Author Archives: Will Shelton

Everyone is on the books now in SEC action, and most of the league has played twice. The other teams we believed to be contenders for the SEC Championship – Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, and Mississippi State, all Top 25 in KenPom – have already lost once. Tennessee beat Georgia by 46, then won at Missouri by 24. The Vols are now projected to win the SEC at 14-4 in KenPom. But more than that, the second place team(s) are projected to finish 11-7.

Tennessee, meanwhile, is now fifth nationally in KenPom with a rating of +26.87 (points better than the average team on a neutral floor in 100 possessions). It’s easily the program’s best rating in the 18-year KenPom history. I’ll leave the Ernie & Bernie comparisons to those old enough to have seen both, but otherwise, right now you’ve got statistical backup for, “This is the best Tennessee team I’ve ever seen.”

With that comes an exciting curiosity: now it’s not just if the Vols will win, but can they ascend the blowout ladder? Rebuilding team with a first-year coach, check. Bubble team on the road, check.

What about the Gators? KenPom still only projects the Vols as a two-point favorite in Gainesville, so perhaps we shouldn’t get too greedy. But I’m also not sure this team is done teaching us what greedy actually looks like just yet.

Last Year: After a 9-1 stretch book-ended with victories over Kentucky, the Vols lost two of their next three to fall out of the number one seed conversation. Florida was the return to form: a gritty 62-57 win in Knoxville, which helped us simplify Tennessee’s best basketball to a degree.

This was the game that made us start conversations with, “Does this team have anyone who can guard Grant Williams?” The soon-to-be SEC Player of the Year had 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 7-of-8 at the line. A Florida team that found plenty of success leaning on guards Chris Chiozza and KeVaughn Allen had no answer for Williams.

I’m not sure how much that’s changed. The Gators still like putting four guys at 6’5″ and under on the floor with a single big, most often 6’9″ senior Kevarrius Hayes. He’s a good shot-blocker, but he and 6’8″ junior Keith Stone are really the only shot blockers on this team. The Vols remain first in the nation in fewest shots blocked.

Where Florida does make its living is turnovers. The Gators are fifth nationally in defensive efficiency, the Vols fourth in offensive efficiency, which should make this really fun to watch…if Florida has an answer for Williams. Forcing turnovers on 24.6% of opponent possessions (seventh nationally) is a good start. The Gators are 7-2 when forcing 15+ turnovers, 2-3 when they don’t hit that mark.

KeVauhgn Allen is still around, but a pair of freshmen guards – Noah Locke and Andrew Nembhard – are a big part of what they like to do as well. Nembhard is 28th nationally in assist rate, averaging 5.7 per game. Locke is a volume shooter, hitting 42.4% from the arc so far this year.

It’s thankfully the first of two with the Gators this year, who return to Knoxville on February 9 in an already sold out Thompson-Boling. This one will get some national eyeballs – 6:00 PM ET Saturday, ESPN – and represents another big chance for Tennessee to separate themselves from the SEC contenders. We’ll see how much additional separation the Vols can create in Gainesville.

Isn’t this the game Cuonzo would’ve wanted?

Grant Williams fouled out with four points on 1-of-8 shooting. The Vols lead the nation in assist percentage at 69%. Tonight: only 12 assists on 31 made shots, 38.7%. Missouri made Tennessee beat them with more one-on-one play, and do so without much of anything from its best player.

And…we did. Convincingly. Massively.

Cuonzo remains a Rorschach for Tennessee fans, but what is fact is the way his UT teams played at home against the best competition. His first team beat an Elite Eight Florida squad and lost to Kentucky’s National Championship team by three. His second team saw Marshall Henderson and Ole Miss pull away late for a 92-74 win, but the Vols were within single digits for most of the second half. They beat Wichita State and another Elite Eight Florida squad in Knoxville, plus Kentucky by 30. His final team battled the Gators, undefeated in the SEC, to the final minute in Knoxville.

I’ve never seen a Cuonzo Martin team take a beating like this at home.

If Tennessee can do this, with Grant Williams and effective ball movement handcuffed, to a bubble squad on the road? I’m not sure how many SEC teams on the bubble or below are going to beat the Vols this year. At this point, we get to question how many will even threaten.

