Tennessee Lady Vols @ Vanderbilt Commodores, 9 PM EST
by David Hooper on Feb 9, 2012 7:00 PM EST
in Lady Vols Basketball
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February 9, 2012
Nashville, TN 9:00 PM EST TV: CSS / ESPN3 Internet Audio: Lady Vols Network Live Stats: GameTracker |
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17-6 (8-2 SEC) |
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18-5 (6-4 SEC) |
Let the rehabilitation roadshow begin.
The Lady Vols are coming off a nice win against Auburn, but this is the game that can put the South Carolina debacle in the past. Last time against Vanderbilt, Christina Foggie lit up the scoreboard for 27 points (a career high, but you already knew that) and Glory Johnson and Shekinna Stricklen came up with a hurt shoulder and knee, respectively. Tennessee won comfortably, 87-64, but the injuries may have played a part in the Lady Vols' collapse against Notre Dame.
Tonight, it's a familiar opponent in a familiar funhouse. Memorial Gym will provide the Lady Vols with the opportunity to prove they can play as a team when the bench is located somewhere in Uzbekistan. Will they answer the call? Will the magical floating rims present trouble? Will Vanderbilt again claim a sold-out game to prevent UT fans from buying tickets?
| Position | Name | Experience | Height | PPG | RPG | APG | |
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G | Meighan Simmons | So | 5-10 | 10.6 | 2.3 | 1.5 |
| P | Glory Johnson | Sr | 6-2 | 13.5 | 9.5 | 1.2 | |
| PG | Ariel Massengale | Fr | 5-7 | 8.5 | 2.7 | 5.2 | |
| G-F | Shekinna Stricklen | Sr | 6-2 | 14.8 | 6.6 | 1.9 | |
| F | Alicia Manning | Sr | 6-1 | 4.3 | 4.5 | 1.4 | |
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G | Christina Foggie | So | 5-9 | 17.7 | 3.1 | 2.2 |
| PG | Jasmine Lister | So | 5-4 | 11.9 | 2.8 | 5.4 | |
| C | Stephanie Holzer | So | 6-4 | 11.0 | 7.4 | 1.0 | |
| G | Kady Schrann | Fr | 5-9 | 7.7 | 2.0 | 1.7 | |
| G | Elan Brown | Jr | 6-0 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 1.7 |
In the previous match, Tennessee destroyed Vanderbilt's interior, causing Stephanie Holzer to commit five second half fouls and giving Clarke some Glory Johnson-shaped nightmares for days afterwards. Tennessee scored 46 paint points, led rebounds 39-30, shot over 50%, and netted 28 points off turnovers. Despite an all-too close halftime score and an all-too-familiar career night for an opposing guard, it was a game that made you forget about the Kentucky loss and feel good about the chances moving forward.
Now that the Lady Vols have Taber Spani back, the perimeter game presents more of a legitimate threat. Additionally, the yeoman's work of Stricklen and Harrison in the post has allowed Glory to venture out to defend guards recently, adding a very quick and long athlete on the edge to help slow down the deep threat. Her shoulder is close to normal again which, along with the return of Spani, the healthy knee of Stricklen, and the recent surge in play from Kamiko, makes this Tennessee team as healthy as it's been in a very long time.
Speaking of Kamiko: the gal deserves special mention. When she came in against Auburn, she was everywhere on the court, disrupting the Tiger offense and finding ways to get open in the paint. Her conditioning is clearly beginning to come around, and she may help provide the defensive answer at the perimeter that Tennessee has needed.
But as always, Rube Goldberg Gym always allows the possibility of bizarro game play. The best counter is a strong interior game, where shots should be easier to see. (Then again, UT has excelled at missing the point blank attempts.) If Tennessee can replicate their interior dominance, they should walk out with a confident win and some momentum going into the rematch against Kentucky. If Dee Kantner is officiating and Glory has two fouls before the opening tipoff, then things get a lot more interesting.
Prediction: 78 - 66 Tennessee
BassWatch™: Under-4 timeout of the first half.
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I'm missing this, but you'll probably hear me swearing from wherever you are if Dee is on this game.
Formerly 'snail. You get used to it after a while.
The miracle that is GameTracker's media view!
Officials: Bryan Enterline, Ed Sidlasky, and Brian Hall.
Aside: I didn’t realize they ever allowed three guys to ref a women’s game. I just assumed there was a Title XI parallelism in officiating that required at least one set of XX chromosomes.
I watched a bit of the UConn - Duke game a week or two ago.
Dee was reffing. Sure enough, all the post players had foul trouble. UConn’s starter had 2 in less than 10 minutes, and Duke was effectively reduced to a 5-guard offense. That’s part of what makes me think she just hates posts.
Decent-ish start.
Vandy’s conceding the three and Tennessee’s missed three of them, but one early foul on Tiffany Clarke.
Tennessee's had a couple moments of confusion when switching on defense.
Hopefully that doesn’t become a trend.
indoubatably
They give us a 12% chance, but I think that’s way too low. Of course computer rankings fail to take into account things like the arrival of Stokes and individual matchups.
It’s one of those games where I think we either lock them down defensively and win, or they just go off and massacre us. Figure its in the 35/65 range for which happens.
Vandy shooting 50% and UT shooting 29%.
Yet just a one point game. If those trends regress, UT should be fine.
