University of Tennessee Athletics
The @Vol_Hoops Report: March 6
March 06, 2015 | Men's Basketball
The Tennessee basketball team hosts its final regular-season home game of season Saturday when it welcomes South Carolina for a 4 p.m. tipoff at Thompson-Boling Arena. The contest will be televised on FOX Sports Net.
Tickets remain available and can be purchased online at www.UTtix.com or in person Saturday at the arena ticket office.
The Volunteers (15-14, 7-10 SEC) will celebrate the careers of Galen Campbell, Brandon Lopez and Josh Richardson during a pregame Senior Day ceremony that will begin at 3:40 p.m. All three players are on track to graduate in May.
After UT head coach Donnie Tyndall tweeted Friday that the Vols would wear their road orange uniforms for Saturday's home finale, Richardson took to social media to encourage all fans also to wear orange and create an #OrangeOut at the arena.
Richardson even went so far as to call into a local sports talk radio show to spread the word.
"It actually was my idea," Richardson said of the #OrangeOut. "I tweeted it, and then I talked to some of the guys about it, and they thought it was a good idea."
He was asked Friday about his thoughts heading into his final game on Rocky Top.
"I'm just excited to get another chance to play here," Richardson said. "I'm just grateful to be able to make it through four years at the University of Tennessee and grateful to the fans for all their support. I'm definitely going to miss playing here."
Tyndall told reporters that one advantage of wearing orange Saturday was the simple fact that, in SEC play, the Vols have surprisingly had a better winning percentage in their road orange uniforms than in their home whites.
"We've played better in league play on the road than we have at home," Tyndall said. "But I just think it's a neat thing to do mostly for our fans, and it being Senior Day, it gives Josh another chance to wear that orange. It's just a little change of pace, if you will."
The fourth senior on Tennessee's roster, graduate transfer Ian Chiles, elected not to take part in Saturday's pregame Senior Day ceremony. The Louisville, Ky., native joined the Vols this past summer after a strong career at IUPUI, but he battled injuries from the time he stepped foot on the Tennessee campus and only appeared in three games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
Chiles, who received his degree from IUPUI prior to transferring to Tennessee, will still receive a senior gift.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA
The Gamecocks are 14-15 (5-12 SEC) in their third season under head coach Frank Martin.
Tyndall on Friday was quick to point what separates the Gamecocks from other teams in the SEC this season.
"They're physically the toughest team in our league," Tyndall said. "They're going to bump you, they're going to hold you, they're going to hit you on every blockout. They're going to sit on top and take away every pass on ball reversal, so the biggest thing you have to do is drive the basketball.
"You're not going to be able to run free-flowing, smooth offense. They don't allow teams to do that. Taking care of the ball and driving it to the paint will be imperative."
Tennessee fans may be happy to hear that recipe to success, because ball security and a relentless commitment to driving the ball were two key elements to UT's win at LSU earlier this week.
South Carolina's lone SEC road win came at Georgia Feb. 17. They've beaten UGA twice this season and have four victories over teams in the top 50 of the official NCAA RPI in Iowa State (14), Georgia (36, twice) and Oklahoma State (39).
South Carolina is facing a similar quick turnaround to what the Vols faced last weekend. The Gamecocks played at home Thursday night, losing to 18th-ranked Arkansas 78-74.
"That was one of those games where both teams probably deserved to win," Tyndall said. "(South Carolina) was up by eight with about two or three minutes to play, but their senior (Tyrone Johnson) got the cramps and couldn't come back, so that certainly hurt them.
"But Frank's teams do what they do, which is guard you the right way, play with a physicality and toughness, and they had Arkansas on the ropes."
Tennessee leads the all-time series with South Carolina, 41-23, and has won each of the last 15 meetings.
SEC TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS
Though Tennessee and Alabama are both 7-10 in SEC play, the Tide hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vols, so UT would receive the No. 10 seed in next week's SEC Tournament if it began today.
But with one regular-season game left to play, the Vols are ensured of receiving either the No. 8, 9 or 10 seed. No other seeding possibilities exist for Tennessee.
The #8-#9 game takes place Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. The #7-#10 game is Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
The winner of the #8-#9 game would advance to face top-seeded and unbeaten Kentucky Friday at 1 p.m. ET. The winner of the #-7-#10 game would move on play No. 2-seeded Arkansas Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Tennessee was predicted to finish 13th in the standings by an SEC and national media voting panel, so regardless of how the final day of the regular season plays out across the conference, Tyndall's first UT squad has greatly exceeded its preseason expectations.
The SEC Tournament runs Wednesday through Sunday at Bridgestone Arena. Click HERE to view/download the bracket.
