Repeat SEC basketball title seems unlikely, but Tennessee is back in the arena | Strange

Rick Barnes is judged by Tennessee basketball fans for both elevating the Vols to regular-season prominence and for too-early exits in the Big Dance.

What about that week in between the two?

The SEC men’s tournament is no make-or-break scenario. It’s mostly a revenue-raiser and a getaway week for diehard fans. Still, it’s nice to have a presence.

For years, Tennessee was often a shadow. The Vols usually departed too quickly to leave an impression. By the weekend, there was little or no orange in the stands.

As the event plays out this week in Nashville, that’s no longer the case.

Since the tournament was renewed in 1979 after a 26-year hiatus, Barnes is by far Tennessee’s most successful coach with a record of 10-5.

In fact, he’s the only UT coach with a winning record.

Bruce Pearl’s magic didn’t carry into the SEC tournament. He was 6-6, reaching the title game in 2009 before losing to Mississippi State.

Wade Houston, buoyed by the surprise 1991 run to the finals, was 5-5.

Don Devoe was 9-10. He won the 1979 renewal, beating Alabama and then Kentucky in the finals. He won two games in the same tournament only one other time.

Jerry Green and Buzz Peterson were both 2-4, Cuonzo Martin 2-3, Kevin O'Neill 1-3, Donnie Tyndall 1-1.

Barnes got the Vols to the championship game in 2018 and again in 2019, losing to Kentucky and Auburn, respectively. He broke through last year, sweeping Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M to claim Tennessee’s first crown since ’79.

The Vols won’t be favored to repeat this week but they’re no longer a shadow.

Now, some renewal-era trends and tidbits.

Vandy, Not Georgia: Tennessee is 5-0 against Vanderbilt. The toughest draws aren’t who you’d think.

The Vols are 1-4 against Georgia, 2-6 against Ole Miss and 2-8 against Alabama. Yikes.

Tennessee is 3-4 against both Kentucky and Florida. Also, 5-3 against Mississippi State, 5-4 against Auburn, and 4-3 against both LSU and Arkansas. UT is 3-2 against South Carolina and 1-0 against Texas A&M.

If the Vols meet Missouri this week, it’ll be historic.

Adios, Coach: Houston, O’Neill, Peterson and Tyndall coached their final UT games in the tournament.

Six For 30: A Vol has scored 30 or more points six times in the tournament. Dale Ellis’ 33 against LSU in 1983 takes honors. Ellis also had 31 against Ole Miss in 1981.

The 1992 LSU game in Birmingham is remembered for the bench-clearing brawl. Lost in the fray was the 32-point effort from Corey Allen.

Steve Hamer played the best tournament game by a Vol that I ever personally witnessed. In a win over Alabama in 1996, Hamer scored 31 points and grabbed 21 rebounds, both career highs.

Tony White torched Florida for 30 as a freshman in 1984. He got 30 against Vandy as a senior in 1987.

Neither Bernard King nor Ernie Grunfeld ever played in the event. Renewal came two years after they left.

Record Defense: Yves Pons blocked a school-record nine shots in a 2021 win over Florida. Clarence Swearengen tied a school mark with seven steals against the Gators in 1988.

And Finally: Tennessee is 4-6 in one-possession games, including two back-to-back in 2008. Chris Lofton’s 3-pointer beat South Carolina 89-87. Then Arkansas won 92-91 on 7-footer Steven Hill’s basket.

The biggest win is a 97-59 rout of Auburn in 2016, odd for a match of 12 and 13 seeds. The biggest loss was 101-40 to Kentucky in 1993, also the worst in program history.

Mike Strange is a former writer for the News Sentinel. He currently writes a weekly sports column for Shopper News.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball matters again at SEC tournament time