Belmont Bruins @ Tennessee Volunteers GameThread, Dec 20, 2008 3:00 PM EST

Tennessee Volunteers vs. Belmont Bruins: Open Game Thread

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 1:00 PM EST in Tennessee Volunteer Basketball Comment 93 comments

Belmont Bruins @ Tennessee Volunteers

	December 20, 2008 3:00 EST TV: ESPN Internet TV: ESPN360.com Radio: Vol Network Phone Broadcast: TeamLine Live Stats: UTSports
7-2 No. 16 (AP) No. 19 (USA Today)		4-3 NR(AP) NR (USA Today)

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
F	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	Jr.	11.8	7.4	1.2
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	Jr.	17.0	5.6	4.3
G	32 Scotty Hopson	6-7	185	Fr.	8.7	1.6	0.8
G	25 Josh Tabb	6-4	196	Jr.	3.5	6.6	1.9
G	3 Bobby Maze	6-2	185	Jr.	9.3	3.2	5.0
Belmont		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
G-F	13 Jon House	6-6	210	So.	7.9	3.6	2.4
F	30 Matthew Dotson	6-8	220	Sr.	12.6	3.4	1.3
G-F	2 Shane Dansby	6-4	210	Sr.	10.2	2.7	1.2
G	12 Alex Renfroe	6-2	165	Sr.	11.1	5.9	4.7
G	20 Andy Wick	6-2	195	Sr.	14.0	1.6	3.0

Jackson the Mule says . . .

. . . do they carry their AARP cards while playing?

Leave your pre-, in-, and post-game thoughts below.

Go Vols! Hulk smash . . . seniors!

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Comments

You sure this game's on ESPN?

I don’t see it (Temple / Kansas @ 2:30 is the closest thing I see to basketball on the Disney).

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 1:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

SportSouth, I think...

But it’s also on ESPN’s Full Court package, so it’s gotta be on somewhere

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 1:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, there's the mostly-reliable online audio

But since I don’t have SportSouth (or Full Court), that may be all I get.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 1:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm with ya!

I may give ESPN 360 a try but it’s usually pretty laggy.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 2:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My bad.

I thought I fixed all the fields; I missed that one.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 3:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It's cool, we figured it out. :)

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Duke looking very impressive today

Up 55-24 on Xavier at halftime. Huge day for hoops if you’re not interested in the lower tier of bowl games…UConn and Gonzaga at 4:00, Davidson and Purdue at 4:00, Syracuse and Memphis at 6:00.

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

What, Colorado St. and Fresno St. don't get your football blood boiling?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I tried with Wake and Navy

Really tried. I picked Navy. They lost. I’m over it all.

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But Memphis plays at 4:30!

Football in the Trop isn’t exciting?!?!

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, the game's 14-10 FSU at the end of the 1st quarter.

Who knows, this could actually be exciting.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I missed the first part of that game

They rolled out to an 18-1 lead and apparently haven’t looked back. Xavier can win the 2nd half by 20 and still get blown out – ouch. The doubly sad part about this is Xavier’s likely to get hammered in the polls, but they’ll give Duke all the credit for a very quality win (which they should get, to be honest0.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

SportSouth live interview with Lane Kiffin at halftime

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hot start for Belmont

3 for 3 from 3, and the net hasn’t moved on any of them

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Great ball movement

We’ve gotta be quicker to the ball on defense

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Drive and dish out, or good passing?

Are we in man or zone? I’d guess we’re getting ripped on a 2-3, but they haven’t mentioned what defense we’re in.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Playing man

Belmont’s playing zone that’s begging us to shoot threes (and we’re 1 of 7)

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Williams is active so far

on both ends of the court

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 3:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He's trying to keep the weight off.

He’s lost 550 pounds, you know.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Now 3 of 9 from 3

Thanks to Woolridge’s use of the backboard and every square inch of the rim

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hey, use it if you got it, right?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

GAY

I can’t watch it anywhere… blah

by BigBeefe on Dec 20, 2008 3:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

LA-Lafayette Game

Next Monday isn’t televised at all. Which I think is the only one all year that way.

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Huh?

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 3:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I got nothin' either.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I got ESPN 360, but

it’s not been a pretty game. Lots of bricks laid by the Vols and wide-open 3’s made by the Bruins.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 3:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

All the SEC games featuring the Vols that aren’t on ESPN are picked up by Raycom (or whatever they’re called) this year…but the Louisiana-Lafayette game doesn’t even get the SportSouth treatment.

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Chism and Tabb with 2 fouls early.

That’s probably not a good sign. On the “plus” side, if Hopson keeps being useless on half the court he may stick around for more than one season.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Chism

needs to quit fouling 30 feet from the basket

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Chism

needs to stop thinking he can do stuff 30 feet from the basket period. I don’t care if you can hit the occasional three Wayne, stop it.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He likes to do that

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 3:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What's a "snowbird?"

This guy has used it twice at least so far.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 3:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I thought it was

where you leave someone down on the other end of the floor for a quick wide open layup after the other team scores/turns it over. But that’s not the context he used it in the first time.

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Now Belmont is shooting wide-open layups.

