MIXED EMOTIONS
SEC might need to shift its schedule
ST. LOUIS — Less than a minute after Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes learned his third-seeded Volunteers would play their NCAA tournament opener against Wright State at 12:40 p.m. EDT Thursday in Dallas, he turned to his players and his coaches watching the selection show inside Scottrade Arena and said, “Let’s go.”
And when you’re still in St. Louis at 6:27 Sunday night after losing to Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference tournament title game, and you still have to fly home to Knoxville, then reach Big D by Tuesday evening, you’ve got to move fast. Too, too fast.
There’s a lot to break down about this field and where all 68 teams were seeded and where they were placed. But if the NCAA selection committee is going to refuse to promise those teams whose conferences schedule their tourney title games on Selection Sunday to open in a Friday-Sunday first-and-second round NCAA site, then those conferences — beginning with the SEC — need to reschedule their tourneys to end on Saturday. No exceptions.
Just look at the paths Tennessee and Kentucky must travel just to reach the Sweet 16 as South Regional semifinalists in Atlanta.
Widely viewed as a No. 3 seed entering the SEC tourney, the Vols got just that, which means they’re two wins away from Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But to get there, they’ll have to beat Wright State on Thursday, then the winner of Miami versus Loyola of
Chicago on Saturday. Before anyone thinks that makes a matchup against the physical, athletic Hurricanes all but certain, consider that Loyola won against Florida in Gainesville earlier this year. Nothing is certain this time of year.
Well, maybe nothing but Kentucky getting a really, really tough draw.
To quote Wildcats coach John Calipari before he’d seen the bracket: “We’ll probably get a 12 and play the play-in game in Dayton. Is there a site in Anchorage?”
It wasn’t that bad, but just as the Vols were expected to be a No. 3 seed before the SEC tourney began, most saw Kentucky as a No. 5 seed, which is what it got. The Wildcats also got a Thursday-Saturday draw, and their potential second-round opponent — if they get past Davidson — sounds and looks more like a Final Four pairing, because it would pit Kentucky’s Cats against the Cactus Cats of Arizona, assuming the latter knocks out Buffalo in its opener.
Arizona and Kentucky were both considered Final Four teams when the season began — ’Zona was No. 3 in The Associated Press preseason poll, with Kentucky fifth — and by winning their conference tournaments, they’ve proven themselves capable of fulfilling those expectations. But one will be gone by Saturday night, with the other certain to be a threat to Virginia in the Sweet 16.
That said, the No. 1 (Duke), No. 2 (Michigan State) and No. 4 (Kansas) teams in the preseason poll are all in the same Midwest Regional, with Kansas the top seed, Duke second and Michigan State third. Those three have 39 combined Final Four appearances, but they’ll have no more than 40 after this year.
But back to the Vols, who are making their first NCAA appearance since 2014 and hoping for their first Final Four berth.
“It would be awesome to have that extra day,” Barnes said. “You’d like to play in Nashville (a Friday-Sunday site), and coaches will always argue to move (conference) championship games up to Saturday. But it is what it is. Let’s go play.”
Nor are all of the Vols completely unfamiliar with Wright State. Junior forward Admiral Schofield was at a leadership camp over the summer with Raiders senior guard Grant Benzinger, who averages 14.5 points per game.
“I just call him ‘G,’” Schofield said. “He’s a good guy. ”
It’s always a good tournament, and Tennessee would seem to have a good chance to get to Atlanta if it can overcome fatigue against Wright State and a size issue against Miami in the second round. The Vols shoot it well enough to beat Cincinnati in the Sweet 16, and they just might be crafty enough to shock Virginia or Arizona in the regional final.
Let Kentucky shock Arizona in the round of 32, and Tennessee and Kentucky might even face off a fourth time this season. Trivia buffs might recall the last time such an event happened in Atlanta, LSU beat Kentucky inside Atlanta’s Omni in 1986 to go to the Final Four after losing three times to Big Blue earlier in the year.
Of course, the Vols have already beaten Kentucky twice this year.
At least Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Missouri and Texas A&M are all in the field somewhere, however, with those eight being the largest number of SEC teams to make the tournament in a single season.
Still, as Barnes noted, “When you play on Sunday, it’s obvious that if you had your choice, you’d like to play on Friday.”
And because of that, if the NCAA is willing to penalize teams for Sunday tournament finals, the SEC needs to move its championship game to Saturday.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress. com.