When great individual efforts were required tonight, how about Kyle Alexander: 14 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks. Jordan Bowden came off the bench with 20, again. And best of all, Lamonte Turner looked off in his return against Georgia, but not tonight: 3-of-4 from the arc.

Tennessee was favored by seven and won by 24. The good news, in a sense, is the challenge continues to increase: we’re off to Gainesville on Saturday, where the Vols were only favored by one in KenPom before tonight. As was the case after Georgia, I keep trying to remind myself any win is a good win and to appreciate everything about this team. But this team, even outside of what we would consider its best basketball, is giving us far more to appreciate than we thought possible.

Onward and upward. Go Vols.

The Vols held on to number three in the AP poll, 18 votes behind Michigan for number two, 10 votes ahead of Virginia at number four. Those three and number one Duke are also the one seeds in the most recent Bracket Matrix. The Cavaliers and Blue Devils will square off on January 19, with the winner there likely to jump or stay ahead of the Vols unless they lose somewhere else. The somewhere else possibilities this week:

• Duke: at Wake Forest (158 KenPom) Tuesday, at Florida State (20) Saturday
• Michigan: at Illinois (106) Thursday, vs Northwestern (51) Sunday
• Virginia: at Boston College (104) Wednesday, at Clemson (36) Saturday

It’s clearly the week to be on the road at the top of the polls: Tennessee is at Missouri tonight, at Florida on Saturday. The game with the Gators gets primetime treatment: 6:00 PM Saturday on ESPN, though a little luster is off with Florida’s loss to South Carolina to open SEC play. But first, the Tigers.

Last Year

Missouri built a 10-point lead with 6:47 to play, then didn’t make another shot…but it was enough. Tennessee shot 5-of-21 from the arc (23.8%) and 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the line, and couldn’t put it together in the final minute while the Tigers finished off a 15-of-17 performance at the line in a 59-55 Missouri win.

The Tigers earned an eight seed in the NCAA Tournament, but were vanquished by Florida State in the opening round. Then they essentially lost their top four scorers with the graduation of Kassius Robertson and Jordan Barnett, Michael Porter Jr. heading to the NBA after appearing in just three games, and then his brother Jontay tore his ACL in a preseason scrimmage.

But this is still a veteran team: Jordan Geist and Kevin Puryear are seniors, Jeremiah Tilmon played 19 minutes a game last year and Mark Smith did the same at Illinois before transferring in.

The Cuonzo Rorschach

…looks about the same as last year to me: unexpectedly playing without the guy they would’ve counted on most, Missouri started slow: 17-point loss at Iowa State, 15-point loss to Kansas State on a neutral floor, two-point home loss to Temple, all in November. But when they get hot, they burn it down: a two-point overtime win over Central Florida sparked the current six-game winning streak, including a 15-point win over Xavier and a 16-point win over Illinois. And, as noted by many, they haven’t played since December 29. There will be some rust to knock off, but I’m sure there will also be a long and detailed scouting report.

The Tigers are 74th in KenPom and 66th in NET. The tempo (327th fastest nationally) and defense (69th in defensive efficiency) are what you’d expect. But a few things do stand out about this match-up:

• Get dunked on: Jeremiah Tilmon is 6’10” and Kevin Puryear is 6’7″, but the rest of the major contributors on this team are between 6’2″ and 6’4″. Missouri is 311th nationally in shot blocking percentage. That’s bad news, because the Vols are first in the nation in fewest shots blocked.
• Opponents average just 62.3% at the line against Missouri. It’s totally random, but does represent the sixth-lowest opponent percentage in college basketball. In their current winning streak, Xavier went 12-of-21 (57.1%) and Illinois 7-of-14 (50%). The Vols shoot 74.2% at the line, 52nd nationally; Grant Williams is 12th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (via KenPom).
• Mark Smith is the primary shooting threat. After shooting just 23.2% from the arc at Illinois, he’s 30-of-65 (46.2%) this year at Missouri.

It’s the first of two with Missouri this year, with the return match in Knoxville on February 5. Don’t expect everything to resemble a 46-point beat down. Vegas likes the Vols -7.5, KenPom -7. If Tennessee is going to distance themselves from a Cuonzo Martin team, expect them to do so on the defensive end: less viper, more boa constrictor tonight.

