UT Bball Land

Game of the Year!

2008-02-21T22:05:00.003-05:00

So here it is. The game of the year. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me welcome you back to Planet Earth because you have been gone all week. Yes, I am talking about the #2 ranked Tennessee Vols playing against the #1 ranked Memphis Tigers. If you have turned on a tv to ESPN or read anything about sports on the web, then you have heard about this game on Saturday. This is more than just a battle for rankings. It's a battle for state supremacy. Only 4 times in college basketball history has the #1 and #2 teams met in a game from the same state, twice in Ohio and twice in North Carolina. While sitting here typing this with ESPN on in the background, I have heard two promos for the game. College Gameday will be live from the FedEx Forum at 11 a.m. eastern. Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews will be there for the game. It's going to be crazy baby!(In my best Dick Vitale voice) Chris Lofton vs Chris Douglas Roberts. Ramar Smith vs Derrick Rose. JaJuan Smith vs Antonio Anderson. Tyler Smith vs Robert Dozier. Wayne Chism vs Joey Dorsey. Bruce Pearl vs John Calipari. Volunteers vs Tigers. I can't wait! And oh yeah, that count just went up to 3 promos.

Checking in...

2008-02-12T20:50:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while since my last post. Almost a full year actually. Life is going good these days. UT basketball is off to a wonderful start and are having quite possibly their best year ever. They have a big game tomorrow night against an Arkansas team that has started slow but is playing very well lately. The game is in Thompson Boling Arena, however, which has been a great home court advantage over the last year. The Vols are ranked #4 in the nation and are 21-2. Hopefully, after tomorrow night, they will be 22-2!

Really, the biggest thing that is happening right now is wedding planning. For those that don't know, I got engaged on August 30th and am getting married on May 3rd to the most wonderful girl in the world, Emily Dawson. We met at West End Church of Christ back in January of 2007. We began dating in March 07 and the rest is history. I am really excited about spending the rest of my life with her, and can't wait for our lives to begin together!

I'll try to check in more often than I have been. Hope everyone out there is doing great! Go Vols!!

Hows everything going!

2007-02-25T20:20:00.000-05:00

It's been a while for Big Bentley. I haven't really been able to post lately. My new job has really kept me busy, and between that and the basketball season, I really didn't have time to keep my blog updated. As it's not going to be like it was before the hiatus, I have come here to offer up some thoughts.

The past couple of months have been rough for the Vols. Chris Lofton was lost for 4 games with an ankle sprain. The Vols faced a tough schedule in that time and went 1-3 in that stretch. Until recently, the Vols have been able to turn things around. They pulled off three straight at home against LSU, Vandy, and UK. One of the highlights of that time was seeing Bernard King back in Knoxville. While I was never able to see Bernard play, as he was before my time, I had heard the stories growing up going to the games. It was such a honor to see Bernard back at Tennessee to have his #53 retired. And it was even more special to have Ernie Grunfeld and Ray Mears there as well. Then, yesterday, the Vols pulled off their first SEC road win of the season against Arkansas, locking up a NCAA Tourney bid. While there is still much work to be done, I don't see the NCAA committee passing on a team that would finish at 8-8 in the SEC at worst, with a top 10 strength of schedule and top 20 RPI.

Now, in comes the Gators. They have lost 2 of their last 3, both on the road. The Vols have yet to lose at home, going 15-0. The game is on Super Tuesday on ESPN, and for the first time since the early 90's, Dick Vitale will be in the house to broadcast the game. Now, as annoying as Vitale can be, he is the poster child for college basketball. Whenever he comes to your arena to call a game, it says that your program has arrived. The students are being allowed to campout starting Monday morning, ensuring that the crowd will be crazy. The game should be sold out by Monday morning. The tip off club is having their season dinner at 6:00 at the Foundry. Woddy Paige is the featured speaker and Bruce Pearl will be there as well. And, I will be attending. Looking forward to it. But the best part of the night that I'm looking forward to is the Senior Night Ceremony. Dane Bradshaw is the lone senior on this team, and will be honored justly. I'll admit that I tend to get teary-eyed at ceremnoies like this. Can't wait. Hope the Vols beat the Gators to high heavens!

Ohio State Preview

2007-01-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

Both teams will enter this non-conference game coming off a conference road loss. Ohio State lost at Wisconsin on Tuesday night, while the Vols lost Wednesday night at Vanderbilt. Ohio State enters the game with the same record as the Vols. However, all three losses came away from Columbus and at the number 1, 2, and 3 ranked teams in the country. Everyone has heard of the “Fab Five,” well Ohio State brings their number one ranked recruiting class, aka the “Thad Four,” to Columbus. Greg Oden leads the list of freshman, but he is joined by an impressive class. Mike Conley is their starting point guard and leads them with 6.6 assists per game. Fellow rookie Daequan Cook leads the Buckeyes in scoring while coming off the bench with 14.8 points per game. Last is David Lighty, a small forward that is best driving to the basket. Cook, senior Ivan Harris, and junior Jamar Butler lead the team in three pointers, all shooting over 40% while firing up at least 4 attempts each game. Oden leads the team on the boards, collecting 9.2 a game along with 13.9 points per game.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

So here’s the key to this game. How do you guard Greg Oden? In my opinion you have to limit him. You can’t let him get easy looks around the basket. He takes advantage of his height quite well, but his offensive game isn’t that polished. He has struggled on offense when he has had to create his own shot. Oden excels and crashing the boards and getting rebounds, and he runs the floor well for a player his size. Unless Oden proves me wrong, I would play behind Oden and make him shoot over top. Pearl likes to front the post, but I think this would be a game to not do that. If you front the post, you allow Oden to get position for rebounds, and also possibly easy dunks. Second, you have to keep Ohio State off the offensive glass. This ended up killing the Vols on Wednesday night against Vanderbilt, and it could do so against the Buckeyes as well. If Ohio State is able to dominate the boards, then this game could be ugly.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Ohio State

PG – 6’1” #1 Mike Conley Jr.
SG – 6’2” #14 Jamar Butler
SF – 6’4” #12 Ron Lewis
PF – 6’7” #3 Ivan Harris
C – 7’0” #20 Greg Oden

Tennessee

PG – 6’2” #12 Ramar Smith
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Vanderbilt Review

2007-01-11T21:31:00.000-05:00

First, I’m going to start this off by saying that it’s kinda hard to review a game when you don’t get to watch it. I was able to listen on the radio and got a chance to look at the stat sheet following a game, but you really don’t get a good picture of what is happening in a game. That in no way speaks bad of Bert Bertelkamp or Bob Kesling. I think they do the best job they can and are very entertaining to listen too. It’s just hard to get a mental picture listening to anybody on the radio. It’s just an easier game to watch then listen to. With that said, my thoughts on the game…

1) First off, I almost wanted to cry when the game was over. After the come back the team put into the game last night, I really thought they would pull it out. I guess you could say I was just shocked when the game ended. I just sat here in my chair in shock. You can second guess Pearl’s decisions over fouling at the end all day long, but it doesn’t matter to me. If the Vols pull off the win, then Pearl isn’t second guessed.