UT slumping.
Having a really hard time getting the ball inside. Now would be a good time for a timeout.
22-15 at the under 12.
Tennessee just not in a rhythm. But Vandy certainly is. They have figured out a pretty nifty blockout to allow their guards to drive, and Tennessee hasn’t adjusted yet.
Monster block by Burdick on Holzer.
33-27 Vandy, but UT looking better in the last few seconds. Glory is absolutely beasting it right now.
35-29 under 4.
Johnson with 15 points and Simmons with 10. They’re 9 for 13 and the rest of the team is 2 for 11. They’re getting killed on rebounds 18-10. Part is Vandy shooting better (fewer D-boards available), part is Vandy committed to boxouts, and part is just not rebounding well enough.
Something has to change at halftime.
Vandy has clearly spent a lot of focus on scheming Tennessee, and it’s working. They’re playing a very, very sharp tactical game.
Gametracker's frozen, so a quick summary:
Vandy shooting 58% to UT’s 43%, and much of it is off good passing for good looks.
Vandy outrebounding UT 19-11. Whaaa?
Vandy may face foul trouble if Tennessee presses the issue. No UT players have 2 fouls.
Johnson and Simmons: 28 of UT’s 34 points.
Burdick shooting well and with 4 boards. A couple of clumsy moments, but she’s a definite asset tonight.
Remember when we had Shekinna Stricklen? Good times.
(She’s 1-4 for 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 1 steal, and 1 foul.)
Also:
Turnovers: 8 on UT, 7 on Vandy.
Points off turnovers: 12-2 Vandy.
Paint points: 24-16 Vandy. (again, whaaaaa?)
Shotclock violation by Vandy, and Stricklen finally shows emotion.
48-40 at the under-16. UT has the ball and a chance to cut the lead.
#9 Green Bay, #10 Ohio State, and #15 Nebraska all lose.
If UT can find anything resembling rhythm, they have a chance to move up and solidify.
Just 2, I guess.
Thought it was her third.
by David Hooper on Feb 9, 2012 10:21 PM EST up reply actions
5 of Vandy's 7 deep have 2 fouls.
They’re backing off, which is helping open things up a bit. Need to draw one or two, though.
54-52 at the under 12.
Vandy will have the ball and a fresh shotclock after the timeout due to Spani’s first foul. Fouls are 5 on UT, 2 on Vandy this half.
Oh, and through all this, Brianna Bass has been leading the point. Ariel went to the bench after her third foul. If it’s close late, I’d be tempted to leave Bass in just for the momentum right now.
Very very frustrating to watch.
And I’m sure, even more frustrating if you are part of the team.
by Bruce in Louisville on Feb 9, 2012 10:45 PM EST reply actions
12 points down, 3:40 to go
Not insurmountable — but for this team at this moment, it may be.
by Bruce in Louisville on Feb 9, 2012 10:50 PM EST reply actions
Yeah, they're done.
I’m already working on postgame.
by David Hooper on Feb 9, 2012 10:51 PM EST up reply actions
Vanderbilt looks like Tennessee used to look
and Tennessee looks like Vandy used to look.
by Bruce in Louisville on Feb 9, 2012 10:54 PM EST reply actions
That's not a bad way to put it.
It’s no longer a question of winning the SEC. They won’t. It’s a question of getting past Kentucky, trashing the rest of the season, re-learning how to play, and reloading for tourney time.
by David Hooper on Feb 9, 2012 10:56 PM EST up reply actions
Which tourney, in which year?
Reloading for this year’s SEC? This year’s NCAA?
Or have we already started looking to next year?
Not being snarky — just curious about what you meant.
by Bruce in Louisville on Feb 9, 2012 10:58 PM EST up reply actions
This year.
Can’t just fold the tents on the year, but they have to be realistic: getting ready for tourney time is going to take some resetting.
by David Hooper on Feb 9, 2012 11:03 PM EST up reply actions
I would also note
that anyone who talks about “lack of effort” on the Lady Vols part doesn’t know what he’s talking about, in my opinion. I think they played hard; they just didn’t have an answer for Vandy’s quickness or shooting.
I haven’t looked at the stats, and I didn’t watch the whole game, so YMMV.
by Bruce in Louisville on Feb 9, 2012 10:56 PM EST reply actions
They're playing hard, but they're out of sync.
Vanderbilt won by having the right schemes for Tennessee. And Tennessee didn’t have a way to adjust to it. Balcomb drew up a beauty.
by David Hooper on Feb 9, 2012 10:57 PM EST up reply actions
And a bazillion 3s
or so it seemed.
by Bruce in Louisville on Feb 9, 2012 11:02 PM EST up reply actions
And I have a question.
I’m watching Pat on the bench, and she seems … resigned. Certainly not fiery, or into the game.
I’m sure none of us know just how much the disease is the cause, and how much is the play of the team. I also suspect that none of us really know how much it is affecting everyone else.
So does anyone else know? Any unofficial comments shared, any insights?
by Bruce in Louisville on Feb 9, 2012 11:01 PM EST reply actions
Caught the end of this one guys.....scouting, if you will, for next week.....
I know that Hooper and I discussed this earlier in the year when I brought up the same question that Bruce did above…..is it getting worse?
I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!
by Greg Alan Edwards on Feb 9, 2012 11:06 PM EST reply actions
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