The regular season finale is set for Saturday afternoon at Food City Center, as the Tennessee Volunteers will host the Vanderbilt Commodores. This result matters a lot in regards to SEC Tournament seeding, with Tennessee having the opportunity to clinch a double-bye in the bracket by simply winning.
A loss? Well, things would get a little more complicated.
Tennessee fought hard for a win on the road a couple of weeks ago against Vanderbilt in Nashville, coming out on top of a wild matchup. Nate Ament
hit a turn-around jumper to give the Volunteers the lead late and they would hang on to win 69-65.
Vanderbilt has gone 2-1 since, beating Georgia and Ole Miss while dropping game to Kentucky on the road.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Nate Ament for this one, Tennessee has been posted as an 8.5 point favorite over Vanderbilt on Saturday. Rick Barnes noted that Ament probably could have played on Tuesday, but he opted to hold him out to be cautious. It remains to be seen if Ament will play against the Commodores, but it sounds like he should be available if Barnes wants him to be. Tennessee will hold a Friday practice where we’ll get more information.
Duke Miles has settled back into his starting role for Vanderbilt after returning from injury against Tennessee two weeks ago. Miles has scored 12, 15, 11 and 16 points in his games since returning, taking some of the pressure off of standout point guard Tyler Tanner. Tanner is coming off of a 34-point night against Ole Miss on Wednesday.
It’s another Quad 1 opportunity for Tennessee, where they sit 5-8 on the season. The Vols are currently projected to be a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but likely could climb to a No. 4 with a win here and maybe one next week. Of course, Tennessee could also fall to the 6-line with losses.
The SEC Tournament bracket will be set by Saturday night, with Selection Sunday now just one week out.
