Volunteers sleepwalk to an 89-56 blowout victory against the Gamecocks

by Joel Hollingsworth on Mar 9, 2008 4:12 PM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Basketball

Tyler Smith didn't start Tennessee's final home game against South Carolina because he forgot to reset his clock for daylight savings time, overslept, and missed a meeting. Or something. The rest of the team was there on time, but they just forgot to wake up.

Yawn.

While the rest of the team was sleepwalking, seniors Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith were unconscious. Lofton went 10-17 from the field and 6-10 from behind the arc on his way to 28 points, and Juanny went 6-13 from the field and 4-9 from three-point land on his way to 17 points.

Mostly, though, it was a peaceful, nappy Sunday afternoon.

So the Volunteers beat the Gamecocks 89-56, and they did it in their sleep. Heck, even the crowd was droopy-eyed. I think I heard coach Pearl sweating during yawn play.

So . . . .

. . . the Vols closed out the season . . .

. . . .

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Very relaxed in TBA.

Back from the game. The atmosphere in TBA was very loose and festive. I don't think anybody honestly gave any thought to USC winning, except when they tied it back up late in the first half. Otherwise, it was truly a Senior Night, and the seniors had the green light to do pretty much anything they wanted to do.

I don't know if Raycom bothered to show it, but the net-cutting ceremony at the end was a lot of fun. Williams poked a little fun at his own heft by acting unsure of the ladder's ability to hold him; the whole team ran up to steady the ladder and give support. When there was one thread holding the net to the hoop, everybody naturally left it for Pearl at the end and instead cut other threads off the remnants of the net. One of the assistants made a play at giving it a cut, and the whole team was about ready to pull him off the ladder when he looked back with a grin.

USC played tough in the first half - obviously wanting to give Odom a last hurrah. But they were overmatched in depth and couldn't hang on for the ride in the second half. I'll give them credit though; they played with a lot of energy and weren't content to slow the game down to hold the score close.

Well, now to enjoy a beautiful day - perhaps a nap outside.

by David Hooper on Mar 9, 2008 5:10 PM EDT reply actions

Raycom Coverage

Those two are really bad. I don't dislike them personally but their inability to call a game accurately is really annoying. I guess that's about all I can complain about regarding the Vols big win.

My Signature Should be Better Than This

by MoonDogLeft on Mar 10, 2008 11:08 AM EDT reply actions