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Home > ajcsportstalk > Archives > 2008 > March > 13 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTennessee gets the matchup it wanted
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tennessee got the matchup it wanted for Friday’s second round of the SEC tournament when South Carolina upset LSU 77-73 in Thursday’s first game at the Georgia Dome.
I visited with Bruce Pearl, who was here scouting the game with two of his assistant coaches, and it was pretty clear that he was concerned about LSU’s athleticism. The Vols barely beat LSU 47-45 in their only meeting back on Feb. 9.
But South Carolina had a superior game plan, especially on the defensive end, which forced LSU into 19 turnovers. It also held LSU’s best player, Marcus Thornton, to only 6 of 14 from the floor.
Pearl stayed at the Georgia Dome until about 2:30 p.m. and then went over to Georgia State, where he held at 3 p.m. workout with his team, which is heavily favored to win the tournament.
South Carolina’s goal in Friday’s 1 p.m. game with Tennessee is simple. The Gamecocks played a pretty good first half when they met the Vols on March 9 in their last regular season game. But in the second half the talented Tennessee team simply overwhelmed South Carolina to win 89-56 in Knoxville.
“I’m going to keep showing them that first half over and over,” South Carolina coach Dave Odom said after the game. “That’s the way we have to play for 40 minutes if we’re going to have a chance.”
Odom has no illusions about the task in front of his team on Friday. In the first meeting on Jan. 12, Tennessee won 80-56 in Columbia.
“Some teams come into the conference tournaments and play like they are nervous,” Odom said. “Tennessee is not a nervous team. Their future for next week is very certain. They are the overwhelming favorite to win this tournament.”
Odom, who has announced his retirement at the end of this season, says he will enjoy the next 24 hours.
“The Lord has given me one more day and I’m going to enjoy it,” Odom said. “I don’t want to go to sleep tonight. I just want to say up for the next 20 hours and think about it.”
One other thing. LSU’s loss, I believe, makes it very unlikely that Butch Pierre will be retained as head coach. Pierre, an 11-year assistant, took over when John Brady was fired in early February. LSU has some talent, but the Tigers played South Carolina’s tempo all night long and could not handle some of the defenses thrown at them by South Carolina. That’s coaching.
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