The 49ers gathered after Saturday night’s Big West title victory to watch Sunday’s NCAA selection show, expecting the worst because of their lack of recent postseason history. They celebrated again when they saw their pairing.
“We were all sitting there thinking we’re going to play a 1, 2 or a 3 seed,” Byrd said. “Actually, we felt like they gave us a little bit of love when we got a 12 seed.”
While basically no one at Tennessee’s selection event had seen much of Long Beach State this season, Byrd said he watched the Volunteers at least five or six times on television this season.
He recalled details of the Vols’ home victory over Florida and a narrow road defeat at Ohio State, both of which impressed him at the time and left him wondering how the two teams would compare.
“It’s going to be a track meet,” Byrd said. “All of us will shoot it any time.”
Given its style of pace, Long Beach is an intriguing underdog for Tennessee. Not often does UT coach Bruce Pearl wish to slow down an opponent, but that could be the case this time.
The 49ers, at No. 9 nationally, are one of only 10 teams in Division I averaging more points than the Vols.
“We’ll be challenged to stop them from scoring,” said Pearl, who surmised simply, “We play well, we’ll beat this basketball team. We don’t play well, we won’t. It’s why they’re in the tournament.”
Reynolds’ biggest concern about UT is the fullcourt pressure and handson, half-court defense.
“Hopefully, one of our strengths is that we play three guards and those guys will be able to handle the ball,” Reynolds said. “But I don’t think we have played a team this year that can put that amount of pressure on you in the full court.
“They probably play a little more physical than we’re used to.”