7:00 PM ET, ESPN2. Go Vols.

When you carry the number three next to your name, it’s easy for the enjoyable to get a little too normal. You nitpick, you look ahead, etc.

Tennessee was favored by 15 (via KenPom) over Georgia today in the SEC opener, a team Rick Barnes had beaten once – barely, to win the SEC last year – in his tenure in Knoxville. The Dawgs play a bunch of guys and are still trying to figure it out in Tom Crean’s first year, but had won five of six, including a near-miss with Arizona State and an 11-point win at Georgia Tech. There’s no such thing as a bad win in college basketball, especially to open league play. Getting the W is still at the top of the list, but the Vols are also still trying to stay in the chase for number one, in the polls and the bracket. That’s the standard you get to get judged by in the top five.

Today, Tennessee was incredible by any standard. And we should take the opportunity to appreciate it as much as possible.

A 46-point win is one shy of the program record in an SEC game. It’s the fifth 40+ point win in league play for the Vols, but the first since 1979. Georgia’s Derek Ogbeide, in foul trouble immediately, still finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting with six rebounds. The rest of the team? 11-of-44 (25%), 33 points. Georgia was 1-for-20 from the arc.

Tennessee? Eighteen each from PB&J, 20 from Jordan Bowden off the bench, and a 12-14 from Kyle Alexander. The Vols shot just 6-of-18 from the arc and won by 46, thanks to a lethal 28-of-46 (61%) inside the arc, 22-of-26 at the line, +15 in rebounds and a 25-9 assist-turnover ratio. This was a 40-minute (or like 39.5 minute as the Vols held the ball with a chance to get that record) beat down in every way.

The Vols also got Lamonte Turner back, who went 0-for-3 from the arc but still scored six points. His presence and the blowout allowed the Vols to keep everyone under 30 minutes.

In KenPom, the Vols moved from 11th to eighth. Their current rating there – +24.72 (margin of victory vs the average team in 100 possessions) – is now the best in program history. We could find ourselves saying that a lot more often this year. But first…

It’s a trap!

As Rob Lewis pointed out on VolQuest a few days ago, Missouri is next, and the Tigers will be well-rested. Cuonzo’s squad hasn’t played since December 29, and didn’t open SEC play today because they’re not in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge (neither is Auburn or Mississippi State, a big fail by whoever puts these together). So the Tigers will have ten days of preparation for the Vols, who get the short turnaround for a 7:00 PM Tuesday night tip in CoMo. It’s the first of two between the Vols and Tigers; Mizzou won last year 59-55.

Tennessee is only favored by six over the Tigers in KenPom. They won’t all be 46-point wins. But in the midst of what could be a special season, this was a special chapter. We haven’t seen this level of dominance in my lifetime in conference play. That qualifies as a good start.

Go Vols.

When last we met:

It’ll be another sellout, this time to open league play. Thought this was interesting:

#Vols associate HC Rob Lanier: "We have yet to outplay Georgia."

Tennessee lost by 11 at Georgia last season and had to rally late to win at home in regular-season finale with share of SEC title on the line. Lanier said his team was tough enough to find a way to win at home.

— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) January 3, 2019

Before the split last season, the Vols lost two games (one in the SEC Tournament) to Georgia by three total points in 2017. And in 2016, Georgia won 81-72 in Athens.

Mark Fox is out after nine years, Tom Crean in. The Dawgs made three NIT’s and a one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament from 2014-17, but went 18-15 (7-11) last season, Yante Maten’s last.

This is still a huge team. Rayshaun Hammonds, Nicolas Claxton, and Derek Ogbeide go 6’8″, 6’11”, 6’9″. Like Tennessee, they love blocking shots (18th nationally) and don’t eat many on the other end (24th). Their first-shot defense has been pretty good: teams shoot 29.8% from the arc and 43.1% inside it against them.

But the biggest issue for Georgia has been turnovers. The Dawgs give it away on an astounding 22.4% of their possessions, 319th nationally. Georgia averages 15.7 turnovers per game and forces only 11.3. My math says that’s nearly 4.5 extra possessions for the opposition every night. For a Tennessee team that has struggled to create turnovers so far this year, Georgia should be a welcome sight.