We’ve stopped that 3 point shootin’ madness.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 3:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Well, that's an improvement.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Tyler, Woolridge and Hopson

6 of 9 from 3. Rest of team: 0 for 7

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Belmont: 3 TOs, 9 assists

I think that’s part – okay, most – of the reason the game’s as close as it is.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 3:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Halftime Stats of Note

Tennessee leads 44-40

Tyler Smith 16 points on 5 of 7 shooting
Tenn shooting 56% to Belmont’s 43%

Belmont 5 of 10 from 3
Tennessee 6 of 15 from 3

If Belmont gets hot like they were in the first five minutes, this close margin makes me nervous.

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 3:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

If Belmont holds onto the ball like they did in the first half, I'm concerned.

I don’t think we can hold onto 56% shooting for the entire game.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Started the 2nd half 1-for-9.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

For those not watching,

Kiffin just called Urban Meyer a sexual deviant and said Nick Saban believes man has caused global warming. Paraphrasing here, but I think that’s what he said.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 3:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Nice.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He said "Monte" will be here 2 days after his season is over. Then he'll be on the road recruiting.

With the AARP special discount at Super 8.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Monte's gonna have to stake out practices, he won't have time to talk to the kids before bedtime.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That was my interpretation too

Interesting though, really, when he said he didn’t know if the recruiting class we had committed before Fulmer’s announcement was truly a “great class”.

by wshelton2 on Dec 20, 2008 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I can understand what he means.

Our 2005 class was supposedly pretty good, and you see what that got us this year. No one knows how these kids will actually perform.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:04 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

But what does he think about Mark Richt?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Called him the "Mack Brown of the SEC"

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Right down to the highly-ranked recruiting classes that result in absolutely nothing of note?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

He didn't elaborate, but that's how I took it.

Something about not winning your conference, but still think you should play for a National Championship, too.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

And the excellent performance in showcase rivalry games at neutral sites.

Which reminds me, I think Urban Meyer just called timeout again.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

All this was in an interview with Kiffin?

Seriously? If so, the SEC’s gonna get really fun really quick.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:10 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Word. For. Word.

Someone pick the gauntlet up off the floor.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Did Kiffin drop it after he hit everyone else in the face with it?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If anybody finds a link for all that, post it somewhere around here pronto.

That kind of stuff would be absolute gold to listen through.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Am I the only peson who finds it hilarious

That the football halftime discussion subthread has as many posts as the game thread?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Face it, we're football junkies first.

It’s not that we don’t like the roundy ball, it’s that we’re all hardwired to the football gossip like moths to a flame.

That, and bball doesn’t heat up until SEC/tourney time.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I know.

But for all the talk about the culture that Pearl has instilled about Tennessee basketball, we’re over here talking about Kiffin like it’s going out of style.

Then again, before Pearly there might not even be a gamethread for this.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hoop.

I made that up. He basically just said what you’d think a coach would say. I “wish” he’d start talking some trash, but he didn’t. Except for the part about Nick Saban believing man caused global warming. — Dang it, he didn’t say that either.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:16 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No, that'd be Charlie Weis.

The decided schematic advantage against the environmentalist movement.

Wait, that would mean that global warming would already be fixed, wouldn’t it?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Awwwww....

I figured you probably were, but I was really really hoping. One thing I’ve noticed about Kiffin is that he’s a pretty straightforward talker. I figure that’s it’s more a matter of when he says some juicy bulletin board material, not if.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Gah.

Stupid manual italics commands….

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Defense?

Jeez. This is bad.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Renfroe is this Saturday's Dionte Christmas

and the Marquette dude, I can’t remember his name, who scored 30.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Woolridge is the first player on either team to three fouls.

Normally Tennessee can exploit a height advantage over a perimeter team and get the team in foul trouble early (in both halves), but that’s clearly not the case tonight. Another source of points lost.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

House has 4 fouls for them

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ESPN says he has 1.

That’s odd.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Whoops, I missed that earlier.

But the point I was trying to make – namely, Belmont hasn’t fouled a ton – is still mostly true.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Your original point is valid.

Just wanted to point out that while they don’t have anyone with 3 fouls, they do have a guy with 4.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, Dotson just picked up his 3rd.

3 really doesn’t matter a ton.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I take that back.

We’re not too far under 12 minutes, so three is still kind of a concern.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What has happened is the Vols have been "stuck" outside by the zone defense.

They haven’t really tried to pound it inside much.

by wvvol on Dec 20, 2008 4:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That's not a good sign, unless we show some improvement against it.

I think the Vols have been stuck by it before, but still.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Whoa, there's the crowd.

Who knew?

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

By the way, I totally blame Orange Nation for the dead crowd.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ooh... do explain.

by hooper on Dec 20, 2008 4:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Short story: I can't stand 'em

Of course, I was at Tennessee when they introduced Orange Nation – the idea being that you pay to get better tickets to all the sporting games. Well, what ended up happening was they paid to get good tickets to the football games, showed up halfway into the first quarter, and started leaving at halftime. Meanwhile, the peons who had been there an hour before kickoff lost out on even getting a chance to sit in the best seats.

Their crowning moment was when they held “Orange Nation Appreciation Day” at Thompson-Bolling before a UT men’s game (pre-Pearl) and they came, ate the food, and left.

by Graysnail on Dec 20, 2008 4:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs