For Lady Vols, Senior Day is a lucky day

The best thing for Tennessee on senior day was that the best senior didn’t play.

South Carolina All-American center A’ja Wilson missed Sunday’s game with vertigo. It took Tennessee a half to capitalize on her absence.

The 14th-ranked Lady Vols outscored No. 6 South Carolina by 24 points in the second half en route to a 65-46 victory at Thompson-Boling Arena. The lopsided victory in their regular-season finale capped an odd regular season.

Imagine if someone had presented this scenario in preseason: Tennessee would start out 15-0, beat defending national champion South Carolina twice by a total of 35 points and wind up as the No. 7 seed in the SEC tournament.

But that’s how it worked out. And Tennessee shouldn’t complain.

More:Tennessee Lady Vols overwhelm South Carolina with big third quarter

It was lucky to play South Carolina twice and not face Wilson once. She was injured in their first meeting, which the Lady Vols won 86-70 in Columbia, S.C.

And while Tennessee isn’t accustomed to being seeded seventh in the conference tournament, that actually could work to its advantage.

The biggest advantage for the Lady Vols: They could advance to Sunday’s championship game without having to play unbeaten Mississippi State, which dominated the conference’s regular season.

The bracket could be even more favorable for Tennessee if Wilson can’t play in the tournament.

UT will open the tournament against 10th-seeded Auburn on Thursday night in Nashville. A victory would put it in the quarterfinals against South Carolina.

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley was asked whether she thought Wilson would be ready.

“I'll be on bended knee,” she said. “I’m hoping she will be back on Friday."

“First and foremost is her health. We just want to take it day by day. It’s not something you want to play around with it.”

Wilson, who leads the SEC in scoring and is third in rebounding, has had problems with vertigo before – but not during the season – Staley said.

South Carolina obviously has problems playing without her, which made Tennessee’s lethargic start even more puzzling. Playing at home on senior day against the nation’s sixth-ranked team should have had UT revved up from the get-go. Instead, moments after honoring its three seniors, Tennessee responded with one of its least inspiring first quarters of the season.

It was stuck on two points until the 3:53 mark of the quarter, committed nine turnovers in the first eight minutes and trailed by 10 points midway through the second quarter.

The game turned topsy-turvy in the second half when South Carolina faded and Tennessee surged. Afterward, UT coach Holly Warlick didn’t want Wilson's absence to detract from the victory.

“South Carolina is very capable of winning a basketball game without A’ja Wilson,” she said. “A’ja Wilson is a great player, but she’s not here. We had to move on.

“We’ve had kids miss and sit out with injuries. That’s part of it.”

In fact, South Carolina is mediocre at best without Wilson. Vanderbilt, which has lost 23 of 30 games, is the only team the Gamecocks beat minus Wilson.

The Lady Vols have been more fortunate. They have been at full strength for every SEC game.

Their good fortune continued Sunday.

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