2) The Vols really struggled rebounding in the second half Wednesday night. Vanderbilt recorded 12 offensive rebounds in the second half, compared to Tennessee’s 10 defensive rebounds. That’s bad. That’s all you can say.

3) On the bright side, Lofton once again had an unbelievable night. He hit a shot right before halftime that was said to be farther out than the Texas shot. Most said at least 35 feet. Unbelievable. Ramar Smith also played great, continuing to improve game by game. Ramar made a CLUTCH three at the end that put the Vols up 3, and then made the pass with under 5 seconds left to Crews off a screen and roll to put the Vols up 1 with 4.7 seconds left.

4) There was some dissention on the bench last night, and while we don’t know all the details, we do know some of the details. Chism was said to storm off the bench last night and into the locker room in the second half. Pearl declined to comment after the game saying he didn’t know anything about it. It was reported by the News-Sentinel that Chism had an asthma attack, but that didn’t sound right. I don’t think someone having an asthma attack would be screaming and yelling. It came out today that someone in the Vandy section behind the UT bench apparently yelled the n word at Chism, which made him react. Can’t really blame the guy for reacting the way he did.

Now, for the Stat Line of the Night...

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Lofton,Chris..  11-15   6-7    1-2    0  2  2   0  29  1  3  0  3  36

Vanderbilt Preview

2007-01-08T18:29:00.000-05:00

Vanderbilt enters their home SEC opener against Tennessee coming off a 68-65 loss at Auburn. The Commodores are 2-2 in their last 4 games after winning 7 straight. Vanderbilt is led by junior Shan Foster who is scoring 15.3 points per game, and is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. The Commodores run a version of the Princeton offense, with lots of fake screens and backcuts to the basket. This could be difficult for the Vols freshman as they have not faced anything like this yet. Couple in with the fact that Vanderbilt makes the second most threes in the league, and you can’t sag off your defender to help out in the post. Four of Vandy’s five starters are capable of shooting the ball from behind the arc, which limits their rebounding. The Commodores are last in the SEC in offensive rebounds with less than 10 a game.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

If you are a fan of the 3 point shot, this game is definitely for you. If you like block shots, then don’t watch this one. Both teams are 1-2 in the SEC in 3 pointers made and dead last in blocks per game. Tennessee will have it’s hands full in trying to stop Shan Foster and his 3 point shooting teammates. As I stated above, four of their five starters shoot the three well, all over 35% for the season. Both teams lead the SEC in turnover margin as well, meaning either they don’t turn it over (Vandy) or force a lot of turnovers (Tennessee). This will be the first SEC road game for Tennessee’s four freshman, and I don’t know if there is any place worst to start your SEC road career. Memorial is definitely a different place to play, and couple that with the difficulty you can have guarding Vandy’s offense, it could spell trouble for the Vols. One key for the Vols may be the offensive glass. Tennessee is leading the SEC with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game. If the Vols can crash the boards hard, they may be able to take advantage of a Vanderbilt interior that isn’t that good.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Vanderbilt

PG – 5’11” #3 Alex Gordon
SG – 6’5” #20 Dan Cage
SF – 6’7” #4 Derrick Byars
PF – 6’6” #32 Shan Foster
C – 6’9” #41 Ross Neltner

Tennessee

PG – 6’2” #12 Ramar Smith
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Mississippi State Review

2007-01-07T19:52:00.000-05:00

The Vols faced off against a tough Mississippi State Bulldogs team on Sunday afternoon and were able to come out of the game with their first SEC win of the season. It’s always going to be a different type of game for freshman, and I think Tennessee’s freshman were up for the task tonight. It’s usually tougher for the freshman post players to adapt to SEC play since they are going up against a ton of good post players, and tonight was a perfect example. Both Crews and Chism were exposed to the SEC and both came away improved. Both faced off against Charles Rhodes and were introduced to the physical play of the SEC. Couple that with the fact the Jamont Gordon was living inside the paint tonight, and there was a lot of big plays being made in the paint. My thoughts from the game…

1) Chris Lofton had an off night, kind of disappearing into the game, but still scoring 21 points. It’s amazing that the guy can have a quiet game, yet still score 21 points. It was a good sign that the Vols were able to play well on a night that Lofton couldn’t hit a field goal.

2) Ramar Smith continues to improve each game. I told people at the beginning of the season that he would be really good, and some still didn’t agree with me after the Memphis game (cough..cough..Cody..cough..cough). Well after his last couple of games, let me officially announce that Smith has arrived. Ramar finished with 13 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 HUGE blocks, and 1 turnover. How is that line for your point guard?

3) I really thought the refs were awful tonight. Real big surprise I know. And they were bad for both teams. They seemed to be biased in spurts, especially in the second half. The first half of the second half was definitely in favor of Mississippi State. They were getting away with all kinds of stuff and were going all over the back all day. Then the last half of the second half was in favor of UT. Stuff like that just really ticks me off. Call the game even and not in spurts. More reasons to hate SEC officials.

4) I am becoming really worried about our depth. It’s not really an issue right now, but could become one as the season progresses with the style of game Tennessee plays. The Vols had four starters play over 30 minutes, and with two of those being freshman, that’s not good news. Tennessee desperately needs a ninth player to step up (uhem..Tony Passley..uhem) and provide some quality minutes until Jordan Howell returns.

And now for everyone’s, and by everyone I mean all three readers, favorite part of the review, the Stat Line of the Night. Now, I always give the stat line to the Vols, and will this game, but I got to give some props to Jamont Gordon who had 25 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals in 35 minutes. Now onto the Vols. And it shouldn’t be a surprise after the way he played today, and with his first Stat Line of the Night….

