JOHN ADAMS

John Adams: Tournament time could be Lady Vols' time

John Adams
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

The best thing about the Tennessee women’s basketball regular season? It’s over.

Tennessee's Jaime Nared (31) was named second team All-SEC by the league coaches.

If that assessment seems familiar, think back to last season. The Lady Vols struggled through the regular season, under-achieving time and time again before summoning their effort and skills for a higher cause: postseason play.

This regular season, which ended Sunday with an 18-point rout of No. 2 Mississippi State, was an improvement but still included up-and-down play and inexplicable losses.

How did a team as talented as this one manage to lose 10 regular-season games? The same way a talented 2015-16 team lost 12 regular-season games.

Both teams suffered from lapses of effort and concentration.

Whether fans blame the players or coach Holly Warlick and her staff, they at least can agree on what this team lacks. And it isn’t talent.

Given UT’s talent, regular-season losses to the likes of Ole Miss and Alabama seem inconceivable. Never mind that star player Diamond Deshields was injured in the opening moments of the Alabama game and was unable to return. Tennessee still had way too much talent to lose to the Tide. In fact, the Lady Vols should have been able to lose two starters and still beat Alabama.

While fans might find the recurring lapses maddening, they can take heart from the calendar. Tournament play is at hand. First comes the SEC tournament, starting Wednesday in Greenville, S.C.; then, the NCAA tournament.

In each case, UT’s seeding won’t match its talent. But as it proved in last year’s NCAA tournament, talent can overcome seeding.

Tennessee entered the tournament with the worst seeding in school history. Nonetheless, the seventh-seeded Lady Vols made it all the way to the Elite Eight.

They also upped their game in last season’s SEC tournament. Despite losing eight of their last 14 regular-season games, they won their first two tournament games by double-digit margins before losing in the tournament semifinals to Mississippi State.

This team has even more postseason potential. The Lady Vols have beaten four top-10 teams – Mississippi State, South Carolina, Notre Dame and Stanford. And they’re capable of beating other top-10 teams in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

Sunday’s resounding victory over Mississippi State proved that. Tennessee dominated a team that had lost only two other games and beat it earlier at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Jaime Nared’s play was especially significant. She emerged from a late-season scoring slump to score a career-high 30 points.

That wasn’t an aberration. She repeatedly has had outstanding games against some of the best teams in the country. She averaged 21.2 points per game against top-25 opponents Baylor, Texas, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Kentucky.

Also, in recent weeks, guard Alexa Middleton stepped up to give the Lady Vols a scoring threat outside their Big 3 of Mercedes Russell, Nared and Deshields. Middleton’s improved play bodes well for the postseason.

So does the team’s track record. It frequently has been at its best against the best teams.

And that’s what postseason success is all about.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JohnAdamsKNS.

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