NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Auburn and Tennessee meet Sunday at 12 p.m. CST for the 2019 SEC Tournament championship. Here's everything Tennessee players said about the matchup.
John Fulkerson, forward
"(Auburn) beat us a couple weeks ago -- or a week ago -- and if we would have won that game, we could have shared the SEC regular season. And this time we're playing for an SEC Tournament championship. It's a really big game for us, and we definitely have to come ready to play and know that they beat us for a championship last week. We've just got to come ready to play."
Jordan Bone, guard
"I mean, (Auburn) denied us from a regular-season championship. It's going to be a lot of emotion in that game, just like it was today. But we have to realize what we're playing for. I feel like that's something we got away from in the regular season. We could have closed it off. We could have been champions of the regular season again. But I feel like, just going into tomorrow, we have to know what we're playing for.
"We can't go into that game -- we can't leave that game saying they wanted it more than us. That's something that we have to walk off the court tomorrow and say, 'We wanted it more than them.' That's the first thing that comes to mind. They denied us one thing first, and we can't allowed it to happen again."
Lamonte Turner, guard
"(The Tigers) do a lot of switching and denying. They try to disrupt our offense a little bit -- get into the passing lanes and stuff like that. We've got to take care of the ball. They have some active bigs that can switch, guard and guard the point guard, so they're really scrappy. We've got to take care of the ball, man, know where we're going to get the ball and be disciplined offensively."
Admiral Schofield, guard
"I mean, (Auburn) shoots a lot of 3s. Got a lot of talented guards that can handle the ball. They play really loose on the offensive end. They played us pretty tough down there in Auburn, so we've got to come out and be ready for that.
"I wouldn't call it payback, but we've got to go out and compete at a high level."
Grant Williams, forward
"I was talking about it with one of our teammates -- I think it was Lucas -- and I was like, 'Watch, it's going to end up being Auburn. I think they're going to win.' He said, 'No, I think South Carolina's gonna win.' And I was like, 'You wanna bet?' But Auburn ended up getting the dub, and it's kind of fun to get the chance again. They denied us one already, so we've got to come out here and compete and not let it happen again.
"They shoot the piss out the ball. That's part of their DNA. That's what Bruce preaches. He wants those guys to take their shots -- no matter if they're contested or open. Bryce (Brown) is kind of similar to Lamonte (Turner) in that he can shoot 0-of-14 and then hit a big shot at the end. Or, he can make 14-of-14. You never know. So, you have guys that have talent on that team. Chuma, Horace -- and Austin Wiley back. So, we've got to come out there and work on the defensive end and compete.
"(Chuma Okeke is) a fantastic player, all-league player, in my opinion. But they also have two talented guards in Bryce Brown and Jared Harper. They're just a deep team, and Bruce Pearl does a great job of switching it up. He's never going to give you the same look or idea of what you're going to face. It's nothing personal, it's just a matter of team versus team -- and we've got to get this win."
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
