It was a real gut check for both teams.

Obviously, the [SEC] Tournament means more to the teams that have a chance to play their way into the [NCAA] Tournament. But I like tournament play. It creates excitement, but the big picture is the...

This thing is wide open. There is a lot of parity in this league and any team is capable of winning it.

This is what March is all about. Alabama is a very good team. They’ve made four straight NCAA tournaments and reached the Elite Eight last year. But we represent a [high] level of basketball as...

We’ve got to learn how to handle it with our crowd control and understand the responsibility that we have to the safety and well-being of our guests. If this fine draws attention to that fact,...

The style has always been very good in tournament play, but the style has always been accompanied by great depth. In the past, I’ve had teams with 10 guys playing double-digit minutes. This year, for...

The difference was Andre Patterson. He was in foul trouble early the first time we played (South Carolina) and wasn’t able to be as aggressive underneath as he was this time.

I think Major needs to be challenged, and he needs to be a leader. He’s capable of it. He knows how I feel about his abilities.

This is a great win for Tennessee. This game meant a lot to us. We hadn’t played against this type of competition.

Give C.J. Watson credit. (Sparks) was a no-leave guy. We worked him up the whole game.

The good news is that this is a talented class, the bad news is half our team is freshmen. It’s like having two first years as a head coach.

I have to believe they liked Coach Mears. He had the teams and the gumption to compete with Kentucky. Like fighters, there is respect for each other.

A big part of March madness is that there are going to be upsets. If Winthrop looks at the No. 2 seeds, they would be thankful they’re playing Tennessee instead of some other two-seed.

I think we are fortunate to have Kentucky as our rival. It is what is going to help me build this program into something.

I am very disappointed in these young men. Our players need to take their responsibility for being a role model seriously, and if they don’t act responsibly they won’t be playing at Tennessee.

I don’t think the ranking is going to mean anything to the coaches and the players as it relates to this team. It’s just what it could mean at the end of the year and...

We wanted to become the dangerous team we know we are. We still have to be that team that nobody wants to play. We’re smaller, we pressure, we shoot the three-ball. The last couple of...

We will win more championships during my time here.

You can’t control what’s happened but you can control what happens from here.

Arkansas is a very good team. They could be a team that could get in the tournament and make some noise.

That is a shot that is going to be heard around the world. I couldn’t be happier.

We’ll look at it again when we get started and see where he is. It really depends on him.

Absolutely. There’s a different set of rules for him than anybody else on the team.

It was a fun, locker room moment.

I think most guys would have called it quits and had the surgery at the time of the injury. We obviously didn’t report it from the standpoint of competing. We didn’t want anybody to take...

Right now we’re focused on trying to win the East. We know what a task that is. We take it one at a time. (But) we talk about seeding because you want to give your...

That’s a great crowd for a Christmas break. When you’re trying to build a program, you need a village.

ESPN called it hideous. I asked Coach Mears for his permission and he gave me his blessing. I plan on wearing it for the Kentucky and Vanderbilt games because they were Tennessee’s two biggest rivals...

He does more in the game of basketball than make baskets, but certainly we don’t win without him making baskets. You can get other guys to rebound. You can get other guys to steal the...

In the second half, Arkansas clearly was fresher. We did not have the energy to speed things up. We did not turn Arkansas over a lot. It takes energy to create offense or defense, and...

You weren’t recruited at that high major level, you don’t travel the way (power conferences) travel, you’re not on television as much.

We’ve positioned ourselves well at this point.

The players have had a good fall. I say that by my standards, it’s been a good fall. We’re stronger and we’re bigger. …We’re going in the right direction.

I can’t tell you how honored and emotional I’m going to be to walk on that (Rupp Arena) floor.

Our problem has been practicing due to our depth. I thought with our turnovers, we weren’t sharp. It’s hard to practice with seven (scholarship) guys.

It did show them that they can step up and they can win on the road against anyone in the country. I scheduled games against Texas, against Oklahoma State and against Memphis not knowing if...

This style has always been good in a tournament. But it’s usually accompanied with great depth. That may make three games in a row challenging.

I just think the opportunity to be on the road to the Final Four, to have the opportunity to be there for one shining moment, those are all the things we’ve got to push. We’ve...

It was obviously a tale of two halves. We played some really good basketball in the first half. In the second half, Mississippi did what a well-coached team will do — ignore the score and...

To do special things you need have special players and special performances. Obviously you saw one tonight from Chris Lofton. We did a pretty good job of getting him open and guys did a pretty...

He shoots 30 percent and goes 4-for-4? He stepped up in a big way. He was not a guy we were expecting to go 4-for-4.

He was extremely distraught after the game. I was worried about him.

We deserved victory. It wasn’t like we had to get hit in the mouth to start playing. We were ready to play, and we had to play well.

Dane Bradshaw, of course. Who else?

It wasn’t very good, but I guess it’s a pretty good sign that the guys know that after an SEC win I’m not real happy about how way we played.

LSU, Alabama and Arkansas are big, physical and athletic. Add Oklahoma State and Memphis — there are our five losses.

Of course it was Bradshaw. Who else? Who else would make the play to win the game?

We’ve been beat by two pretty good teams that are going to be in the NCAA tournament. We’ve got to play better to earn respect. We haven’t done nearly enough to do that.

They talk about the last 10 (games, but) in the last 10 we beat Kentucky at Kentucky, Florida at Florida, Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt. That’s how much we’ve struggled.

It is harder than most because of the crowd. But there’s Florida and other places, too.