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Smith,Ramar ...  5-10   1-2    2-3    3  3  6   1  13  7  1  2  1  33

Mississippi State Preview

2007-01-03T22:10:00.000-05:00

Mississippi State enters the game against Tennessee coming off a 83-75 loss at Missouri. The Bulldogs are 9-4 and ranked 84^th in the College RPI. According to the RPI, they are 0-3 against the Top 50, with those losses coming to Clemson (14), Missouri (27), and Winthrop (44), while 8 of the Bulldog’s 9 wins have come against teams ranked 101 of lower. That doesn’t bode well going against a Tennessee team on the road ranked 16^th in the RPI. The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Jamont Gordon with his 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game which all rank in the top 10 in their respective categories within the SEC. Helping out Gordon on the perimeter is super freshman Barry Stewart and Ben Hansbrough. Stewart is second in the SEC among freshman with 11.6 points coming off the bench for the Bulldogs while Hansbrough is averaging 8.2 points and 4.1 assists in 27 minutes per game. Down low, the Bulldogs employ 6’9” freshman Jarvis Varnado. Varnado is averaging 7.2 points and 6 rebounds per game. Varnado is joined by Vernon Goodridge and Charles Rhodes down low. Rhodes was the starter earlier in the season until he sprained his wrist against Charlotte on November 29^th.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This will be a coming home of sorts for the Bulldogs as 4 of their starters reign from the state of Tennessee. Also, this will be the second time this year that the Vols will be facing a Hansbrough. This time, however, it will come in the form of 6’3” younger brother Ben Hansbrough. The Bulldogs will match up quite well with the Vols height wise until they bring in Rhodes or Goodridge. The starting lineup consists of 4 guards just like the Vols and will setup an interesting matchup between Jamont Gordon and Dane Bradshaw. The bigger question will be, as it will be for all Tennessee opponents this season, how do you limit Chris Lofton? Many SEC teams will be finding out soon how much Lofton has improved. Last season, if you shut down Lofton from 3, he seemed to disappear. You do that this year and he will drive right around you. Lofton is averaging 1.8 more 2 point field goals per game than last year to go along with 2.7 more free throw attempts. This game will be a great preview of whats to come in the SEC with two young teams that are full of talent. The Vols will focus on shutting down Gordon and Stewart and will be trying to force the tempo and create turnovers against the young Bulldogs.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Mississippi State

PG – 6’3” #11 Ben Hansbrough
SG – 6’4” #24 Reginald Delk
SF – 6’4” #1 Richard Delk
PF – 6’4” #44 Jamont Gordon
C – 6’9” # Jarvis Varnado

Tennessee

PG – 6’2” #12 Ramar Smith
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

ETSU Review

2006-12-30T23:24:00.000-05:00

Tennessee came out fast against the Buccaneers and then seemed to settle down as the Vols struggled to pull out the win 93-88 on Saturday night. The Vols were led by Chris Lofton’s 28 points, and not far behind was JaJuan Smith matching his career high of 23 he set on Thursday night. Lofton struggled on the night shooting the ball, but was able to go 13-13 from the free throw line. JaJuan was able to pick up Chris’ slack, however, going 5-9 from behind the arc. Smith got UT off to a quick start scoring the first 11 points of the game. Other than Smith and Lofton, UT seemed to struggle against the Buccaneers. ETSU threw multiple defenses at the Vols at tried to trap the young team whenever presented the chance. This strategy threw the young Vols astray and led to 16 first half turnovers, and a total of 23 for the game. On to my thoughts for the game….

1) Where would this team be without Chris Lofton? Even though he had an off night shooting the ball, he still managed to find ways to score. There is no doubt in my mind that he is an All-American. Lofton seemed to take over the game at times tonight, and scored some unbelievable baskets tonight.

2) The Vols have really improved their free throw shooting since the beginning of the season. The Vols were 30-35 tonight for 85%. Almost half of those came from Chris Lofton, but Chism was 6-6 from the line as well as 3-3 for Duke.

3) I don’t like to gripe about the officials, but they were AWFUL tonight. I understand that being an official is a tough job, and nobody is perfect. But the guys tonight were nowhere near consistent. When you let the guys bang away on one end, and then call tick tack touch fouls on the other, its really ridiculous.

4) It was sad to hear the news of Marques Johnson’s decision to transfer. His statement for is release was very classy and I wish him nothing but the best in wherever he may go.

5) Lastly, I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year. The Vols resume play next Sunday against Mississippi State. The Vols enter SEC play in good position for a run at another NCAA tournament bid.

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Lofton,Chris     7-14   1-5   13-13   1  2  3   0  28  3  4  0  4  36

ETSU Preview

2006-12-29T23:10:00.000-05:00

ETSU enters their game against Tennessee at 8-5, having won 6 of their last 7. Their only loss in their last 7 games came at Vanderbilt, with a score of 104-62. The Buccaneers are led by sophomore Courtney Pigram’s 16 points a game. Pigram is averaging 2.6 steals per game, while turning the ball over 3.8 times per game. He is shooting 36% from behind the arc, while firing up twice as many 3’s as anybody else on the team. The Bucs are led down low by Center Brad Nuckles who is averaging 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. Both Nuckles and Pigram are the only two players for the Bucs who average over 31 minutes per game. The Bucs have played 7 players for every game this season, with 9 players averaging over 10 minutes a game.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This game will be a nice showdown between two players that love to shoot the three. Both Courtney Pigram and Chris Lofton have shot over 100 3’s on the season which puts them with an average right around 8 three point attempts per game. One of the things that could come back to haunt the Buccaneers is their rebounding. The Bucs are getting out rebounded by an average of 2 rebounds per game, and are giving up 15 offensive rebounds per game. The Vols are averaging picking up 15 offensive rebounds per game. Those that have watched the Vols know that that is one of the strengths of the team this year. That could be bad news for the Bucs. If the Vols are able to get their missed shots and get put backs, this game could get ugly like their game against Vandy did.

Projected Starting Lineups:

ETSU

PG – 6’2” # 23 Tayloe Taylor
SG – 6’0” #3 Courtney Pigram
SF – 6’6” #20 Eryk Thomas
PF – 6’8” #35 Andrew Reed
C – 6’9” #51 Brad Nuckles

Tennessee

PG – 6’2” #12 Ramar Smith
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Tennessee Tech Review

2006-12-28T22:04:00.000-05:00

Thursday night was just another night at the gym for the Vols. After starting out low against the Golden Eagles, the Vols were able to put together a 19-0 run to put Tech out of the game. Tech never really had a chance after that and the game slowly reached deficits over 30 in the second half. The Vols were led by JaJuan Smith who scored a career high 23 points for the Vols. They Vols were also helped out by two double doubles from Duke Crews and Ryan Childress. Here where some thoughts on the game:

1) The freshman continued to impress tonight. While Crews and Chism seemed to have off nights, Tabb and R. Smith played extremely well. Tabb is battling a groin injury, but he was able to put in 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists with no turnovers, not to mention his defense. Ramar had 13 points, 4 assists, and 1 turnover in 28 minutes.

2) Ryan Childress had his best game as a Vol tonight, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds in just 18 minutes. Ryan seemed to be all over the place on the offensive end, pulling in 4 offensive rebounds and tipping many more around.

