Chaz Lanier reveals Rick Barnes' message to Tennessee's locker room after Vols' loss to Florida in SEC Tournament championship game
The Tennessee Vols came up short in the SEC Tournament Championship game, falling 86-77 to the Florida Gators in Nashville on Sunday afternoon. Tennessee was hoping to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a win against Florida. The loss to the Gators, however, means the Vols will likely be a No. […]
The Tennessee Vols came up short in the SEC Tournament Championship game, falling 86-77 to the Florida Gators in Nashville on Sunday afternoon.
Tennessee was hoping to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a win against Florida. The loss to the Gators, however, means the Vols will likely be a No. 2 seed in the tourney.
While winning the SEC Tournament would've been a nice accomplishment for the Volunteers, the main goal for Rick Barnes' team all along has been reaching the Final Four.
And that goal, regardless of the loss to Florida, is still very attainable for Tennessee — which was essentially Barnes' message to the team after the game.
"Don't sulk or keep your head down, we've had a great regular season," said Vols guard Chaz Lanier of Barnes' message to the team after the loss to the Gators. "Florida's a great team. If people are saying they're No. 1, then we're right here, and we know we got a little bit of getting better to do, then we're in a good spot. And it's a good thing that we still have games left to play. So we're in a good spot, don't sulk about this loss, we're going to rinse it out and wash it out and move on to the next one."
Tennessee's certainly been battle tested this season while playing in the extremely tough SEC. The Volunteers won't be the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament — that'll likely be Auburn, Duke, or Florida — but Tennessee is very much a threat to be the last team standing in April.
Two things are very evident about Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava in spring practice and it bodes well for the Vols in 2025
Good things on the way for Nico
