A community of reasonable fanatics.
Tennessee continues its trip through the Magnolia State this evening with a game in Starkville against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are only 9-7 in the SEC, but are 21-8 overall and 7-2 this month and have lost only one game at home this season.
The game’s at 7:00 and will be televised on the SEC Network. Online, you can catch it at WatchESPN.
See you in the comments below.
Go Vols!
A Twitter List by GamedayRockyTop
Tennessee begins a short trek through the state of Mississippi today with a game against Ole Miss. The game’s at 1:00 and will be televised on the SEC Network. Online, you can catch it at WatchESPN.
See you in the comments below.
Go Vols!
A Twitter List by GamedayRockyTop
The Atlanta Tipoff Club announced the 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men’s College Coach of the Year today, and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes is one of the 10.
Every Vols fan already knows the talking points here, namely that Barnes’ team was picked to finish 13th of 14 teams in the preseason SEC poll and has instead led his team to a 20-7 record and second place in the SEC standings at this point. The Vols are currently 11th in RPI and 15th in KenPom and have been in the Top 25 for 12 straight weeks. Along the way, they’ve beaten Purdue (10th in RPI) and swept Kentucky (16th), and all but one of their losses have come to teams in the Top 40 of the RPI. The other loss came to Georgia on the road, and the Bulldogs are currently 70th in RPI.
Other semifinalists include the following:
That list will be whittled down to four finalists on March 15, and the winner will be announced on April 1st.
It wasn’t especially pretty for much of the game, but Tennessee beat the Florida Gators last night 62-57, restoring confidence in the team and its best player.
Grant Williams, having been publicly called out by his coach earlier in the week, responded by refinding himself and putting up 23 points, much of it a beautiful exception to the “wasn’t especially pretty” opener up there.
Jordan Bone, too, responded to Rick Barnes’ pleading for him to be more aggressive by doing just that.
Highlights:
WIN NUMBER TWENTY pic.twitter.com/KeBnNU9Fd9
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 22, 2018
Highlights with commentary from the SEC Network:
Barnes’ surprising post-game press conference. Why surprising? Because he actually spends some time praising his team. Really. Proof:
Grant Williams in the hot seat:
And here’s a link to Grant Williams on the post-game radio show (sorry, it’s not embeddable) with Bob and Bert talking about losing at Catan.
Paul Finebaum had The Papa on his radio show to discuss Jeremy Pruitt and to further rubber-neck the wreckage of the last decade on Rocky Top. Here’s what Fulmer had to say about the latter:
“It’s just a series of bad decisions that ended up being the issue. We had four presidents in six years. There was no continuity on campus. And all of a sudden, instead of everybody communicating and everybody trusting each other and everybody working together to an end like you see at the programs at the highest level now, it became a program struggle. And then a coach would come in. Kiffin left quick, and Dooley didn’t stay very long. And it was just a constant flow of change.
“You really have to understand the culture of any place that you go, and I don’t think the people that came in for the most part [did]. Butch Jones tried to, but to be at the championship level, you’ve got to communicate, you’ve got to trust each other, and everybody has got to work together. And we didn’t have that for seven, eight or nine years around here. It’s better now. It’s much better now.”
And what did Fulmer say about Pruitt? Video:
We already knew that Tennessee had hired Chris Weinke as its new running backs coach, but now it’s official.
The Lady Vols travel to Florida tonight to take on the Gators at 7:00 p.m. The game’s on SECN+, meaning online only.
Vince Ferrara’s done a ton of great compilation work on the talent on Tennessee’s 2018 roster.
Tennessee, hoping to pull it all together against some great guards and the last tournament team on their regular season schedule, host the Florida Gators tonight at Thompson-Boling. The game tips at 9:00 and will be televised on ESPN2. Online, you can catch it at WatchESPN.
See you in the comments below.
Go Vols!
A Twitter List by GamedayRockyTop
Tennessee basketball hosts the Florida Gators at 9:00 tonight at Thompson-Boling Arena. It will be the Vols’ last regular season game against a tournament-bound team, and the result will likely determine whether we turn our attention back to seeding or continue searching for the cause of that wailing and gnashing sensation.
What’s caused the minor funk recently?
Kyle Alexander says the team is still adjusting to being an “opportunity” for other teams at this time of year, meaning everybody wants their pelt and the team isn’t quite used to that yet.
Rick Barnes, though, is focused more on the tangible, saying the difference in his team the past three games is shooting percentage, rebounding, and unforced turnovers. He also is pulling his hair out while wondering why Jordan Bone won’t push the ball in transition.
All that said, a prediction machine has run 50,000 simulations and concluded that Tennessee is the projected 4+ seed with the best chance to make the Final Four. So, best-looking Cinderella? Or do 4-seeds not qualify for Cinderella status? Regardless, their chances to reach the second round, Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four, title game, and the championship podium are, according to this thing, 84%, 53.4%, 26.5%, 12.2%, 3%, and .9% respectively. So, over 50% chance to make it past the first week and a decent shot to go a bit further. Sounds about right.
SEC Country says to expect a few more football commitments over the summer this year due to a new rule that allows rising seniors to take official visits during that time.
Jeremy Pruitt is making Memphis a priority in recruiting and also bringing in the big guns (Peyton Manning, Phillip Fulmer, and David Cutcliffe) for his first coaching clinic as a Vol.
Freshman Zach Daniels’ grand slam in the third inning last night against Lipscomb helped the Vols to an 8-5 win.
Who else is glad to see Montario Hardesty back on campus? That spin move against South Carolina in the pumpkin uni is still the best I’ve ever seen.