3) The Vols were able to force 16 turnovers against Tech, while recording 25 assists with only 8 turnovers. They took great care of the basketball. If you erase Chism’s 3 turnovers, you had 5 different players with only 1 turnover.

4) Bradshaw had another great night. He was able to record 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists with 1 turnovers. That’s a remarkable game for a guy that has tendonitis in his shoulder.

When an unusual suspect has a great game, you have to give them some props. Thus, the line of the night goes to….

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Childress,Ryan   5-6    0-1    3-6    4  7 11   4  13  1  1  1  2  18

Tennessee Tech Preview

2006-12-25T20:53:00.000-05:00

Tennessee Tech, 5-6, enters their contest against the Vols coming off a fourth place finish in the San Juan Shootout. The Golden Eagles last took the court last Thursday against the University of Central Florida, losing by a score of 73-66. Tech is led by guards Belton Rivers and Anthony Fisher, averaging 18.6 and 17.9 points per game respectively. They are accounting for 83% of the Golden Eagles three pointers, and take 47% of the team’s shots. Tech likes to play 8-9 guys a game at 10 plus minutes. The Golden Eagles are led by Amadi McKenzie down low. McKenzie is scoring 12 points per game and pulling in 8.6 rebounds per game. Tech has averaged 16 turnovers a game thus far this season. The Golden Eagles have a RPI of 183, having played the 135^th hardest strength of schedule. They are 1-1 against the Top 50 in the RPI, beating Bradley 86-84 in Cookeville and losing at Kansas State early in the season 101-79. Compare that to the Vols who have a RPI of 14, having played the 27^th hardest schedule in the country. The are 3-2 against the Top 50 RPI, with wins against Oklahoma State (11), Memphis (23), and Western Kentucky (46), and losses to Butler (4) and North Carolina (6).

KEYS TO THE GAME:

The Vols are coming off a tough stretch of games in which they were able to come away unscathed. Tennessee Tech, on the other hand, comes into this game having lost two of three in the San Juan Shootout. The Vols will look to build off the momentum they sustained before the Christmas break. This is a scary game for the Vols given that they are coming off the break and have played so well lately. The Vols are still trying to replace starting point guard Jordan Howell. They had a huge step in the right direction against Texas, with Ramar Smith playing 38 minutes with 9 assists and 0 turnovers. Bruce Pearl will be looking for the same kind of production from Smith as he continues to learn on the job. Pearl will probably be looking to rest Dane Bradshaw some in the next two games, hoping to get him some rest going into the SEC season. This will mean that Pearl will be relying on Wayne Chism and Duke Crews to continue to improve their games. Chism played his best game by far as a Vol against Texas and will try to build of that. If the Vols come back from Christmas Break enthused and focused, then this game really shouldn’t be close. But never underestimate a mid major school. Bruce Pearl will be the first person to tell you that.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Tennessee Tech

PG – 6’2” #2 Anthony Fisher
SG – 6’4” #1 Belton Rivers
SF – 6’4” #24 Rashaud Nixon
PF – 6’7” #10 Amadi McKenzie
C – 6’7” #42 Jonathan Jones

Tennessee

PG – 6’2” #12 Ramar Smith
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Texas Review

2006-12-23T16:48:00.000-05:00

There’s not much to say about this game. It was just unbelievable. I’m not sure if I have ever witnessed a game like that. This game showed me a lot about this team tonight. They were able to fight back from 15 down at the half, and played great despite losing Jordan Howell to injury, and Dane Bradshaw being no where near 100% with his shoulder injury and sick with the flu. Thoughts on the game:

1) Chris Lofton might be one of the best players in the country. Period. What he showed in this game today was undeniably the best performance I have ever seen from a Vol. Lofton struggled in the first half, having only 8 points in the first half. Then he just got sick in the second half. He had two HUGE threes in the final minute of regulation, including the go ahead three from 27 feet over Kevin Durant. Where would this team be without Chris Lofton?

2) How about Duke Crews and Wayne Chism! Both played great tonight. They seemed to grow up tonight a lot, especially Chism. Wayne really showed me a lot today. He guarded Durant down the stretch and did a great job at it. He had a huge three point shot in overtime, and a great coast to coast drive in the second half. Crews seemed to be a catalyst for the Vols today. He fired up the Vols in the second half, and started them on their run to victory.

3) Ramar Smith had by far his best game as a Vols today. Smith knew he would have to step it up with Jordan Howell being out injured, and he wasn’t helped any by the fact that Dane was hampered by the flu. Ramar played 38 minutes today, scoring 16 points, 9 assists, and 0 turnovers. Wow!

4) Overall, it was a great experience at the arena today. The crowd was really into the game, especially once the Vols fought back to get the game within reach. Lofton’s performance was just ridiculous, but I have become spoiled in expecting stuff like that from him. For those that weren’t there, when Lofton hit that three to put the Vols up at the end of the game, that was one of the loudest moments I have heard in Thompson-Boling Arena.

As if there was any doubt about the Stat Line of the Night…..

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Lofton,Chris     8-24   7-16  12-13   5  6 11   2  35  1  1  0  1  38

Big Loss for the Vols

2006-12-22T17:22:00.000-05:00

The Vol faithful found out today that the basketball team lost Jordan Howell for 6-8 weeks with a broken right hand. Many are already aware that Howell suffered a broken right hand in the preseason, and thus missed much of the practice and the first few games while trying to get himself back into playing shape and working his way back into the rotation. It wasn't until the Louisiana-Lafayette game that Howell was able to work himself back into the starting lineup, allowing Ramar Smith to come off the bench. This move by Pearl seemed to be a great move. Howell started the game and was able to give quality minutes and allow Ramar to get himself into the game while on the bench. Ramar was then able to come into the game, and after watching how the other team was playing, provide quality minutes. Smith seemed to settle down into his role and started playing within the system. This move has helped lead the Vols to five straight wins, three of which were against NCAA tournament teams, and two of those ranked in the Top 20 in the country. Well, with Howell out til probably March, we will now see what Pearl has in mind now?

Will Pearl pull Marques Johnson back of the bench and position him as the back up point guard? Has Johnson been able to improve since being placed on the bench, or will he still struggle on defense as he did at the beginning of the season?

Or will Pearl move Tabb to point guard, where many have suggested he might be good at, and move either Johnson or Passley to back up the 3?

