The LSU Tigers will be a difficult opening opponent for the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers.
The Vols (22-9, 10-6 SEC) come in as the three seed from the Eastern division but the Tigers (16-14, 5-11 SEC) have plenty of motivation for the SEC Tournament.
After making the Final Four last year the Tigers had high expectations this season but have under-achieved all season. That could all change during the SEC Tournament. The Tigers will have to win the tournament if they want a chance to make it to the Final Four again.
"Our opening opponent has been getting ready for the SEC tournament for two or three weeks. The only way LSU gets into the NCAA tournament is to win the SEC," Pearl said.
The Tigers bring some momentum with them into the tournament. Forward Glen Davis has returned to action after missing three games with a right quadricep strain. Davis is their leading scorer with 17.8 points per game. They also finished their season winning two of their last three including an upset over the Florida Gators.
"They are talented. LSU's play will depend on how they are shooting the basketball. Glen Davis, who was held to five points earlier, will be much more assertive at the post this time," Pearl said.
The Vols contained Davis to a season-low five points in their regular season game against the Tigers, but Pearl isn't expectating on that kind of game from Davis this time around.
"We did a wonderful job at home against them last time. Glen Davis had five points, it is very unlikely that is going to be the case this time," he said.
The Vols 70-67 win over the Tigers in early February started their current stretch where they have won seven of their last eight games.
The game features contrasting styles. LSU relies on their solid defense and gives up 62.0 points per game, second best in the conference. The Vols lead the conference in scoring with 80.1 points per game.
LSU's guard Garrett Temple has a reputation of being a solid defender. He held Lofton to eight points in Lofton's first game back after missing four games wtih a sprained ankle. Last year Temple held Lofton to two points and was able to contain Duke's J.J. Reddick to 11 points on 3-18 shooting last year in the NCAA Tournament.
Probable Starters
| Tennessee |
| |||||
| Pos. | Ht | PPG | RPG | APG | ||
| F | Wayne Chism | 6-9 | 9.2 | 5.5 | 0.9 | |
| F | Dane Bradshaw | 6-4 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 4.6 | |
| G | JaJuan Smith | 6-2 | 15.3 | 4.4 | 1.4 | |
| G | Chris Lofton | 6-2 | 20.6 | 3.0 | 1.7 | |
| G | Ramar Smith | 6-2 | 10.5 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| LSU | ||||||
| Pos. | Ht | PPG | RPG | APG | ||
| F | Glen Davis | 6-9 | 17.8 | 10.4 | 2.4 | |
| F | Tasmin Mitchell | 6-7 | 14.7 | 6.0 | 1.8 | |
| F | Darnell Lazare | 6-8 | 7.0 | 4.4 | 0.7 | |
| G | Terry Martin | 6-6 | 10.6 | 2.7 | 1.6 | |
| G | Garrett Temple | 6-5 | 8.7 | 3.7 | 4.3 |
| Statistical Comparison | ||
| Vols | Tigers | |
| 80.1 | Points | 68.0 |
| 74.4 | Opponent Points | 62.0 |
| +5.7 | Scoring Margin | +6.0 |
| 44.7 | Field Goal % | 45.3 |
| 45.4 | Opponent Field Goal % | 40.3 |
| 35.7 | 3-point % | 34.7 |
| 34.3 | Opponent 3-point % | 33.3 |
| 65.5 | Free Throw % | 69.8 |
| 35.6 | Rebounds | 37.6 |
| 37.5 | Opponent Rebounds | 31.9 |
| -2.0 | Rebounding Margin | +5.7 |
| 15.6 | Assists | 14.1 |
| 14.6 | Turnovers | 13.9 |
| 9.7 | Steals | 6.8 |
| 3.3 | Blocks | 4.7 |
| 22-9, 10-6 | Record | 16-14, 5-11 |
| 22 | AP Rank | NR |
Comments
Brandon commented, on March 8, 2007 at 7:50 p.m.:
Man we killed LSU last time. Lets do it again! UT has been on fire recently, so I see this going extremely well. Go Vols!