Gotta win this one or we stand a very good chance of starting 0-5 in conference and digging a hole so deep we can't get out.

No doubt it is a big game, before losing to UK, we had not lost at home this year, need to reestablish home court. Tenn is not nearly like they were last year, 10-5 with losses against FSU, Memphis, Cincy, Wisconsin and LSU. All except Cincy was at home it looks like. The big wins-I guess they would be Murray St, Washington, Chattanooga, VCU, @ Missouri and South Carolina. Put it this way, they are not nearly as talented as the last two teams we have played.

As for us, I think we can play with Miss State, UK will be tough at Rupp. That being said, we played well against them in Athens, and just fell apart. Ant has to start attacking the basket more and more, and stop settling for the long jumpers. If he can start producing more (he is still scoring but some is in garbage time late) and we can get the good Hammonds, we can win some SEC games. Need more Harris and less Crump too. Crump didn't start last game so maybe Crean is starting to see it now. Gresham and Wheeler started, I would go with Gresham and Harris, and bring Wheeler off the bench.

It's hard not to see the next 2 games as close to must-win if we want to be in contention for an at-large berth. The SEC is not great, so better than .500 in conference would probably be necessary...

Agree with everyone above. This is pretty close to a "must-win" not only if we are to make a run at a tourney berth, but also, and perhaps more importantly, if Crean is to demonstrate he can start winning here.

As has been pointed out, Tennessee isn't all that this year. They lost a ton of talent from last season (3 guys drafted), including 4 starters. Their top three and 4 of their top 5 in scoring, rebounding and minutes played are all gone, as are their leader and 3 of their top 4 assist guys. At some point, we have to stop with the "young team", "no experience", or "no depth" excuses, and Crean just has to start winning meaningful games.

Harris has just been spectacular at times. He has to play more.

They got the W. Now to get another one in Starkville.

Yes! Great effort last night! And they kept it up pretty much the whole game, instead of just in fits and spurts. Hopefully these guys are learning that's what it takes. If they can bottle that hustle and intensity and take it on the road, this team can be something. Miss St isn't the team Tennessee is (ufk isn't what they were last year, but they're still a good team), but it's always tough to win on the road particularly in conference.

Let's even the conference at 2-2 and see where we can go from there.