Personally, I think Johnson will move to the backup PG role. But don't be surprised if when Johnson is out on the floor, that Dane Bradshaw is as well. Dane might take on more of a point guard role with the loss of Howell. Many suggested this early in the season when Ramar was struggling. This might be a good opportunity for that to work. Also, if Johnson is playing PG, don't be surprised if he is put on the SF on defense, and allow Tabb or JaJuan Smith to play defense on the PG. Lastly, Pearl has an ability to get the best out of his players when they are pushed into a corner. I thought that Pearl would personally push Crews and Chism after the Western Kentucky game, since they played so poorly, and they played superbly in the Oklahoma State game. I wouldn't be surprised to see the same here.

Texas Preview

2006-12-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

Texas enters it’s game against the Volunteers coming off an 80-76 win against Arkansas on Wednesday night. Texas is led by their #3 ranked recruiting class from 2006. The Longhorns start four freshman, led by the 2006 #2 ranked player in the country Kevin Durant. Durant is averaging 21.2 points per game along with 9.4 rebounds per game. He is joined by fellow freshmen DJ Augustin, who averages 5.9 assists per game along with 13.0 points, and Damion James, who averages 7.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Texas likes to crash the boards hard, gathering in 43.8 rebounds per game, 16.8 of which are offensive rebounds. The Longhorns play 8 guys in a normal rotation, 6 of which are freshman. I would classify this game as a revenge game because of the game last year, but only one player for the Longhorns played significant minutes in that game. AJ Abrams played 31 minutes last year in relief for a hurt Daniel Gibson, scoring 19 points with 5 turnovers. Abrams is the second leading scorer for Texas this year, averaging 16.6 points per game this year.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This game will be the first true road test for this young Texas team. The Longhorns have played 4 neutral site games, but none thus far on an opponents home floor. They have struggled against the better teams on their schedule, most coming at neutral sites. Durant will definitely present a problem on defense, but I look for Bradshaw to guard Durant when both are in the game together. Durant has the height of a post player at 6’9” but likes to play some on the perimeter. He has taken the second most three’s by anybody on the Texas team, and is shooting an impressive 40.0% from behind the arc. Tennessee will enjoy a height advantage for most of the night, with Texas starting backcourt going 5’10”, 5’11”, and 6’2”, except for when they move Durant out to the 3, and put 6’9” Connor Atchley and 6’10” Dexter Pittman together in the post. When the Longhorns go to this lineup, they like to put the athletic Durant in the middle on top of the 3-2 zone they run. His athleticism can provide problems here, but I would be surprised if Texas plays much zone against Tennessee, especially a 3-2 zone. The big areas of weakness in a 3-2 are the corners, and Tennessee has some deadly shooters from the corners in Lofton and Smith. Texas is well aware of their shooting prowess, however, as they combined for 9 threes on 60% shooting from behind the arc last year against the Longhorns. Look for Tennessee to focus on limiting Durant and Abrams on the offensive end, and trying to take it too the young team with the press. Tennessee will try to press the young team and see how it will react to its first view of Tennessee’s controlled chaos style of play. If the Vols can create turnovers off a team that handles the ball really well (12.5 TO’s per game), then the crowd may be able to become a factor and rattle the young Texas team. The key to the game will be getting off to a quick start and getting the Longhorns to start forcing things in their first trip into hostile territory. Lastly, with the Longhorns coming off a win against Texas, they will have limited time to prepare for the Vols unique playing style. The early game time on Saturday means that the Longhorns will probably travel early to Knoxville on Friday, so that they will be able to practice at Thompson-Boling. Given this, they will have to practice on Thursday, and thus not allowing their legs to get much rest, while the Vols were able to take Tuesday off and begin preparing on Wednesday for the Longhorns. This could be big considering their limited bench and the fact that Abrams and Augustin played 38 and 37 minutes respectively, with Durant logging 32 minutes. It will be interesting to see if this will have any effect on the Longhorns.

Projected Starting Lineups:

VISITORS

PG – 5’11” #14 DJ Augustin
SG – 5’10” #3 AJ Abrams
SF – 6’2” #24 Justin Mason
PF – 6’9” #35 Kevin Durant
C – 6’7” #5 Damion James

Tennessee

PG – 6’2” #12 Ramar Smith
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Oklahoma State Review

2006-12-18T22:25:00.000-05:00

What a game tonight! Tonight was just an unbelievable effort by the Vols. There were a number of Vols tonight that just played great. The Vols overcame a great effort by Oklahoma State and were able to come back from a deficit of 7 in the second half. The Cowboys struggled out of the gate, but were able to erase a 10 point lead by the Vols and take a 6 point lead into the half. The Vols came out a little slow in the second half, but kept it close. It wasn’t until the last 10 minutes of the game that the Vols were finally able to tire out the Cowboys and close the lead, and ultimately win the game. Some thoughts from the game:

1) Unbelievable night. The Vols had relentless pressure all night long tonight and caused 23 turnovers in the game, 12 of which were steals. The Vols were also able to limit their turnovers to 12 on a night where they were ice cold from behind the arc.

2) Huge night for two freshman. Both Crews and Chism had great games tonight. Crews played excellent in his time in the game, recording a career highs with 17 points and 9 rebounds. He had lots of big plays on the offensive end. Chism, on the other hand, played a great game on the defensive end. Chism came up with some great plays on defense including a huge steal on Boggan in the final minutes.

3) Dane Bradshaw. Can anything else be done by this guy? He can barely lift his arm above his shoulder and is struggling shooting the ball. But he continues to play and makes great plays. He played 17 minutes in the second half and finished with 5 assists and only one turnover. And, how can you forget his tip in to win the game!

4) This was a big win for the Vols, as it gives them lots of confidence going into their next game against Texas on Saturday. Both Crews and Chism stepped up their play from Saturday, when both seemed to struggle, and played great against a very good post player in Mario Boggan. They will have another tough matchup Saturday against Texas’ Kevin Durant.

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Bradshaw,Dane..  3-9    0-2    1-2    2  2  4   2   7  5  1  0  3  22

Oklahoma State Preview

2006-12-17T13:05:00.000-05:00

Oklahoma State enters their contest against Tennessee at 11-0, and coming off a nine day layoff from games due to exams. Sean Sutton has taken over for his dad Eddie Sutton this season, and has been successful thus far. The Cowboys average 8 players in double digit minutes this season, but rely heavily on just 7 of them. Leading the way for the Cowboys is Florida transfer Mario Boggans. Boggans leads the team with 20.5 points per game along with a team leading 7.1 rebounds per game. Helping out Boggans is junior guard JamesOn Curry. Curry is averaging 17.7 points per game while leading the team with 5.5 assists per game. The Cowboys suffered a key loss however with Obi Muonelo not making the trip with what is rumored to be a leg injury. Muonelo is leading the Cowboys off the bench with 11.1 points in 23 minutes per game. His loss depletes an already short bench.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Monday night’s game is the first game this year that I classify as a revenge game. These teams faced off last year on December 22^nd in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma State was able to pull off the victory 89-73. Not much has changed for the Cowboys since last year except for new Head Coach Sean Sutton. But much has changed for the Vols. The young and inexperienced Vols will be going against a very good post oriented team. The Cowboys were able to dismantle the Vols last year in the post with excellent high-low passing by their post players. If the Vols are able to pull off the victory in Nashville, then both Crews and Chism will have to play better than they did on Saturday against Western Kentucky. Both players tended to struggle in the game, but that might be a good thing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pearl challenge both freshman in this game given the team they are going up against. One other thing to remember in this game is the ugliness of the game last year. Tempers flared last year after the Cowboys Marcus Dove was under cut on a play at the end of the first half by Andre Patterson. Dove ended up missing the rest of the season and returns for his junior season this year. It was said that both teams weren’t too pleasant with each other in the hallways to the locker room and that much was said about the trip to Nashville this year. Matchup to watch for: Which team will be able to limit the other team’s star? While neither stars will matchup against each other, will the defenses be able to limit them? Can the Vols keep Mario Boggans off the boards and limit his shot attempts? Can the Cowboys cool down quite possibly the hottest player in college basketball right now in Chris Lofton?

Projected Starting Lineups:

Oklahoma State

PG – 5’11” #00 Byron Eaton
SG – 6’3” #24 JamesOn Curry
SF – 6’5” #1 Terrel Harris
PF – 6’7” #4 Mario Boggan
C – 6’8” #32 David Monds

Tennessee

PG – 6’3” #15 Jordan Howell
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Western Kentucky Review

2006-12-16T22:40:00.000-05:00

Tennessee came into this game looking into a trap. The Vols were going up against a very good Mid-Major team after pulling off an upset of #19 Memphis over a week and a half ago. Factor in the fact that the Vols play #15 Oklahoma State in Nashville on Monday night and this was a very scary game. I’ll have to admit, I was a little worried in going into this game. I knew that Pearl wouldn’t overlook the Hilltoppers, but I was afraid his team might. While the Hilltoppers were able to keep the game close, the Vols were able to come away with a double digit victory of 93-79 on a night that was definitely perimeter oriented. Here are some thoughts from the game:

1) Over the last two weeks, it would be hard pressed to say that there has been a better player in the whole country than Chris Lofton. Lofton is averaging 29.3 points per game going back to the Louisiana-Lafayette game on 58% shooting from beyond the arc. What has really improved over the last two games is his ability to drive to the basket. Pearl talked in the preseason about how Chris worked on that part of his game over the summer, and it looked like in the first few games that he was pushing too much. It looks now like that summer work has paid off and he is putting the whole game together.

2) Ramar Smith had by far his best game in a Tennessee uniform today. He seems like he has finally grasped the offense that Pearl wants to run, and isn’t having to think as much with the ball now. It looks like the move to start Jordan Howell has allowed Ramar to get into the game on the bench, and when he enters the game, he already is in the flow. That’s great news for the Vols who need Ramar to play at the best of his ability to be able to go far this year.

3) How about the performance by Ryan Childress today! He looked like a man possessed on the boards today, doubling his career high and hitting double digit rebounds with 10. Childress was big today given that Bradshaw was hurting and Crews and Chism seemed to struggle some what. If Ryan can continue to give the type of effort he gave today, that will be huge for the Vols.

4) Tennessee has really improved its defense since a year ago. Maybe it’s the fact that they are playing more players and thus they are fresher, but the half court defense is really improved. The Vols had back to back shot clock violations on defense in the second half, and held the Hilltoppers to 29% shooting from 3, which is 18% below their average of 47.7% on the season.

In probably what is beginning to seem redundant…..

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Lofton,Chris    11-15   5-9    5-7    0  5  5   1  32  4  1  0  1  32

Western Kentucky Preview

2006-12-13T22:57:00.000-05:00

If you ever wanted to see an uptempo game, then this will be the game to watch. Western Kentucky comes into the Tennessee game playing 10 guys at double digit minutes this season. The Hilltoppers (8-2) love to play the uptempo game, just like the Vols. WKU is averaging just under 74 offensive possessions per game, while the Vols averages 77. The Hilltoppers were an overwhelming pick to win the Eastern division of the Sun Belt conference. They are led by 6’5” junior Courtney Lee. Lee leads the team in points (19.1), rebounds (5.1), and steals (1.6) per game. Lee averages almost 9 minutes more per game than any other Hilltopper and is shooting a staggering 53.9% from the field, which is extremely high for a perimeter player. The Hilltoppers haven’t really played an eye opening schedule thus far, with their two biggest games coming against Florida and Georgia. Compare that to Tennessee, who has played the number 3, 18, and 19^th ranked teams in the country thus far.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This game will definitely end up being fast paced and up and down, as that is how both teams like to play. The key might be how each team is able to respond to the other’s style of play. Will the Vols be able to shut down the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in Courtney Lee? How will the Hilltoppers be able to contend with Chris Lofton? Pearl will more than likely put JaJuan Smith and Josh Tabb on Lee in an attempt to shut down the Hilltoppers best player. If Tabb and Smith are able to do the job, than the Vols might have a chance at a pull away victory. But it’s hard to shut down star players, as Memphis found out, and look for this to be a close one. The Vols will need to try to lock down the boards and gain a significant advantage their as well as trying to limit their turnovers. With such a high tempo game, their will be tons of opportunities for turnovers, and if the Vols are able to limit their’s and create scoring opportunities off of turnovers, than it couls be a long night for the Hilltoppers.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Western Kentucky

PG – 5’11” #3 Tyrone Brazelton
SG – 6’3” #5 Ty Rogers
SF – 6’5” #32 Courtney Lee
PF – 6’8” #33 Daniel Emerson
C – 6’9” #40 Jeremy Evans

Tennessee

PG – 6’3” #15 Jordan Howell
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Memphis Review

2006-12-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a game by the Vols! They really played well last night, and of course Chris Lofton stepped up huge last night. I really don’t know if there was anyone in the country that could have guarded Chris last night. He was just that good. So, onto my thoughts on the game:

1) First shout out goes to …… the students. They really came out in force last night, with over 4,000 showing up. They had completely filled the lower level student seats by 7:45, and actually overtook section 322 last night, which aren’t student seats.

2) Chris Lofton. This kid sometimes is just unconscious from 3 sometimes. He showed his whole game off last night though, driving successfully to the basket as well as pulling up for mid range jumpers to go along with his already well known prowess of three oint shooting. Bravo Chris Bravo!