One reason why: this is the longest bench I’ve ever seen. Nine players average double digit minutes, a dozen average six or more. Georgia is playing really fast with a new coach and a bunch of different lineups off the bench, which right now is leading to a bunch of turnovers.

It’ll be interesting to see if Georgia’s defense can slow Tennessee’s offense, but the Vols should have the clear advantage on the other end of the floor. Keep an eye on Tyree Crump, a career 32% shooter from the arc who’s incredibly hot at 43.1% so far this year.

KenPom likes the Vols by 15. That would qualify as a good start to league play. 3:30 PM, SEC Network. Go Vols.

Last year the SEC rose from its slumber: after placing three teams in the 2017 Elite Eight, the league sent eight to the dance floor last March. Six won in the first round. And then, disappointment.

No. 3 seed Tennessee lost to No. 11 Loyola-Chicago. No. 4 seed Auburn lost to Clemson by 31 points. Only two SEC teams made it through to the Sweet 16, where No. 5 seed Kentucky lost to No. 9 seed Kansas State, and Texas A&M was routed by Michigan after routing North Carolina in the second round.

In KenPom, the league had no teams in the Top 10 but five ranked between 13-29. No one was special, but plenty were really good. And at the bottom, only Ole Miss was ranked outside the Top 100 (108th).

Entering league play in 2019, the league looks a little better in KenPom: still no one in the Top 10, but five teams between 11-20. The AP voters think even more highly of the league’s best: the Vols are third and receiving first-place votes, Auburn and Kentucky sit at 12 and 13, Mississippi State at 17, and Florida is receiving votes.

Those five look like safe bets for the NCAA Tournament; they’re joined by LSU with a Top 35 NET rating and in the most recent Bracket Matrix:

Based on the matrix field, here's one way you can bracket it. pic.twitter.com/9cGLwkaoNH

— Bracket Project (@bracketproject) December 31, 2018

The Vols and a Number One Seed

At this point, chasing the first No. 1 seed in program history is a reasonable goal. Last year we looked at the records of the last No. 1 seed and all four No. 2 seeds since 2012. Six times in the last seven years, the lowest No. 1 seed either had six or seven losses, or was Gonzaga. Only in 2015 (undefeated Kentucky, 32-2 Villanova, 31-3 Wisconsin, 29-4 Duke) have we seen four truly elite No. 1 seeds.

Tennessee already has a leg up on Gonzaga via head-to-head; keep an eye on Nevada at 13-0, but right now the Vols are on pace to be in this conversation all year. KenPom projects Tennessee to win the SEC at 13-5, which would send the Vols to the SEC Tournament at 25-6. Tennessee is one of seven power conference teams projected to go to their conference tournament with between four and seven losses. We’ll see if anyone can separate themselves from the pack, but matching last year’s 13-5 SEC run could be enough to both win the league and get a one seed.

Something else to keep an eye on for the NCAA Tournament: the closest first-and-second-round venue is Columbia, SC. That will also be the closest option for any ACC Champion from North Carolina or Virginia. The bigger prize: the regional final in Louisville. Those same ACC teams would prefer Washington DC, and the Jayhawks would love Kansas City. So you might want to keep an eye on Big Ten teams like Michigan who would also prefer Louisville. The Final Four is in Minneapolis, if you’re into 14-hour drives.

What to Expect From the SEC

Rebuilding/Reloading:

• South Carolina (5-7, 126 KenPom) – Somehow Chris Silva is still in school, but the Gamecocks have losses to Stony Brook, Providence, Wofford, and Wyoming, plus Michigan and Virginia.
• Georgia (8-4, 108 KenPom) – Tom Crean’s first team is 319th in turnovers and 310th in turnovers forced.
• Texas A&M (6-5, 97 KenPom) – A 15-point loss to Texas Southern ended a five-game winning streak after a 1-4 start. The Aggies are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country (29.1%).

