Is Tennessee basketball peaking at just the right time?
by Joel Hollingsworth on Mar 1, 2010 7:29 AM EST
in Rocky Top Talking Points
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PrintQuickie Talking Points this morning:
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Consistency goes a long way for Vols " GoVolsXtra
The 19th-ranked Vols (21-7, 9-5 SEC) started their ninth different lineup in the 74-65 win over Kentucky on Saturday, opening the game with their most impressive half of basketball in charging to a 40-29 lead. Seniors Wayne Chism, Bobby Maze and J.P. Prince were joined by junior Brian Williams and sophomore Scotty Hopson. "I think our rotation is pretty much set, we've got a comfort level,'' UT associate head coach Tony Jones said Sunday. "The players who served suspensions are all back and in the flow, Cam Tatum is nearly 100 percent from his ankle injury and Wayne Chism played a game without getting nicked up. "We have the capability to play our best basketball here at the end of the season.''
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Inspired Vols get big 3-pointer from Hopson for another big upset " GoVolsXtra
"We beat two number-one seeds,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said, alluding to the upcoming NCAA tournament. "Nobody else in the country has done that. Tennessee has done that.'' -
Tennessee 74, Kentucky 65: Postmortem - A Sea Of Blue
The Vol fans were great -- loud, rowdy and yet they refrained from throwing water bottles, small animals or babies onto the floor. Great job by the Thompson-Boling crowd making this a memorable game, even if it is a bad memory for the 'Cats.
The Volunteers have knocked off the #1 and #2 team this year in Knoxville. Pretty good tournament resume, if you ask me.
Chattanooga Times Free Press | Vols dangerous on home court
Five top-six opponents have visited Thompson-Boling in Coach Bruce Pearl's five seasons with the Vols. All five have left with losses.
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The Vols have home wins that would put an exclamation point on any team's NCAA tournament resume, but they've also suffered through some particularly wretched road stinkers. Their 22-point loss at Southern California, 15-point loss at Georgia and 19-point loss at Vanderbilt all rank among the biggest blowout losses of the Pearl era.
Chattanooga Times Free Press | Vols have faith in Shay
Assistant coach Jason Shay again was assigned the Kentucky scouting duty. Pearl calls his former Iowa point guard his "head scout," and Shay typically breaks down the Vols' toughest opponents. "I've always taken pride in our preparation," Shay said after Thursday night's video session with the team. "I've had to scout for a lot of our big games, and it's important for me to give those guys my best effort, and to give them the best game plan for us to win ballgames."
When Tennessee upset No. 1 Kansas on Jan. 10, Brian Williams was bunkered in his dorm room. Just him and his TV. He could almost literally hear the din emanating from Thompson-Boling Arena down the hill as the Vols stunned the Jayhawks, not to mention the rest of college basketball. Saturday, Williams got a second chance. So did his teammates, Cameron Tatum and Melvin Goins.
Vols' win over Kentucky slips into Top 5 Pearl wins -- barely | Ask Griff | GoVolsXtra.com
Late-Game Leadership Ices Vols Victory - TENNESSEE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
Big Baskets from Hopson, Prince Give UT 74-65 win over No. 2 Kentucky - TENNESSEE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
"That was a mature win," Prince said. "We had a big lead, let them come back, but didn't panic."
VolQuest.com - Pearl pushes Hopson's buttons, more upset talk
Hopson's steadily slipping production in February led Bruce Pearl to take off the kid gloves he's worn when handling Hopson ever since he arrived on campus. The head coach has always been careful to avoid putting too much pressure on Hopson's young shoulders, but that approach has changed noticeably in the last month. Pearl didn't try to soften the blow in regards to benching Hopson at Florida earlier this week, stating specifically that it was directly related to his recent play. The head coach also didn't act as though he was overly concerned with how Hopson would react to the move, noting that [ ] given his recent play, there was little if any downside to him handling the move poorly. Using the last two games as evidence though, it would seem safe to say that Pearl's move lit a figurative fire under the gifted sophomore.
Kentucky Hits a Wall of a Different Kind: Tennessee -- NCAABB FanHouse
8. Calipari makes his halftime speech. He calls World Wide Wes on his cell phone: "Wes," Cal says, "I'm going to need you to get me five NBA lottery picks next year. I can't beat Pearl in Knoxville with four."
"I really just want to come here and leave no doubt,'' Berry said. "That is pretty much my whole goal, for anybody who has that little percentage in their mind that I am not good enough to be No. 1 or be up there with the other guys, I am trying to clear that up right now. … I feel like I am the best player in the draft.''
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I'm going to go with 'doubtful' at the moment.