3) Dane Bradshaw. I had a chance to talk to him for a second for the game, and he is by far in the top 2 of my favorite UT players ever. I think both him and Ron Slay are tied for me at 1, since I was lucky enough to get to know both. He had an outstanding game last night, and really is the glue to this team.

4) The refs were consistently bad on both ends last night. Now, I’m not saying they favored Memphis at all. I’m just saying they were plain atrocious calling fouls on both ends. I really thought they let the game get out of hand some towards the end, and I blame all of that on the fact that they were horrific.

5) Joey Dorsey. He is now on my official hate list. I’m lucky enough to sit very close to the visitors bench for every game and hear some of what goes on. I just can’t stand the kid. And that’s saying a lot. There are lots of guys who play hard and like to fire up the crowd, but Dorsey just came across as a thug last night. He took any chance he got to take a small little cheap shot after a play last night, many which weren’t seen by the refs or cameras.

6) Ramar Smith. Ramar really showed me something last night. In my opinion, last night was his best game of the year. He played under control and seemed to let the game come to himself. Yes, he had a couple of times where he drove to the basket and threw up a bad shot, but those will come to him. He played good defense and handled the team very well when he was in the game.

7) Tony Passley handled being put on the bench very well. He had to come into the game in the first half and was able to contribute 4 good minutes. He played excellent defense, crashed the boards hard, collecting 3 rebounds, without turning the ball over. He played within himself, and might have worked out some more time for himself depending on the injury situation for JaJuan.

Overall, it was a really great game to watch. But it is no surprise that the Stat Line of the Night goes to…..

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Lofton,Chris... 12-18   6-11   4-4    1  4  5   1  34  1  4  0  1  34

How about averaging 1 point per minute for the game! WOW!

Memphis Preview

2006-12-04T22:17:00.000-05:00

Memphis enters Thompson Boling Arena with a record of 6-1 after a 78-59 win against Marshall at home on Monday night. The game against the Volunteers will be the Tigers 3^rd game in five days, after an 18 point win at home against Manhattan started the 3 game series. The Tigers play 9 guys over 10 minutes a game, led by Chris Douglas-Roberts’ 14.7 a game. The Tigers are led on the boards by forwards Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier, who average 9.0 and 6.7 rebounds per game respectively. Coming off the bench for Memphis is 6’5” senior guard Jeremy Hunt, averaging 12.6 points per game as their best long range threat.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This game will be a reunion of sorts, with both teams having players reunited against each other. Ramar Smith and Chris Douglas-Roberts will be reunited after both played their high school ball in Detroit and joined each other on the AAU team The Family. Wayne Chism and Willie Kemp will be reunited after spending the last two seasons together at Bolivar High School. Tennessee will definitely be trying to push the tempo in this game, especially with Memphis having played 3 games in 5 days. The Tigers play 9 guys over 10 minutes a game, but only 3 of those are post players. The Vols will have to focus on shutting down Douglas-Roberts and Hunt in the back court, along with Dorsey and Dozier in the front court. If the Vols can close down the boards for Dorsey and Dozier, then they should be able to stay in the game and be there in the end. Matchup to watch for: Memphis’ defense vs. the Vols’ 3 point shooting. The Tigers have held their opponents to under 30% shooting from behind the arc this season. If Memphis is able to do that against quite possibly one of the best 3 point shooting teams in America, then it could be bad news for the Vols.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Memphis

PG – 6’2” #1 Willie Kemp
SG – 6’6” #12 Antonio Anderson
SF – 6’6” #14 Chris Douglas-Roberts
PF – 6’9” #2 Robert Dozier
C – 6’9” #32 Joey Dorsey

Tennessee

PG – 6’3” #15 Jordan Howell
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Murray State Review

2006-12-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

The Vols were able to pull out the win last night against Murray State by a score of 89-64. Murray State really never had a chance in the game, trailing for all of the 40 minutes. The Vols seemed to improve on their last outing at Louisiana-Lafayette, dominating the Racers, and never allowing them to be in the game. Some thoughts from the game:

1) The Vols were able to force the tempo early in the game, creating 23 turnovers from the Racers and pushing the Vols out to a 42 – 28 lead at halftime. The Racers closed the gap down to 9 at the beginning of the second half, but the Vols were able to pull away and never let the Racers back into the game.

2) The Vols dominated the boards for the game, outrebounding the Racers 43 to 30. The Vols pulled down 18 offensive rebounds on the night, limiting the Racers to just 9 offensive rebounds.

3) Chism and Crews. Both played well last night. Crews showed some nice post moves last night, and rebounded the ball well. He played well on the defensive end, except for some struggles in the first half in team defense. Chism played better as well. Wayne showed some better post moves last night when he was able to post up. He is still struggling some with finishing around the basket, but he did seem to improve some last night.

4) Ramar Smith played much better last night. I predicted it last night, and he proved me correct. Ramar played within himself and didn’t try to force anything last night. He only made one bad pass in my opinion, and that was the laser pass in the second half to the drummer in the band. If Ramar can continue to play well like he did tonight, then that could drastically improve our team this season.

5) Lofton continued his performance from Monday night, pouring in a quiet 20 points to lead five players in double digits for the Vols. Lofton delivered 5 rebounds and 1 steal to go with his 4-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Lofton is going to have to continue to lead this team for the Vols to be successful this season.

And in what seems to have become a trend so far this year….

Stat Line of the Night:

                TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name     FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 Bradshaw,Dane 4-6    2-3    2-4    1  3  4   4  12  5  0  0  2  19

Murray State Preview

2006-11-28T22:49:00.000-05:00

Murray State comes to Thompson Boling Arena under new head coach Billy Kennedy. Kennedy takes over the Racers after being the Head Coach at Southeastern Louisiana University for 6 years. Kennedy led the Lions to two regular season Southland titles and their first NCAA tournament appearance ever in the last two years. The Racers have struggled to begin the year, losing their first 3 games in the Shamrock Invitational hosted by Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. The Racers were heart broken in their first game when San Diego State hit a half court shot at the buzzer to win the game. The year hasn’t gotten much better from there. Kennedy’s young team now enters this game at 2-5 after losing Tuesday night at Illinois-Chicago by a score of 74-68. The Racers led for 28 minutes and increased their lead to 13 in the second half before finally relinquishing the lead with 2 minutes remaining. Eleven of the 15 players on the Murray State roster are in their first year on the team. The Racers feature two transfers, 3 juco players, and 6 freshman. Kennedy has fooled around with the lineup throughout the season, starting 10 different players and playing 11 players over 10 minutes a game. The Racers are led by 6’5” senior forward Shawn Witherspoon. Witherspoon is averaging 11.0 points with 6.1 rebounds. Witherspoon was one of a few players in the country last year that led their team in points, rebounds, and assists. Witherspoon is still recovering somewhat from a broken foot he suffered last year in the NCAA tournament game against UNC.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

