Nashville, Tenn. – The decades-long debate on whether conference tournaments matter doesn’t hold much weight when you ask the teams who are playing for their respective titles.
As often times their answers contradict the recycled narrative.
While some analysts will argue seeding is all but a done deal once conference tournaments roll around, when you have a scenario like Sunday it can’t be.
With the final number one seed still undecided, the deciding factor should come down to when Florida and Tennessee meet in the Southeastern Conference title it’s a game on Sunday.
This match is the ultimate tie-breaker between the last two standing SEC teams in Nashville.
When asked for his opinion on the matter, sophomore Cade Phillips didn’t want to get in the middle of that discussion but still had an answer.
“I’m not going to get into the politics of college basketball, but I think we’ve done enough, especially (on Sunday) if we win, to be a one seed,” said Phillips.
For Tennessee to make it this far with its most depleted roster in a conference that’s never been better is an impressive feat.
That might play into why Sunday matters so much to this team.
“We got enough guys here and we can do anything we can do once we put our minds to it,” said Darlinstone Stone.
It matters to transfers like Dubar because he’s never played for something like this before.
“It matters tremendously,” said Dubar. “It definitely matters to me. I’ve never won a conference championship, especially at this level. I’m going to be very excited once that happens.”
Even if the argument that conference tournaments don’t matter for the NCAA Tournament standings is compelling, it doesn’t take away from the reality that these tournaments have personal importance to these players.
Such as Chaz Lanier who’s had some of his best starts this season in Tennessee’s first two games of the tournament.
Part of what’s fueling the transfer is he’s back home in Nashville playing in front of his family and friends.
“Just being able to compete for an SEC Championship in my hometown, it’s like a full circle moment,” said Lanier. “Being able to have my family in the stands as well. It’s just a blessing and I’m so fortunate to do it with this great group of guys.”
Even if you take away those stories of personal importance, for a group of competitors any game that’s scheduled for them will have instant value. Then you heighten the stakes with matchups and titles, and the argument that it doesn’t matter nearly seems trivial.
“It matters to us because it’s important, you know, every game we step out onto the floor for is important to us,” said Jordan Gainey. “This is it, honestly. We don’t get these opportunities every single day and we have to cherish every single moment.”
Then lastly, the importance remains because when these players aren’t competing, they’re simply fans of the game like the rest of us
“It’s been fun, seeing a lot of players competing,” said Dubar. The atmosphere is amazing, reporters like you, all of this is so new, I’m soaking it in, I’m blessed, and I’m happy I’m here,” said Stone.