The Bubble:

• Missouri (9-3, 72 KenPom) – It’s what you expect from Cuonzo: 322nd in tempo, early struggles against Iowa State, Kansas State, and Temple, but now on a six-game win streak including UCF and Xavier. The Tigers have also benefited from teams shooting just 62.3% from the free throw line against them. Appearing in 2.8% of the Bracket Matrix.
• Alabama (9-3, 63 KenPom) – Losses to Northeastern and Georgia State, but wins over five Top 100 teams. 6’7″ sophomore Herbert Jones is 34th nationally in free throw rate, and Donta Hall is 28th in true shooting percentage. Appearing in 8.6% of the Bracket Matrix.
• Vanderbilt (9-3, 59 KenPom) – Lost freshman Darius Garland for the year to a knee injury, but fellow freshman Simi Shittu has done a nice job picking up the slack from the post. The names you know and love are gone (Fisher-Davis, LaChance, Roberson), but these guys are young and get after it inside the arc on both ends. Double-digit losses to NC State and Kansas State, a double-digit win over Arizona State. Bracket Matrix next four out.
• Arkansas (9-3, 57 KenPom) – Three losses by seven total points to Georgia Tech, Western Kentucky, and Texas in overtime. A one-point win over Indiana is currently their only selling point. Still fast (47th in tempo), but actually more efficient on the defensive end this year. Appearing in 11.4% of the Bracket Matrix.
• Ole Miss (10-2, 47 KenPom) – The biggest mystery in the league entering conference play. Kermit Davis’s first team lost to Butler and Cincinnati but beat Baylor and San Diego, all in November. In December they went 6-0 against teams rated between 173-301 in KenPom. At Vanderbilt to open league play on Saturday, then play Auburn and Mississippi State the following week, so we’re about to find out a lot more about them. Bracket Matrix first four out.

Might Be Contenders, Might Be On the Bubble

• LSU (10-3, 40 KenPom) – Will Wade’s team has neutral-site losses to Oklahoma State and Florida State in overtime, plus a six-point loss at Houston. They beat Saint Mary’s on December 15. Much like Tennessee, their SEC schedule is extremely back-loaded: they won’t play any of the next tier until February. Third nationally in steals. Bracket Matrix nine seed.

The Contenders

• Mississippi State (12-1, 20 KenPom) – It might have taken Ben Howland one more year than Rick Barnes to get them here, but they’re here: a five-point loss to Arizona State on a neutral floor is the only blemish, but they have six wins over Top 100 teams, including a pair of 11-point wins over Clemson and Cincinnati and a 23-point beat down of BYU last time out. Eighteenth in offensive efficiency, 19th in effective FG%, 21st in offensive rebounding percentage. The Brothers Weatherspoon are doing their thing, and point guard Lamar Peters is 13th nationally in assist rate. Bracket Matrix five seed.
• Florida (8-4, 17 KenPom) – A 21-point loss to Florida State in the opener put them on most people’s back burner. Then they lost close games to Oklahoma, Butler, and Michigan State. But they beat West Virginia by 10, and in a rematch with Butler they won 77-43 (!). KeVaughn Allen is still around, and the Gators are sixth nationally in KenPom defense. We’re in Gainesville on January 12. Bracket Matrix ten seed, but 31.4% of brackets haven’t updated since that beat down of Butler.
• Kentucky (10-2, 13 KenPom) – Got run over by Duke in the opener, and lost to Seton Hall in overtime. Throw in Quade Green’s transfer, and plenty were hitting the panic button. But the Cats beat North Carolina and won at Louisville by 13. Stanford transfer Reid Travis gives them an unusual veteran presence, and PJ Washington is back too. Freshman Keldon Johnson is shooting 43.2% from the arc. Bracket Matrix five seed.
• Auburn (11-2, 12 KenPom) – Bruce Pearl’s team is first in the nation in forcing turnovers, first in shot-blocking, and fifth in offensive rebounding percentage. This is now a veteran team, and a healthy one at that: Austin Wiley, Jared Harper, Bryce Brown, Chuma Okeke, and Anfernee McLemore all play their roles well. There’s a six-point loss to Duke and a seven-point loss to NC State, but Pearl still knows how to schedule: wins over Washington, Xavier, Arizona, Dayton, UAB, and Murray State. These guys are plenty tested and plenty good. We’ll only see them once, on the last day of the regular season. Bracket Matrix three seed.
• Tennessee (11-1, 11 KenPom) – Where do the Vols stand out, other than an overtime loss to Kansas and a win over then-#1 Gonzaga? Tennessee is sixth in KenPom offense and first in the nation in fewest shots blocked. The Vols are good at some of the same stuff from last year – second nationally in assist rate, same cast of characters – but are much improved inside the arc, now 13th nationally in two-point field goal percentage. Lamonte Turner’s health remains a question. The Vols play Florida twice (Jan. 12 and Feb. 9), but don’t face any of the rest of this tier or LSU until February 16. The top No. 2 seed in the Bracket Matrix.

