UK-Tennessee part 3

UK-Tennessee part 3

By Eric Lindsey on March 12, 2010 8:40 PM | No TrackBacks
NASHVILLE -- Orange and blue don't mix, but the two colors will clash on Saturday in Bridgestone Arena when the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers meet in the first semifinal game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

The conference championship won't be decided until Sunday, but it's become clear through the first two days of the tournament that UK and Tennessee boast the two best fan bases of the tournament.

Thousands upon thousands of Big Blue fans have journeyed south to the Music City and packed Tennessee's backyard. It goes without saying that Tennessee orange has painted a good portion of the Music City as well.

On Sunday, the two colors will mix at 1 p.m. ET (noon CT) in what expects to be an electric atmosphere in Bridgestone Arena.

"We are in Nashville, Tennessee, and we're going to try to defend our territory," Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said. "I understand that we've got some wonderful visitors from the north that probably rival Tennessee as the greatest fans in the country."

The semifinal matchup will pit two of the hottest SEC teams and set the stage for another storied chapter in a suddenly bitter rivalry. The teams split the regular-season matchup, with each team winning at home.

"They're an extremely tough team," UK forward Patrick Patterson said. "We match up extremely well with one another. They have shooters, they have drivers, they have post play, they have speed, just as much as we do. We definitely look forward to playing them.

"We know it's going to be an extremely emotional and tough game because we're obviously in Tennessee. They've played in this arena multiple times before and they have just as many fans as we do."

The rivalry has taken on a new level of intensity this year because of the built-in rivalry between Pearl and UK head coach John Calipari. Things have heated up even more since Tennessee's Scotty Hopson mocked the John Wall dance following UT's upset of Kentucky two weeks ago in Knoxville, Tenn.

It's safe to say that the Volunteers haven't lost that swagger since.

"The way to beat Kentucky is just play basketball," Tennessee forward Wayne Chism said. "A lot of teams probably get scared to play these guys, but obviously when you go out and play somebody bigger and better on your schedule, you just come out and play basketball because that's one thing you know how to do. You come out and play different than what you all usually do, it's going to be a big mistake."

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