All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball: 5 disadvantages Vols face in the SEC Tournament

By Caleb Calhoun

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts after losing to the Loyola Ramblers 63-62 in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 17: Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts after losing to the Loyola Ramblers 63-62 in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center on March 17, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Tennessee basketball
Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images /

3. Tennessee basketball has a quick turnaround in its tournament schedule. 

The danger of the opponents is a debatable one only because Tennessee basketball did beat all of those guys. But another thing that could make this a dangerous tournament for the Vols is the way their schedule sets up.

Sure, they get a lot of rest before playing their first game, which won’t be until 9 p.m. Friday night. But that could also mean they have gotten out of rhythm and had too much time to dwell on the fact that they didn’t win the SEC regular season title. So it could go either way.

Considering the fact that they’re likely to play a very good team that night in the Mississippi State Bulldogs, it could be even more dangerous. Ben Howland’s team lost to the Vols in a blowout earlier this year, but the same thing happened last year in the regular season, and then they nearly won an SEC Tournament match-up on Friday. Who’s to say they won’t pull it off this time?

Meanwhile, even if they win, they’ll have to take the court again at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. That’s a much more extreme turnaround than the team they face will have, which will either be the Kentucky Wildcats, Ole Miss Rebels or Alabama Crimson Tide. Kentucky plays one of those teams at 7 p.m. Friday, meaning the game likely ends at 9 p.m.

Ending at 9 p.m. is far different from ending at 11 p.m. when the game the next day is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Vols, should they win on Saturday, would then have to play at 1 p.m. on Sunday. So they would go from ending a game at 11 p.m. Friday to playing at 1 p.m. on Sunday if they kept winning, and that time frame would include three games.

Home/Vols Basketball