) and Troy Henderson (shoulder) — nursing injuries. Junior forward Jaylen Carey was sick during this past Saturday’s 86-82 loss to visiting Vanderbilt and played just 12 minutes.