Their next-to-last game was a pretty bad loss to Florida, and that’s sandwiched between two pretty good wins against USC and UK. Until the awesome is something that shows up enough to be expected, they just appear to be wildly inconsistent. That makes me wonder how much was a function of UT’s play and how much was about the disappointing play of their opponents.
it's hard to determine when the timeline is a bunch of zig-zags
they might have peaked in the midst of their season-long 7 game win streak, emphasized by wins at Memphis, and at home vs. Kansas.
Yeah
That’s right.
The main point I was trying to make (but didn’t quite get done) was that it seems like they’re finally beginning to settle into a consistent starting lineup and rotation for perhaps the first time this season.
by Joel Hollingsworth on Mar 1, 2010 1:05 PM EST up reply actions
yes
which means they can be more comfortable and really start to play better as a team (or at least more consistent).
If we can beat Arky and MSU
And not fall asleep against LSU in the first round of the SECT, then we can talk about peaking. Would be a good time for it.
by Incipient_Senescence on Mar 1, 2010 10:30 AM EST reply actions
2nd round game in the SEC tournament...
the second seed from the west is either going to be Ole Miss or Arkansas, and it will come down to the game in Fayetteville. (Assuming we are the 3rd seed from the east and beat LSU) Who would we want? I think Arkansas would be the easier opponent, but would a win vs. Ole Miss help our RPI enough to matter? They are on the fringe of being in the Top 50 of the RPI, and assuming they win out, they might get there…
just curious, because I want to know who I should be rooting for. And as long as we are playing hypotheticals…. do we want to be on Kentucky or Vanderbilt’s side of the bracket? We could really improve our stock by winning the SEC tournament and beating Vanderbilt and Kentucky in the process. But a loss to UK wouldn’t be bad. A 3rd loss to Vandy wouldn’t be good.
I'd rather play Arkansas and then Kentucky
I don’t think Ole Miss would help enough to matter. A loss against UK looks better than one against Vandy. A win against UK looks better than one against Vandy. And we play better against UK than we do against Vandy. That makes this an easy choice (at least in my mind).
by Incipient_Senescence on Mar 1, 2010 11:41 AM EST up reply actions
I'm with you.
I really want a rematch with Kentucky, too. I really, really, really do. I mean, it’s the perfect thing for our fan-dom. We went to their place, played well, lost late. They came to our place, we rocked them, they came back, we pulled it out. Both teams have played great basketball against each other, and a final battle on a neutral court would be amazing.
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Mar 1, 2010 11:58 AM EST up reply actions
It would be a great game
My only problem is that I always have something going on the 2nd weekend in March. This time, it’s a friend from South Carolina who has a job interview in the Boston area and needs a place to stay and someone to show her around the city. If we end up in a rematch against Kentucky Saturday, I’ll be hard pressed to find a way to see it. And should we win and make the finals, there will be no way to see it. I’ll be busy driving to the airport. The hope, though, is that having the busy weekends this weekend and next will allow a little free time when March Madness actually starts.
by Incipient_Senescence on Mar 1, 2010 12:07 PM EST up reply actions
FYI for all those dealing with work schedules next week
If the Vols finish 3rd in the East, we’ll play at 3:15 EST on Thursday/Friday. If the Vols finish 4th, we’ll play at 7:30 EST on Thurs/Fri
by Will Shelton on Mar 1, 2010 12:22 PM EST up reply actions
Hmm
Should we finish 3rd, I’ll be able to see the first half of the Thursday game and the last 30 minutes of the Friday game. I guess that’s not terrible. Thanks for the info!
by Incipient_Senescence on Mar 1, 2010 1:20 PM EST up reply actions
Ranking Pearl's Wins
Strange had the ‘05 Texas win ranked at #7, which I think is far too low. I can remember a state of malaise prior to Pearl’s arrival, and down right depression after the 5-6 football season (first losing season in 17 years comes during MY senior year). No one noticed what was going on in basketball, and if they did, no one cared.
Then, as if flipping a light switch, news of the BLOWOUT at Texas got people excited about basketball, and not just “waiting for next football season.” Sure, there were still plenty of skeptics, but without that Texas win, there may have never been that record crowd at TBA when undefeated Florida came to town. IF we don’t beat Texas at their place, we might have never defeated Florida at ours. IF we don’t beat Florida on Rocky Top, does this team have the experience and confidence to beat Florida at the O-Dome later that year? I know we’re getting into crazy hypotheticals here, but without that Texas win, things may have started very differently for Pearl.
So Sayth King Zach I
I think that '06 Florida game in Knoxville
is probably right behind the ‘08 Memphis win for me. The Texas game was great, but could’ve been written off. Coming into that Florida game we’d lost at Memphis and at (eventual SEC Champion) LSU, and the smallest bit of doubt was starting to form in the back of people’s minds. But beating #2 Florida in such a fantastic game helped prove that Pearl was for real – that game is still the loudest I’ve ever heard TBA.
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