UT Vols basketball team knows 'more to be done' in SEC tournament after winning league title

Rick Barnes still had 197 unread text messages when he walked into his weekly press conference at noon Monday.

And that number was down from more than 200 over the weekend, as the Tennessee basketball coach had love pouring in telling him to enjoy the moment after the Vols clinched a share of the SEC regular-season title Saturday.

Admittedly, Barnes isn’t great at celebrating, although he wishes he was. His joy came from watching his players revel in their first championship at Tennessee, cutting down nets and then throwing water on an unsuspecting Barnes as he walked into the locker room.

More:Vols basketball solidifying status in NCAA Tournament bracketology

“Hearing them celebrate, that’s the best part. It really is,” Barnes said. “Then you try to get rest and get going because we know right now everything you worked for is in front of you, and you hope you keep going.”

Barnes’ mind already was onto the next thing soon after Saturday’s 66-61 win against Georgia – Tennessee’s fourth win in a row and 14th in the past 17. Next up are the SEC tournament, the NCAA tournament and more opportunities for the No. 12 Vols (23-7, 13-5 SEC) to win a championship, which Barnes reminded his team of after it won a shared title with Auburn.

“I told them, ‘If you like this, it can better. There’s more to be done,’” Barnes said.

More:Schedule for 2018 SEC men's basketball tournament

Tennessee enters the SEC tournament in St. Louis as the No. 2 seed, awaiting the winner of either No. 7 Mississippi State or No. 10 LSU for a 7 p.m. ET Friday tipoff (SEC Network). If the Vols advance to Saturday’s semifinal round, they would face either No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 11 South Carolina or No. 14 Ole Miss.

Tennessee went 7-1 against the teams on its side of the bracket, but “every team has got a fresh start,” Barnes said.

More:Lamonte Turner rises in 'the big moment' again

Barnes has long stated that any team in the SEC could roll in and win the league tournament with an automatic NCAA bid at stake. He did so again Monday.

“After going through this league, I think I could tell any team in this league, ‘Hey, we have a chance if we’re willing to do what we need to do,’” Barnes said. “I really believe that. That there’s not a team in the league that can’t do it.”

The Vols are playing for improved NCAA tournament seeding, as are the likes of Auburn, Kentucky and Missouri among others. They’re also playing for their first SEC tournament title since 1979, a fact that junior forward Admiral Schofield impressively dropped after Tennessee beat Georgia.

“We have another goal,” Schofield said Saturday. “We have to go take care of business in the tournament, which we haven’t won since 1979. The biggest thing for us is it’s one step at a time.

“Every day we’re trying to get better. We work hard for ourselves and no one else. We just go out and compete for our university, our teammates and our standard.”

Barnes wants the Vols to shore up elements of their defense and plans to spend more time working on zone defense in the coming days. He also plans to run through plays that Tennessee hasn’t used much in the past month as they ready for postseason play.

But his greatest focus right now is making sure his players are “fresh mentally and physically.” Tennessee took Sunday off and didn't practice Monday before getting back on the court Tuesday.

“We probably won’t have a good practice; that’s been the rhythm of this team,” Barnes said. “I’ll have to scream and yell a lot, but that’s part of it.”

And understandably so as Tennessee enters the time of year when every game is a championship-type game.

“We played the regular season, and now we are going into the conference tournament where there’s a lot at stake,” Barnes said. “There’s another championship that can be won. There’s a way you can improve your seeding. That doesn’t just apply to us. That applies to every team in the league. So those that have already gotten themselves into the NCAA tournament.

“Like I told them Saturday night, 'This is good, but it can be better.'"

Schofield honored again

Schofield earned co-SEC player of the week honors for the second straight week. The junior forward averaged 23.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in wins over Miss State and Georgia.

“I’ve always talked about his work ethic," Barnes said. "He really is one of those where you’re not overexaggerating when you say he is going to put his time. He does put his time in as well as any player I have ever been around. ...The fact is, from a work standpoint, he’s reaping the benefits of that hard work.”

Schofield has scored at least 23 points in each of past three games for Tennessee.