KNOXVILLE -- In his first 12 games as Tennessee's basketball coach, Donnie Tyndall learned his team has more fight in it than he expected.
The Volunteers will need that mentality as they enter Southeastern Conference play.
The league portion of Tennessee's schedule begins with a trip to Mississippi State on Wednesday night, and the 8-4 Vols, now down to nine scholarship players, must continue what's allowed them to be competitive in nearly every game this season.
"I think we have a very resilient group, and when you have so many newcomers like we have that usually takes a year or two to get that base in your team," Tyndall said at his news conference Monday. "We're very fortunate we've got a very receptive group of kids that are coachable. They've bought in early. The chemistry's been good.
"We've been able to overcome some tough spots during games or stretches during the game to stay competitive."
Tennessee's roster was thin on experience and size entering the season, and it will have even less depth and less height heading into SEC play. Tyndall said injured freshman forward Jabari McGhee likely will miss the rest of the season after undergoing foot surgery last month. McGhee would receive a medical redshirt if he doesn't return after playing in just eight games.
The NCAA informed Tennessee late last week that it had denied walk-on point guard Braxton Bonds' appeal for a transfer waiver. The freshman, who attended classes for three days at Liberty, will redshirt this season as he sits out. The Nashville resident can continue to practice, however.
Guard Ian Chiles, who transferred to Tennessee from IUPUI for his final season of eligibility, will undergo surgery on his right shoulder and miss the rest of the season after injuries limited him to 14 minutes this season.
The Vols lost their biggest player, 6-foot-10 Dominic Woodson, last month when the Memphis transfer elected to leave the program at the end of the fall semester.
Tyndall said the remaining nine players are "tough, hard-nosed, competitive kids" who will lead Tennessee into SEC play after a nonconference slate that included no bad losses and nice wins against Butler and Kansas State.
Tennessee was picked to finish 13th in the SEC at the league's media days in October, and Tyndall and his players used that as motivation entering the season.
"I think our team kind of knows what others think of it, and we've talked about expectations that only matter with the people in our locker room, our players and our coaches," Tyndall said. "Outside of that, whether it's individually or as a team, no one's opinion really matters.
"We've got to continue to improve every day -- individually as players, individually as coaches -- and then collectively our team will get better. All those prognosticators and guys that pick you here and there, it really doesn't matter, if we do what we're supposed to do."
The Vols have an RPI of 75, which is seventh-highest in the 14-team SEC. Two of their four losses came to top-20 teams Virginia Commonwealth and Kansas. North Carolina State is 11-4, and three of Marquette's losses came to ranked teams.
"We know what we're capable of," Vols guard Josh Richardson said. "We know that we're not the 13th-best team in this league. We've got to come out and do what we know to do and prove everybody wrong.
"I think we're a very dangerous team."
Of course, Tennessee trailed at some point in each game during its ongoing four-game win streak against Tennessee Tech, Mercer, Tennessee State and East Tennessee State.
Tyndall noted the SEC's balance beyond top-ranked Kentucky and said the Vols need to be tough and detailed as they embark on the 18-game trip that will take them to March.
"I use this as an example a lot, but you're down 18 to VCU. That game could've easily went to 30. Instead we cut it to eight three different times," Tyndall said. "Our team never quit competing.
"We played Kansas, which is a top-10 team, and they're up 13. Again we could've stopped playing and competing, and the game (could have) ended up 20 or 25. We actually tied it up with about five and a half to go. The other night we go down 13-0 against East Tennessee and could have easily felt sorry for ourselves and didn't.
"With all that being said, I think we have a resilient bunch for our lack of experience and our youth."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.