With apologies to our friends from Cookeville, I’m not sure how much is left to learn about the Vols entering conference play. Tomorrow, Tennessee hosts Tennessee Tech: 330th in KenPom, where the Vols are projected to win by 30. From there, we begin at last season’s end: Georgia comes to Knoxville next Saturday to open SEC play.

There’s plenty of consternation about the #3 Vols not being #2 this week, but the Vols already cleared the biggest hurdle to getting to #1 by beating Gonzaga. The rigors of conference play offer plenty of opportunities for Duke, Michigan, and Virginia to stumble, which would not have been the case for the Zags.

Tennessee’s rigors are extraordinarily back-ended this season. Right now there are six SEC teams in the KenPom Top 50, led by the Vols at #11. Tennessee plays Florida (KenPom #27) on January 12 and February 9. Every other match-up with the top of the SEC is in the last seven games:

• 2/16 at Kentucky (KenPom #15)
• 2/19 vs Vanderbilt (#62)
• 2/23 at LSU (#41)
• 2/27 at Ole Miss (#54)
• 3/02 vs Kentucky (#15)
• 3/05 vs Mississippi State (#23)
• 3/09 at Auburn (#13)

If form holds, a significant chunk of the argument for or against Tennessee will be made down the stretch. Before then, and before the grind of league play begins, here are two ways the Vols can improve:

Create Turnovers

Last year defense was Tennessee’s calling card: sixth in KenPom defensive efficiency and 14th in effective FG% allowed. The offense was good – 36th in KenPom – but the Vols were winning with defense.

This year, the script has flipped: Tennessee is eighth nationally in offense, a number I’m not sure many of us thought the Vols could get to. Meanwhile the defense is good – 31st in KenPom – but hasn’t been Tennessee’s ace card.

Some of the numbers are down, but not alarmingly so: the Vols are still 38th in effective FG% allowed, 63rd in three-point percentage allowed, and continue to excel at shot blocking (38th). The biggest difference so far this year? Last year Tennessee created a turnover on 20.4% of opponent possessions, 53rd nationally. This year? Just 17.9% of opponent possessions, 238th nationally.

The Vols averaged 14.9 turnovers forced in the first seven games, including 16 from Kansas. But in the last four games, the Vols forced only 40 turnovers, including a possession-heavy affair with Memphis.

This leads us to…

Lamonte Turner gets healthy (or the Vols grow playing small ball without him)

I’m still not exactly sure what this means:

Rick Barnes says Lamonte Turner isn’t expected to play tomorrow against Tennessee Tech. No update. Says his return is still up to him.

— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) December 28, 2018

Turner, last season’s SEC Sixth Man of the Year, is definitely a component of Tennessee’s best basketball. He’s best known for the big-shot quality that helped the Vols beat Purdue and Kentucky last season; Tennessee clearly has that in Admiral Schofield and the reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams, but Turner provided it in Tennessee’s back court.

But something we may have underestimated about not only Turner, but the graduation of James Daniel: Tennessee can’t pressure opposing guards with the same efficiency right now.

Some of it is just math: the Vols are playing a glorified seven-man rotation right now, getting 32+ minutes from Bone, Schofield, and Williams. Bone only played 23 minutes last year, Schofield and Williams 28. Throw in recurring issues with foul trouble, and your defense has to be a little more tentative (and the offense has been good enough to make up the difference).

But without Turner, the Vols are leaning heavily on Bone and Jordan Bowden in the traditional guard role. Yves Pons is clearly a disruptor, but trails only John Fulkerson in fouls per 40 minutes. The longer Turner is out, the more important Jalen Johnson becomes. He didn’t play at all in Brooklyn when Turner briefly returned, but since then he’s averaged nine minutes per game.

Remember, Tennessee’s most frequent lineup at the end of last season put Bone, Bowden, and Turner on the floor together with Schofield and Williams. We’re all glad to see Kyle Alexander carrying a heavier load this year, but the Vols really haven’t put anything resembling that three-guard small-ball lineup on the floor (Bone, Bowden, Johnson plus two forwards and no Alexander).

