It had been 42 years since the University of Tennessee last won the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
And while it wasn’t easy for the middle stretch of the contest, Tennessee’s 65-50 win over Texas A&M was never in question.
Whether it was Santiago Vescovi, Kennedy Chandler or Josiah Jordan James, each of whom was named to the All-Tournament team, one of UT’s guards had an answer each time the team needed a lift, all weekend long.
Tennessee won the tip for the third day in a row, and after a little nervy back and forth, Chandler hit a three to get it rolling.
James gathered a steal and finished the job with an and-one on the other end. The free throw was good, and Tennessee led 6-0 two minutes in. James hit a three on the next possession, and Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams had seen enough.
Just after he signaled for the timeout, he confidently nodded up and down while addressing his guys. “We’re good,” he assured them. Williams is a very good coach, and if A&M makes it to the Dance (which they should), his team will be a tough out. “It’ll be a real mistake if Texas A&M is not in the tournament,” said Tennessee coach Rick Barnes after the game.
After a Brandon Huntley-Hatfield offensive rebound, Vescovi hit a deep three, and the Vols led 12-0 with 16 minutes left in the first half. Huntley-Hatfield worked a strong post move after a steal on the other end, and the Vols led 14-0 after the conversion.
Zakai Zeigler, John Fulkerson and Jonas Aidoo checked in at the 15:00 mark, a little bit later than they normally make the shift change.
Henry Coleman III finally got the Aggies on the board six minutes into the game, and Aidoo answered on the other end. Coleman got another bucket over Aidoo for the Aggies’ second basket.
Then a mysterious stoppage of play occurred. It wasn’t the first time this happened over the weekend.
After a couple of listless minutes, Zeigler got a steal, but Fulkerson’s attempt was untrue. On the other end, Coleman got yet another bucket and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but Quenton Jackson added a score to tighten the deficit. On the other end, Zeigler traveled, and Vol fans began to get a little nervous.
The Vols defense would have none of it, though, as it stood strong on the Aggies’ possession, forcing a shot clock violation. It wasn’t the first time the Vols had forced the Aggies to use the majority of the clock.
After a considerable drought, Chandler finally hit a three, and the Vols led 19-10 at the under-eight-minute media timeout.
Tennessee has gone cold from the floor at least once a game as of late, but its defense has helped the Vols weather these droughts.
Hayden Hefner hit one of two. The Aggie role player had a huge game in Texas A&M’s upset win over Arkansas on Saturday.
After another UT drought, James hit a floater, and Huntley-Hatfield got a steal to ensure that the Aggies couldn’t gain any ground as time expired. At the half, Tennessee was in a fight with the pesky Aggies but led 29-20. Tennessee didn’t have an impressive offensive first half, but it held A&M to just 27 percent shooting from the field.
The Aggies scored immediately at the start of the second frame, with Radford getting his first points of the game on a baseline cut. Uros Plavsic scored easily on the other end.
After a Vescovi three, A&M hit a couple free throws to cut the lead to 10. Jackson scored on a run out, and Radford hit a three to cut the lead to five with 17 to go.
Again, Chandler had the answer. He hit a huge three after a Plavsic offensive board to make the tally 37-29.
Plavsic picked up his third foul on the Aggies’ next possession, after which he and James exchanged a few words. The Vols were obviously tight. Fulkerson, the only remaining Vol who played on the 1979 SEC Championship team (I kid, of course), calmed the two, and Vescovi got fouled from three on the following play. He hit all three shots, got a steal and hit another three. Tennessee had done that several times over the weekend, with most of these individual flurries beginning with Chandler.
Zeigler made a name for himself for going on personal runs in the regular season, as well. It’s always a possibility for Tennessee, which makes them a tough out, no matter the opponent. It goes a long way towards balancing out the droughts that UT tends to experience.
Vescovi hit another three to make the lead 15, and James came up with a huge block thereafter. His defense throughout the tournament was dominant. Zeigler followed with a triple, and James added two of his own, the second of which netted as the shot clock blared.
This gave the Vols an 18-point lead with 7:30 to go, and the sense of anticipation in the crowd was palpable.
After Chandler poked the ball away from Hefner, Vescovi held his palm to the ground in a signal to slow it down. He drove and found Fulkerson, who stuffed it in with two hands. Fulkerson ended the game with eight points and 12 big rebounds.
Vescovi hit two free throws, and my phone began blowing up with notifications touting championship t-shirt offers.
As time expired, the score was 75-60, and for the first time since 1979, a Tennessee men’s basketball team cut down the nets.
As blue and yellow confetti rained down on the Vols in the postgame celebration, the players pressed to get the ancillary staff involved.
“It wasn’t just the players who cut down the nets,” said Barnes after the game. “The good Lord has blessed me with so much, and this group has been special. They wanted to get our managers and GAs involved with cutting down the net, too.”
After being named the tournament’s most valuable player, Chandler reflected about his experience this year with Barnes. “I came to Tennessee for a reason,” he said. “I knew coach Barnes was going to be hard on me. He’s taught me so much, and I just love him.”
“It’s very hard to win a championship at any level,” added Barnes. “When they do it, it’s something they should enjoy. I can’t say enough about our guys and our fans … our coaches, everyone.”
Tennessee will discover its NCAA Tournament fate when the selection show takes place later this evening.
Other notes:
– Over the course of the weekend, I was afforded the opportunity to rub elbows with several people whom I’ve admired from afar. Tournament games are entirely different from regular season games. There’s camaraderie in the air amongst all in attendance, as well as among everyone working. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was as unassuming and pleasant as anyone in his position could be. He’s the right guy for the job, and the SEC is very lucky to have him.
-There were Fudge Rounds beside the fruit in the media hospitality area. Nice touch, I thought.
-Tampa and Amalie Arena were excellent hosts of the tournament. I truly hope that the SEC is able to come back here after the contract with Nashville expires. Bridgestone does a great job with this, as well, but you can’t go to the beach and cover a game in the same day in Nashville.