The Vols will need to focus on shutting down Witherspoon and sophomore guard Tyler Holloway. Holloway is averaging 9.9 points this season for the Racers, and both were successful against the Vols last year. Witherspoon finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds, while Holloway finished with 11 points on 3-5 shooting from 3 point range. The Vols will try to force their uptempo style onto the Racers, as they were not successful in doing so last year. The Racers turn the ball over at a rate of 16.6 per game, and the Vols will try to increase this number with their full court pressure. If the Vols are able to do this, this game could get ugly quick. The Racers have struggled thus far this season, and don’t present much of a size advantage inside. This game will be one of the few where Dane Bradshaw is not at much of a size advantage down low.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Murray State

PG – 6’3” #1 Ed Horton
SG – 6’2” #4 Tyler Holloway
SF – 6’4” #12 Danero Thomas
PF – 6’5” #22 Shawn Witherspoon
C – 6’9” #33 Rob Kennedy

Tennessee

PG – 6’3” #15 Jordan Howell
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews

Louisiana-Lafayette Review

2006-11-28T00:13:00.000-05:00

The Vols were able to hold off a late rally by the Ragin Cajuns to secure a victory Monday night by a score of 77-67. Pearl changed things up some and started Junior Jordan Howell at point guard and limited Ramar Smith to 10 minutes for the game. Jordan was able to take advantage of the opportunity, recording 3 rebounds with 5 points, 3 assists and 2 turnovers. Jordan also had two late free throws that were crucial in defending the lead late in the game. Some thoughts on the game:

1) Starting Jordan Howell. What a great idea. I had sort of been pushing for Jordan to start, as had many others, but Jordan proved why he should start tonight. He is by far a calming influence on the team, and the team seemed to strive with him out there. I also think it will be better for Ramar to watch Jordan some at the beginning of the game, and allow him to see how the game is going. I just hope Ramar plays more than 10 minutes next game.

2) Crews and Chism. Tonight was a great example of why those two probably won’t play much together this year. Childress has seemed to regress a little the last couple of games, and that has really hurt the post depth. Right now, the Vols just don’t have the depth in the post to be able to play the two together for very long if at all.

3) Chris Lofton. I called you out after last game, and you returned to your old self this game. I was glad to welcome the old Chris back. He looked for his shot, and took it when the opportunity presented itself. He had some great passes to teammates which created buckets, and his teammates were looking for Chris tonight. Bravo!

4) Resilience. The Vols were able to hold off the Cajuns in a semi hostile environment. Those that were there seemed to create noise for the Cajuns, especially when they went on their run in the second half, and I wondered who this young team would respond. Well, the veterans stepped up and made a statement that they wouldn’t let this game get away. Bradshaw came away with critical steals. Lofton hit a clutch three while getting fouled but it not being called. Howell hit two crucial free throws late in the game. Way to go vets.

5) In a rare stat, UT had more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds this game. The Vols recorded 16 offensive rebounds led by Chism with 6, and 15 defensive rebounds. Chism led the Vols with 9 rebounds. If Chism can improve his strength and finishing around the rim, he could easily average over 10 points a game. Only experience and age can improve that.

Stat Line of the Night:

                 TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
Player Name      FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 Bradshaw,Dane  2-7    1-3    2-2    1  1  2   1   7  6  2  0  5  29

Louisiana Lafayette Preview

2006-11-25T17:49:00.000-05:00

Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off an overtime loss to Cal State Fullerton on Friday night to move to 1-3 for the season. The Rajin Cajuns have struggles so far this season, winning their opening game of the season against Division 2 Ouachita Baptist. The Cajuns have struggles since then, losing at Ole Miss by 15, at Oral Roberts by 3, and at home on Friday night against Cal State Fullerton by 2 in overtime. The Cajuns are led by 6'3" junior transfer David Dees and 6'7" Ross Mouton. Together, the two are averaging 43.3 points per game, along with 13.8 rebounds and 4.25 assists per game. They both average an astonishing 37.8 minutes per game. Dees and Mouton are joined in the backcourt by point guard Rhett Hebert, who averages 30 minutes per game. The three guards have accounted for 73% of the team's scoring thus far this year. The Cajuns have struggled from 3 this year, shooting just 23.5% from behind the arc, while holding their opponents to 24% from behind the arc. The Cajuns are averaging 3 more rebounds per game than their opponents, and have given up 18.5 turnovers per game this season.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This game will be determined by how Tennessee is able to control Dees and Mouton. Both Dees and Mouton are clearly the focus of the Cajuns lineup, and they play lots of minutes. It’s no doubt that Bruce Pearl’s main focus will be on trying to wear down the two play makers. Pearl will be working to improve his transition defense which struggled last Friday night against North Carolina. Look for Pearl to press more to try to wear down the stars, but if his transition defense is as bad as it was Friday night, Pearl will have to pull the defense back to limit opportunities for the Rajin Cajuns. The Cajuns might be catching the Vols at a bad time, as the team seemed to turn a corner Friday night in the second half against the Tar Heels. Many of the players seemed to be fired up by JaJuan Smith’s ejection, and it will be interesting to see how the team has improved since their last time out. Key matchup of the game: The Cajuns’ transition offense against the Vols transition defense. If the Vols are able to limit opportunities for the Cajuns off the press, then Pearl will be able to press the Cajuns and wear them down. But young teams usually tend to struggle with transition defense as it requires lots of talking and communicating. If the Cajuns are able to break the press successfully, then they will be able to slow the game down, and keep their stars fresh, something that will be a priority for them coming off an overtime loss where Mouton and Dees combined to play 84 of the 90 minutes. I believe Pearl will have the Vols fired up to play this game, and will press successfully and wear down the Cajuns, pulling away at the end for a 10 point victory.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Louisiana-Lafayette

PG – 6’1” #31 Rhett Hebert
SG – 6’3” #21 David Dees
SF – 6’7” #22 Ross Mouton
PF – 6’8” #42 Courtney Wallace
C – 6’9” #32 Abray Milson

* Don’t be surprised if the Cajuns go small during this game bringing in 6’0” #12 Willie Lago for Milson. The Cajuns did this for much of the game against Cal State Fullerton, and might be tempted to do this for this game as well, especially with Tennessee’s press. That move would move Mouton down to the PF position for an interesting matchup with Dane Bradshaw.

Tennessee

PG – 6’2” #12 Ramar Smith
SG – 6’2” #5 Chris Lofton
SF – 6’2” #2 JaJuan Smith
PF – 6’4” #23 Dane Bradshaw
C – 6’7” #32 Duke Crews