Duke @ Tennessee: The more things change...

by Chris Pendley on Feb 16, 2009 9:50 PM EST

Chest-bumped to the front. Major props to Graysnail for a dedicated effort in the live game thread. --hooper

Coach Summitt can't be happy with this. Sure, the loss isn't the end of the world, but it's how it happened that burns.

Outrebounded by 15.

Some completely inappropriate amount of turnovers that I can't give you because Yahoo still thinks the game is at halftime and ESPN didn't include it.

Think about that; Summitt teams preach controlling the glass and limiting mistakes, neither of which happened tonight. Those numbers aren't flukes, inflated by some who-cares turnovers like a ball strip after an offensive board and leaving the entire interior unpopulated after three-point shots. These are legitimate. The rebounds in particular are inexcusable; Duke had at least 6 offensive rebounds off of missed free throws. (I suspect there were more, but I'm not going to pare through the play-by-play to figure that out.) How many Summitt teams allow that in a month?

There were some rough spots on the team; Shenikka Stricklen spent the entire game in foul trouble, picking up her fifth foul with just over 4 minutes remaining in the game. Alicia Manning followed her a couple minutes later. Angie Bjorklund couldn't buy a shot all game, finishing 2-13 (1-7 from 3). Alyssia Brewer didn't hit a FT all game, which isn't too bad if you only shoot 1 or 2; she shot 5. The stars were gals you don't normally hear about. Kelley Cain had the kind of game that would have everyone oozing praise if it came from JP Prince; 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, 6 boards, 2 blocks.. Briana Bass, all 5'something of her, led the Vols with 14 points (and 6-of-6 from the line) and basically took the game into her own hands at points.

That being said, there were nice things about this game; once again the Baby Vols took over for an extended stretch in the first half. We saw this against Oklahoma too, and this time the kids went on a 13-3 run to tie the game. Before that, though, it was sloppy on both ends; turnovers abounded on both sides, and the shocking thing is that even with all the Tennessee turnovers, Duke coughed the ball up almost as much. Like Oklahoma, the golden girl on the inside - in this case, Chante Black - fouled out late. Also like Oklahoma, the Baby Vols had problems keeping up in the second half, as Duke pretty much dominated until about the 5 minute mark. Also like Oklahoma, Tennessee did win the last 5 minutes.

What are we going to take from this? In a lot of respects, this is the same team that we saw miss the opportunity against Oklahoma. But they're getting older and they're getting better. This was - well, is - a very experienced Duke team they went up again, and after the way the game unfolded, the fact the Baby Vols were even in a position to foul at the end of the game in an attempt to come back is a good thing. Tennessee was outplayed pretty badly. By outplayed, I mean outhustled and outgritted; by no means did Duke shoot well from either the line or behind the arc, but they left TBA 3-0 all-time there.

The good news is that we're seeing the embryo of a quality team. It's just coming along in fits and starts - well, still coming along in fits and starts. They'll get there; they can't be the Baby Vols forever.

FanPosts are most often submitted by users. The views and opinions expressed in FanPosts do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions held by the editorial staff of Rocky Top Talk or SB Nation.

Tweet Comment 5 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

This is a really great writeup.

From my view in the crow’s nest, the difference in experience couldn’t have been any more obvious. Duke just never got out of position on the defensive end, and most of Tennessee’s shots were taken with lots of pressure. I was getting really tired of watching the gals scramble for a shot with time running out on the possession.

Subtle things: Duke is masterful at drawing fouls while driving tangentially toward the basket. Several times, they’d get the defender running with them then leeeean in; the moving defender would then get whistled. Duke owned the offensive glass for much the same reason; I’ve never seen so many rebounds taken by the person behind the defender. (I’m not saying that over-the-backs weren’t called; I didn’t have the vantage point to assert that. I’m saying they know how to not draw fouls.)

When the Lady Vols play at full speed, they’re a fabulous team. When they go through the motions, they fall apart. Somehow, they need to play as if they’re down in the waning moments for the whole game. They play very well under pressure; they get very sloppy at other times.

It’s fortunate that the final score was closer than the game appeared; this might not hurt in the standings as much as it really should.

Lick the wounds, learn, and reload. We’re looking forward to the next one, gals.

by David Hooper on Feb 16, 2009 10:19 PM EST reply actions

This didn't make the recap, but...

The Baby Vols drew an insane number of off-the-ball fouls in the under-5 period. Actually, unlike Oklahoma, this was a legitimate win of the under-5.

On Duke’s rebounding: it wasn’t over-the-back as much as it was the primary rebounder missing the angle on the ball. I saw it often enough that I’m pretty sure that was what’s going on.

by Chris Pendley on Feb 17, 2009 7:34 AM EST up reply actions

That makes sense.

As I mentioned, I was too far away to see what what going on clearly. And the radio guys said that Duke had schemed for the Vols’ free throw rebounding set in the last few minutes, which would explain their ability to get a lot of those rebounds at the end.

But yes, when the pressure was on, UT played a far better game. Maybe they need to play a little BruceBall for a whle…

by David Hooper on Feb 17, 2009 9:22 AM EST up reply actions

A note about Glory Johnson

On the way into work, the talking heads got into a bit of a discussion about her and noted that she doesn’t use any fakes (e.g. head fakes or ball fakes), but always goes right at the defender and tries to shoot over them. That would explain an increasing tendency for good interior players to block a lot of her shot, and would give her something to work on pronto.

by David Hooper on Feb 17, 2009 11:11 AM EST reply actions

That's true for all the kids.

I didn’t realize it until I was watching their body language on the bench; the kids really are kids, frustrated and kind of harried at Summitt’s coaching. There’s a lot of growing up left to do across the board.

by Chris Pendley on Feb 17, 2009 12:55 PM EST up reply actions