On January 15 of this year, Vandy had a chance to kill off UT's season. Bruce Pearl was suspended for the first eight games of the SEC season. UT had already lost its first two conference games. And Vandy was up 30-13 early in the game in Knoxville. Had Vandy blown out UT, the Vols would likely have unraveled.
But Vandy being Vandy, and Tennessee being Tennessee, that is not what happened. The Vols roared back and beat Vandy 67-64. It was the first of a five-game winning streak for UT. Vandy staggered around, and was 3-4 after a loss at Florida on February 1.
Since then circumstances have changed. Vandy has won five games in a row, while UT has lost four of its last five. Now the Dores are 8-4, while the Vols are 6-6. If Vandy can beat Tennessee on ESPN tonight -- the day before the NCAA finally announces what it is planning to do to Pearl -- it can put UT's NCAA hopes in grave danger. If UT misses the tournament -- and Pearl is hammered by the NCAA -- the Vols may even let Pearl go, forcing them back into rebuilding mode.
So Vandy has a lot to play for tonight. Unfortunately, the Dores usually react to big games against Tennessee in much the same way the cobra reacts to the mongoose.
Vanderbilt 12 - 15 Tennessee (10:56 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteVandy, which couldn't miss from three-point range against UK, is only 2-6 from three's so far.
Pearl has Tennessee playing this really annoying offense where they either race down for a layup or hold the ball until there's almost no time left on the shot clock.
Vanderbilt 18 - 22 Tennessee (6:53 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteVandy: 2-7 from 3's
UT: 2-3 from 3's
Vanderbilt 22 - 22 Tennessee (4:05 left in 1st half)
ReplyDeleteMan, this is an ugly game. Vandy is 9-21 from the field; UT is 10-27.
Vanderbilt 31 - 27 Tennessee (Halftime)
ReplyDeleteVandy still isn't playing great -- 11/24 from the floor and 3/9 from 3's -- but Tennessee is missing everything (12/32 from the floor and 2/8 from 3's). So once again, Vandy leads at the half over UT. We will see if they can hold on this time.
Vanderbilt 37 - 29 Tennessee (15:40 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteUT continues to struggle from the field, and Vandy has finally opened up a little breathing room.
Vandy still hasn't had one of the tremendous hot streaks that they often get at Memorial Gym. (In the last 11 minutes of the first half against UK, for example, the Dores put up 33 points.) If they could go on a run here, the game would be over.
Vanderbilt 42 - 31 Tennessee (12:10 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteUT has prevented Vandy from going on a huge run, but the Dores have been slowly pulling away. Over the last 12 minutes of game time, the Dores have outscored UT 20-9.
Vanderbilt 42 - 37 Tennessee (10:48 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteTennessee, with its back against the wall, has suddenly gone on a 6-0 run as Vandy does its usual job of taking its foot off the gas as soon as things start to look good for them.
Vanderbilt 48 - 46 Tennessee (6:48 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteThe life of a Vandy fan. Vandy is, and always has been, fundamentally soft. They simply do not feel the same pressure to win as their SEC brethren, and it shows up in situations like this. UT knows its on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament, and they are playing like mad men. Vandy, meanwhile, is letting themselves get pushed around.
Vanderbilt 51 - 49 Tennessee (3:55 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteSo, after Vandy had a 20-9 run to go up 42-31, they allowed UT to go on a 18-7 run to tie the game. Vandy then re-took the lead, and both teams flailed around for a couple of possessions. Vandy will have the ball when we come back from a commercial.
Vanderbilt 51 - 55 Tennessee (1:14 left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteVanderbilt has just utterly fallen apart. On offense, they throw the ball away time after time. They can't shoot (3-13 from 3's), and they can't score inside. On defense, they just stand around as Scotty Hopson drives to the rim over and over, draws fouls and makes free throws. Both of Vandy's big guys (Ezeli and Tchiengang) have fouled out.
This is just the same old story for Vandy. When push comes to shove -- especially against UT -- they lose.
Vanderbilt 51 - 55 Tennessee (1 minute left in 2d half)
ReplyDeleteVandy comes down, finally runs a play that works, and gets to the line. They miss two free throws. Game over.
In part, this is Stallings's punishment for focusing so much on beating UK. I understand that it's nice to beat UK, and you get big headlines for that. But Vandy's goal should be to win the SEC and go deep into the NCAAs, and they will never accomplish those goals as long as they allow themselves to get pushed around by UT the way they did tonight.
This is an embarrassing and humiliating result for the Dores, but one that they richly deserve. Bruce Pearl is a liar and UT are a collection of thugs, but at least they play hard. Vandy can't say the same.
Vanderbilt 51 - 60 Tennessee (Final)
ReplyDeleteIn the last 12 minutes of the game, UT outscored Vandy 29-9.
In the last 3 minutes of the game, UT outscored Vandy 12-0.
This was simply a question of where the lesser-talented team wanted the game more, and took it away from a bunch of wimps.
And Jenkins was absolutely horrific in this game. He showed no leadership, he was completely unable to create his own shot. Down the stretch, in one of Vandy's biggest games of the year, he simply watched UT take it away.
Oh, and don't tell me that UK can't win at Memorial. If you want to beat Vandy at Vandy, don't sit around whining about Memorial -- do what UT did and smack Vandy in the mouth.
ReplyDeleteI'm still mad about this game. What a bunch of chokers!
ReplyDeleteSorry GoHeath.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that stinks. Great report, though, beginning to end.
ReplyDelete