Again: Tennessee is ranked third, beat Gonzaga and went to overtime with Kansas on neutral floors. We’re plenty capable. But there’s still room to grow on the defensive end, with or without Lamonte Turner’s return.

Scoreboard.

In a year when the Vols weren’t ranked third and didn’t just beat number one, this would still be a weekend for celebration. In this year, reflecting on the return of the Tennessee-Memphis rivalry is a joy on multiple levels.

The Vols and Tigers met annually from 1988-89 through 2001-02. Only six of those games featured a ranked Tennessee or Memphis squad: three for each side, and never in the same year. One of those came in December 1992, when #8 Memphis led by Penny Hardaway came to Knoxville and lost 70-59 to Allan Houston’s Vols. 

Memphis won the next three, then Kevin O’Neill and Jerry Green put together a five-game winning streak. Buzz Peterson’s first team lost by two to John Calipari’s first team, and then Calipari helped keep the rivalry paused.

It made me smile to read The Athletic’s oral history of the 2008 1 vs 2 Vols/Tigers clash:

“We went to their practice and Calipari expressed how much he did not like Tennessee in so many words. He was like, This is not a game. This is a war.”

Doc Evans, brother of Tyreke Evans

When it stopped, Buzz Peterson was trying to reload from Jerry Green’s four straight NCAA Tournament runs. Calipari was trying to rebuild his own image after sanctions at UMass and a failed three-year stint with the New Jersey Nets. Memphis hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in six years.

One part recruiting, one part football, one part Calipari – who would later champion playing anyone, anywhere, anytime, but clearly never wanted Tennessee home-and-home. By the time it returned in January 2006, Bruce Pearl was at Tennessee and Memphis was ranked fourth under Calipari. Pearl was a couple weeks away from the win over Florida that truly sparked that first-year run, and Memphis won at home 88-79 with Pearl raising Dane Bradshaw’s hand at the scorer’s table late in the game. But by the time it rolled back around the following year, the Vols were ready, and Chris Lofton put on what remains the single best individual performance from a Tennessee player in my post-Ernie/Bernie lifetime.

From there we got 1 vs 2, the first of three straight road wins in the series. Calipari went to Kentucky, then the Tigers went 3-0 against Cuonzo Martin the first two years, including a double overtime classic in Maui.

And then it was gone again. But now it’s back, for at least the next three years.

Calipari’s argument was, in part, that Tennessee benefited from playing Memphis far more than Memphis from playing Tennessee. If that was ever true while the two teams were playing, it was only in Pearl’s first year. The Vols were the Tigers’ equal on the floor afterward, and when Calipari left and Memphis bounced from a depleted Conference USA to the American? Now the opportunity has shifted hard to the Tigers.

Under Rick Barnes the Vols recruit nationally and successfully. Under Penny Hardaway, the spark is back on the banks of the Mississippi in ways Josh Pastner could never duplicate and Tubby Smith threatened to extinguish entirely. The Tigers haven’t made the NCAA or NIT since 2014. But Hardaway is doing work on the recruiting trail, including 7’0″ Memphis East five-star James Wiseman. 

Maybe my favorite part: while Pearl’s Tennessee teams quickly became the equal to Calipari’s Memphis teams, Barnes’ Tennessee teams have done the same with Calipari’s at Kentucky. Rick Barnes is 4-3 against the Cats at UT: his Vols are undefeated against Kentucky in Knoxville, beat the Cats in Rupp last season, won the SEC title and are currently ranked #3 to Kentucky’s #19. 

I’m grateful for Calipari the way Memphis fans should be grateful for Pearl: those two personalities gave that rivalry that little extra something. But this new chapter is exciting as well, with Barnes proving the Vols can be a stable force on the national scene, and Hardaway putting the Tigers back on the path to joining them. Fighting and blaming aside (on both sides), Tennessee and Memphis should play each other every year, no matter who thinks who gets the greater benefit. Both programs should be good enough to sustain it, and the rivalry deserves it.

This time around? Memphis is 5-4 and 118th in KenPom, but properly tested against the tier above them. Their best win is your choice of Yale in 2OT (99th KenPom) or South Dakota State (77th). But they also have a nine-point losses to LSU and an 11-point loss to #11 Texas Tech, who they led by nine at halftime before getting blown out in the second half.

