Incentive will take you only so far. Tennessee basketball taught Texas as much Friday with an 83-72 victory in the SEC tournament in Nashville.
The Longhorns’ late-season rush has carried them to within striking distance of the NCAA tournament. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi declared them as the “last team in” after they posted tournament victories over Vanderbilt and Texas A&M, who are both likely NCAA qualifiers.
But their momentum couldn’t withstand the shooting of Chaz Lanier and coach Rick Barnes’ typically clingy defense in the SEC quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena. Lanier scored 17 of Tennessee’s first 21 points for the fourth-seeded Vols (26-6).
Seeding matters more than ranking or record this time of year, though. Tennessee might be thinking about that when it takes on top-seeded Auburn and SEC coach of the year Bruce Pearl on Saturday in the semifinals.
Auburn (28-4), which topped Ole Miss on Friday, has virtually clinched a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Tennessee is currently projected as a second seed but could move up if it were to win the SEC tournament.
The Tennessee-Auburn outcome is apt to hinge on making tough shots. Don’t expect much scoring.
Tennessee leads the country in field-goal defense and 3-point field-goal defense. Auburn is tied for No. 1 in blocked shots per game.
Shots rarely went uncontested in their regular-season game, which the Tigers won 53-51 at Auburn. The Vols made only 31.5% of their shots. Auburn also struggled for baskets, but it has something Tennessee doesn’t: center Johni Broome, one of the leading candidates for national player of the year.
Never mind that his presence was uncertain against Tennessee because of an ankle injury in their regular-season game. He came off the bench to score 16 points, snare 14 rebounds and block four shots.
He also made the timeliest baskets in Auburn’s 62-57 victory over Ole Miss. After the Rebels had cut the Tigers’ lead to two points, Broome delivered a three-point play between two defenders late in the game. He finally clinched the victory on a jump shot with 11.1 seconds to play.
Tennessee certainly has room for improvement in the post against the Tigers. Igor Milicic had almost as many fouls (four) as points and rebounds combined (six) in that regular-season loss.
Milicic and Jahmai Mashack helped the Vols outrebound the Longhorns,, and Tennessee also outhustled Texas at times.
“We’ve got to get those 50-50 balls,” Texas coach Rodney Terry implored during a timeout late in the first half.
Tennessee’s fresher legs might have factored into that. Texas also was a step slow in trying to keep up with Lanier. He made eight of 11 field-goal tries while his teammates were a combined 7-for-21 in the first half. UT’s offense suffered when point guard Zakai Zeigler drew a second foul and went to the bench for the last 6:34 of the half.
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Zeigler became the focal point of the offense in the second half when he scored all 19 of his points. His defense also helped the Vols pull away from Texas in the second half.
Texas leading scorer Tre Johnson could vouch for Tennessee’s tenacious defense. Most of his troubles came against Mashack, who reminded everyone why he has been a four-time selection on the all-SEC defensive team.
Johnson, who scored 26 points against Tennessee during the regular season, escaped Mashack long enough for only three first-half shots, two of which he hit. He made another difficult shot early in the second half but finished with just 11 points on 3-for-8 shooting.
Throttling Johnson, one of the SEC’s most creative shooters, qualifies as another defensive accomplishment for the Vols. But thwarting Broome will present a different challenge.
He’s surrounded by a better complementary cast and a better defense. Tennessee will find out how much better Saturday.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball tops Texas to set up Rick Barnes vs Bruce Pearl
