Tennessee took sole possession of the top spot in the SEC with its gritty win at Alabama last Saturday, but it hasn't quite secured it.
The No. 4 Vols (23-6, 13-3 SEC) are in the drivers seat, but a couple of tests remain before the conference regular season champion is crowned. The first test is a road tilt at No. 17 South Carolina Wednesday night in Columbia (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
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The Gamecocks (24-5, 12-4) could have a say in who wins the league. They are still in pursuit after beating Florida at home over the weekend and hold the second spot behind Tennessee.
South Carolina has had a remarkable turnaround under second-year head coach Lamont Paris after winning just four conference games a year ago.
Among the Gamecocks' most notable triumphs was a surprising 63-59 win over the Vols in Knoxville on Jan. 30 and though Tennessee is currently a road favorite, South Carolina is 14-2 at Colonial Life Arena this season.
Ahead of the match up, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes previewed the clash on Tuesday.
On what stands out about South Carolina
"One, how well they're coached. A team that doesn't commit a lot of mistakes. A team that knows exactly what they're looking for. A team that can very quickly exploit the kind of matchups that they want to get if you do a lot of switching. They get you in a position with the switch they want. They took great advantage of it here (in the first meeting on Jan. 30) in a lot of different ways. But just extremely fundamental. Plays the pace that they want to play with. Lamont (Paris) has done an incredible job. One of the great jobs, coaching jobs, not just this year but as long as I've been in basketball. Watching what he's done, the way he's turned it around to where they are today. And they've got good players. Don't make no bones about it. They've got good players. They wouldn't be where they are today because in this league, again, we talk about how competitive it is in this league. It may be the most competitive ever and for them to be playing for a championship, speaks volumes. Not only about the players but also the coaching staff."
On how similar this South Carolina team is to Barnes' early Tennessee teams
"I do (see the similarities). They understand each others role, which I think is what has impressed me. They understand each others ability and what they need to do and what they need to get. They've got some older guys that have been around. They've done just a great job of doing that and believing in the system, for one and believing in themselves. Now, they've got a lot of belief, because again, they've had an incredible year. It's impressive where they were picked (in the preseason) to where they've ended up. It just shows you that they didn't buy in to any of that. It was all about what they were trying to get done. Again, they're in the last week of the regular season fighting for a championship."
On if it is beneficial to face a challenging stretch before the postseason
"I do (think it's beneficial). I think this time of year, it's all about trying to build momentum. I've said all along, you're going to learn from every game, something. You hope to win games and learn that way. With the (end of) regular season and the conference tournament, there's still a lot to be learned. We all need to continue to get better. I do think great competition always helps you late in the year."
On if the team has been different since the first South Carolina game
"We've been in a lot of hard-fought basketball games. Again, our league is--and I know everybody talks about how good their league is--it's true. Conference play is tough in any league. I don't care what numbers and all that say. You go on the road, you play at home. In every league, it's tough and demanding. Our team, I think we've tried to get better. As you guys know, you've been with us since the beginning. We've talked about consistency, we've talked about rebounding, we've talked about ball-screening. A lot of different things. One of the keys is I think we've still tried to improve as the season goes on. I would tell you, we're going on the court (Tuesday) with that in mind. Knowing that we've got to have a mindset that we can really try to get our game plan in and know we're going to have to execute it, but also know that we've got to get better."
On what to do differently vs. South Carolina defensively compared to first meeting
"We've got to play better, obviously, in a lot of different areas. But (South Carolina's) execution was good. We've got to do a better job with everything we talk about every game, whether it's transition defense, executing in our half-court defense and what we need to do there. You go back, it's another game. They’re better than they were here. We’re better than we were here, too. But it's going to be a great atmosphere, a great crowd and it should be. They deserve it. They've earned it. But there's not one part (we need to improve on). We're going to have to do everything. Again, it's going to be another 40 minutes and we're going to have to be better, obviously."
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