@VFL_Films is trilled to have @MoHard20 back on campus! pic.twitter.com/e5jyLKFQSO
— Barry Rice (@jumbartron) February 19, 2018
Tennessee men’s basketball had another rough night Saturday, losing to Georgia, 73-62. That makes two losses in three games on the heels of a six-game winning streak and talk of a possible 1-seed.
Coach Barnes (who, by the way, is a national coach of the year candidate according to SI.com), reacted to the significant free throw disparity Saturday night by putting the blame on his team, not the officials. Georgia made 27 of 38 freebies, while the Vols only had 15 total trips to the charity stripe. Fan may call that bad officiating or home court advantage or whatever, but Barnes says it means the team “didn’t play very smart,” suggesting they were too content to shoot over defenders instead of taking hard to the basket.
The loss to the Bulldogs may (or may not) be the worst on the season resume, but regardless, Wes Rucker’s right that losing right now could pay off when it counts. A coach can tell his guys that they can get beat by anyone anytime if they don’t play well, and they can even believe it, but actually having it happen and feeling it is another matter entirely.
Let’s hope they rediscover their groove at the right time and remember the lessons learned along the way. For his part, Barnes is mashing buttons like crazy and sparing no one, not even Grant Williams, the team’s best and most consistent player who’s nevertheless been in a bit of a funk recently. Barnes is not only not coddling Williams, he’s trained a giant spotlight on him in the midst of his struggles, saying that he “has to quit talking about it and do it.”
The Lady Vols basketball team also lost this weekend, to No. 13 Mizzouri, 77-73.
The softball team, though, beat Marshall 5-4 on a late hit by Meghan Gregg with the bases loaded.
The baseball team split a doubleheader Sunday with Maryland, losing 10-4 in Game 1 and winning 13-6 in Game 2.
VFL Christian Coleman broke the world record in the 60-meter dash yesterday:
#USATFindoors ends with @__Coleman’s 6.34 🌎 record! #MoveOverMo pic.twitter.com/iiNbrgfQl3
— USATF (@usatf) February 19, 2018
And finally, Peyton Manning may not be able to sell you these products, but he is able to maintain his sense of humor even while driving the pace car at the Daytona 500:
Peyton Manning is leading us to green! #DAYTONA500 https://t.co/It40QMxBYh
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 18, 2018
Tennessee basketball, presented an opportunity to inch closer to an Auburn team that had lost earlier in the day at South Carolina, instead blew their own road game at Georgia this evening, losing 73-62. Fortunately for Tennessee, they weren’t the only SEC team to lose on the road today, as all six tournament teams that traveled lost.
The Bulldogs used a couple of second half runs to secure the victory, starting the second period with a 10-2 run and then using an 8-2 run to seal the deal under the ten minute mark after the Vols had cut the lead to 2.
Tennessee had one last gasp when Lamonte Turner buried a three with 1:11 remaining and closed the gap to two possessions, but Georgia was able to pull away and hit their free throws when the Vols turned to desperation fouls.
Kyle Alexander posted his second career double-double, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Lamonte Turner led the way on the scored board with 14 points, and Jordan Bowden and Admiral Schofield had 13 and 11, respectively. Grant Williams was held to 5 points and four rebounds. He was 1-8 from the field.
Meanwhile, the Vols allowed SEC Player of the Year candidate Yante Maten to score 19 points and grab five rebounds and allowed Derek Ogbeide to earn a double-double dominating the paint.
Tennessee hosts Florida Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
In case you didn’t know (or in case you missed him this time), Will is on WNML’s Sports 180 with Josh Ward and Will West every Friday afternoon at 1:30. Here’s Will’s spot this afternoon.
….
If you haven’t seen it yet, be sure to check out Will’s latest post on Tennessee basketball, which analyzes what, specifically, makes the team hum. Spoiler alert:
. . . Tennessee’s best basketball is a balanced effort from Williams, Schofield, Bowden from the arc, and getting just enough (but not too much) from its three guards.
The post is full of great information, so go read the whole thing.
Assuming they continue to do what they do, the Vols are in good shape to finish second in the SEC regular season race.
Also, there’s this fun fact about guard Jordan Bone:
☠️ OVER THE LAST 5 ☠️
+ 24 assists
+ 3 turnovers
+ 8.0 assist-to-turnover ratio
—@JordanBone23 is the SEC’s leader in league play with a 4.1 assist-to-turnover ratio pic.twitter.com/QfRT3jbz40— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 15, 2018
The Vols are not especially happy about losing punter Trevor Daniel, but they are excited about incoming punter Paxton Brooks, even if he is shaped like a chopstick.
They also love incoming defensive lineman John Mincey, the “Country Killer” who doesn’t have the time or inclination to waste on “Twitter, Snapchat, and all that stuff.” Old men everywhere, rejoice.
But while Jeremy Pruitt and his staff love these guys, he is actively discouraging any unrealistic expectations for them, warning that some of the positions they recruited this cycle are “developmental” positions that take time. What is this “development” wizardry you speak of?
By the way, Pruitt has also apparently told the media that his starters are supposed to be available for two special teams units and that non-starters are supposed to be available for three to four.
And even though the Vols might be in the market for a grad transfer or two at quarterback and/or offensive line, don’t expect anything to happen for a month or two on that front.
The No. 11 Lady Vols lost to Alabama 72-63 in Thompson-Boling last night. That’s the first time Alabama has won in Knoxville. Ever.
Tennessee baseball gets underway today against Maryland. The first pitch has been postponed until 6:00 due to weather.
ESPN and FOX are both after Peyton Manning for the broadcasting booth.