The Tigers live by forcing turnovers (25th in turnover percentage) and getting offensive rebounds (33rd). 5’9″ freshman Tyler Harris is getting some early hype, knocking down 39.5% from three. But Hardaway is also getting the most out of his upperclassmen: 6’8″ senior Kyvon Davenport and 6’6″ senior Raynere Thornton are the forces on the glass, and Memphis can go small and aggressive on defense in a hurry.

The ascension in Knoxville, the hope in Memphis, and the rivalry itself should make for all kinds of fun tomorrow. High noon, ESPN. Welcome back, Memphis. I’m sure we’ll both keep pretending the other side missed it more than we did.

Go Vols.

Let’s rank yesterday even though it’s way too early to do so without the context of the entire season!

There are two clear-cut games at the top of my list. The Sweet 16 win over Ohio State will stand until the Vols make it to the Final Four; bonus points there from the 2007 Sweet 16 loss to the Buckeyes, properly avenged. And 1 vs 2 with Memphis in 2008 is fairly unassailable for the rest of all of our lives: the rivalry, Calipari, an undefeated Memphis and the Vols ascending to number one is once-in-a-lifetime stuff.

But after those two, it kind of depends on what you prefer. There’s a separate list of best Kentucky wins – last year at Rupp, Lofton at Rupp, beating them on the last day of the regular season to win the SEC East in Knoxville in 1999 (my personal favorite). There are wins on the way up, like 2006 vs Florida, that carry a “I can’t believe we’re doing this” quality. And that’s really how to best describe the last win over number one, when the Vols beat Kansas in 2010 after four players were suspended or dismissed just ten days earlier. 

Yesterday was not, “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” That felt like an Elite Eight game (or maybe a Final Four game, who knows!). It was two legitimate title contenders trading blows for 40 minutes; the 2008 Memphis game is the only comparison there. If that’s more your style – and hopefully it becomes more our style going forward – then I think you can make a case for that game as high as #3 on your list.

For me personally, I’m going 2010 Ohio State, 2008 Memphis, 1999 Kentucky, then yesterday, followed by 2010 Kansas and 2006 Florida. The rest of the season will determine how high or low it ultimately lands. Either way, it’s in pretty good company.

Perhaps even more impressive: let’s rank Admiral Schofield’s performance

The best individual performance I’ve seen from a Tennessee player is Chris Lofton vs Memphis in December 2006. People forget it because that shot over Durant was 17 days later, but in that game Lofton had 35 on only 8-of-24 shooting (plus 12-of-13 at the line). Against #17 Memphis, Lofton was 12-of-18, 6-of-11 from three, and scored 21 of his 34 points in the first half. It’s the best offensive performance – not just best three-point shooting – against a good team I’ve ever seen at Tennessee.

Yesterday, Schofield had 30 on #1 Gonzaga. He had 25 in the second half, and 11 in the last 3:18, including the game-winner.  

https://twitter.com/SeanFarnham/status/1071973319430176770

There have been some epic performances in school history. The iconic Ernie and Bernie games are both legion and before my time; the media guide highlights Ernie putting 43 on Kentucky in 1976, while Bernie had 40+ five different times. In my lifetime, Allan Houston had 43 in a 119-113 loss to LSU in Shaq’s freshman year. Ron Slay had 38, but the quality of opponent (New Mexico) will keep him a little further down the list. More recently we’ve seen Grant Williams with 37 at Vanderbilt and Kevin Punter with 36 vs #24 South Carolina.  

I think it’s at least safe to say that Schofield’s performance yesterday was the best we’ve seen since Lofton. In the aforementioned Lofton-at-Rupp game in 2006, he had 31 on 7-of-10 from the arc, Tennessee’s first win in Lexington in seven years. I’d still put the Lofton-vs-Memphis performance at number one, and probably Lofton-at-Rupp number two. But Schofield yesterday might be number three in the post-Allan Houston era. He was a volume shooter all day, but the late flurry helped him finish at 12-of-22 and 6-of-10 from the arc. Gonzaga wasn’t known for their defense, but that was still the number one team in the nation. Again, pretty good list to be on.