Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner prepares to shoot during the Vols' NCAA tournament opener against Colgate on Friday in Columbus, Ohio. The second-seeded Vols won 77-70 and will take on 10th-seeded Iowa in the second round at 12:10 p.m. Sunday.
Tennessee men's basketball coach Rick Barnes yells instructions to players during the first half of Friday's game against Colgate.COLUMBUS, Ohio - There may be reasons for concern for the Tennessee Volunteers coming off Friday's 77-70 first-round win over Colgate in the NCAA basketball tournament.
On Saturday afternoon, though, no concerns were apparent on their faces as members of the South Region's second-seeded team again sat at a podium to answer questions from media. The starters were all smiles, and there was a relaxed nature among the Vols (30-5) before they practiced for Sunday's second-round game against the 10th-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (23-11) at Nationwide Arena. Tipoff is set for 12:10 p.m. and CBS will televise the game.
At one point during the news conference, Jordan Bone's phone went off and his teammates laughed as he rushed to silence it.
"That was my homeboy," Bone said. "Sorry about that."
Behind the fun is a memory, though, and not a fond one. It harkens back to the second round of last year's NCAA tournament, when the Vols lost 62-60 to Loyola-Chicago on a last-second shot. It also came against a lower-seeded team - the 11th-seeded Ramblers eventually reached the Final Four - and the disappointment hasn't been forgotten by any of the players in the program who experienced it.
That's why they talk about unfinished business.
"You know, it's definitely something you remember," said Bone, a junior point guard. "I kind of used it as motivation during my offseason, and I feel like this team kind of uses moments like that, not just Loyola specifically, but just tough losses and just kind of being in the trenches, we kind of use that as motivation in order for us to be the team that we are today. And I feel like it's very important to use moments like that as motivation to make it better."
For the Vols to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014, there are definitely some things they need to fix. The Hawkeyes are similar to Colgate in that they are proficient 3-point shooters and often play zone defense - which means Tennessee has game experience against a similar style, although Iowa will have better players than the Raiders to execute the style.
The Vols have given up 15 3-pointers in each of their past two games. The Hawkeyes are 10-2 when they make 10 or more 3s in a game and shoot 50 percent or better, but the Vols are 8-1 when opponents make 10 or more 3s.
On the offensive end, Tennessee has taken some shots early in possessions the past couple of games, which hasn't helped.
"I think in those games our offense has taken tough shots, not getting the shot we want and not making them work, kind of leading out to them opening the floor and kind of driving and kicking, and them getting the momentum," redshirt junior guard Lamonte Turner said. "So I think it's our offense that kind of leads to stuff like that."
Being in this moment is exactly what the Vols wanted, though. The 30 wins are nice, the No. 1 ranking they held for a month during the regular season was nice, but it's going to be the next game and any that follow - a stretch when one bad day could end a season filled with promise - that will determine how this Tennessee team is ultimately remembered.
At least the Vols are loose going into it, which may not have been the case Friday.
"I think the hard thing in this tournament is getting started, obviously," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "And I think that when you play the way we started out playing and - but we weren't really aggressive as we were making some shots early. And I can tell you, they (Colgate) made some tough shots I mean, we gave them some where we broke down in transition, but the fact is you've got to give them credit. I mean, they made 15 3s, and I'm telling you they were pretty tough 3s to make.
"But I do think that we were a little bit anxious and maybe wanting to get back to where we have a chance to play again But I expect us now to come out and realize this is like playing a conference game against anybody in your league where you know you're going to have to be ready to play and hope that we can play well.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.