Murray State Preview

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

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

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

UNC Review

UNC Review

The Vols took a hard loss on Friday afternoon, losing to the Tar Heels 101-87. The game got ugly in the first half, but the Vols found something in the second half and were able to fight and claw to stay in the game. Here are some thoughts from the game:

1) How awful were those refs? The fouls were called fairly evenly, with the Vols collecting 3 more fouls and 1 less free throw. But UNC continuously got away with stuff. The flagrant foul and ejection of JaJuan Smith was ridiculous. I can understand the intentional call somewhat since it was a hard foul from behind, and he did grab the jersey just a little. But JaJuan went for the ball, and barely missed it, and was ejected incorrectly. And I didn’t realize coaches can just run out onto the court and grab their players like Roy Williams did on that play. Hansbrough is a great player, but he gets away with so much its ridiculous. If you’re going to treat an All-American like that, then guess what, we have one on our team as well, and he got called for two ticky tack fouls tonight. I guess we can’t get the same treatment on both sides.

2) Lofton continues to frustrate me. I think towards the end of the game he finally started to look for his shot. You could tell early in the game that he wasn’t even looking for his shot, because he would catch the ball standing straight up allowing the defender to get close instead of in a triple threat stance. It really looked like JaJuan’s ejection fired up this team, and hopefully it said something to Lofton.

3) Major was greatly missed tonight. We traded his 6’10” frame for Dane at 6’4”. The Vols really could have used his experience tonight on the defensive end, as is seemed that Chism and Crews were getting frustrated with the ridiculous fouls they called on them in the post.

4) Despite the lopsided loss, I was fairly impressed by the team tonight. I thought they fought very hard, and gave it their all, especially in the second half. Ramar seemed to control the ball better tonight, only having two turnovers. Jordan was great at point guard, having 5 assists with no turnovers. The Vols were able to limit their turnovers to 14, creating 26 by the Tar Heels. The only struggle of the game, beside the free throws, was on the boards. The Tar Heels dominated the boards, collecting 15 offensive rebounds on 34 missed shots by UNC. The Vols on the other hand collected 13 offensive rebounds on 56 missed shots by the Vols.

5) Overall, it will be interesting to see what the Vols can take home from NY. I think they were able to learn more about themselves in this game, than the one against Butler. The Vols now know what it takes it be a top tier team in the NCAA, and I think that although there might be some growing pains to start the season, it might pay off in the end with the guys getting all this experience.

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
15 Howell,Jordan   1-6    1-5    2-2    0  0  0   1   5  5  0  0  0  19

UNC Preview

UNC comes into this game off of a Semifinal loss to Gonzaga. The Tar Heels got off to a fast start, but allowed the Bulldogs to come back and take the lead into the half. The Bulldogs built upon that lead and obtained a 14 point lead at one point in the second half. The young Tar Heels were able fight back though, without help from their star center, and closed to within 2 in the final minutes before the Bulldogs pulled away. UNC was led by Tennessee product Brandan Wright with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Both Hansbrough and Wright lead this Tar Heel team combining for 35 points and 16.1 rebounds per game. It is quite obvious that the team runs through the post for the Tar Heels. Despite having 5 players over 6’8” on the team, really only 3 play in Hansbrough, Wright, and Terry. An impressive stat for the Tar Heels is their 59 offensive rebounds this season, resulting in rebounding 45% of their misses. The Vols also counter with the same stat, rebounding 45% of their misses as well.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This game will be won or lost in the paint. The Vols and Tar Heels both like to push the ball, but in different styles. The Vols will want to try and create a fast uptempo game, to try to wear out both Wright and Hansbrough, who both average close to 30 minutes a game. Despite playing 9 players over 10 minutes per game, only 3 are over 6’8”. If the Vols are able to contain Wright and Hansbrough, they will have a chance to win this game. Matchup to watch for: Tyler Hansbrough vs. Chris Lofton. I know, those two will never go against each other, but both struggled on Wednesday night in the Semifinals. Hansbrough was limited to 9 points and 9 rebounds, while Lofton struggled from the field, often passing up looks to focus on driving to the basket. Lofton finished the game with 8 points on 3-9 shooting with 5 turnovers. Both will be trying to redeem themselves in this game. Hansbrough crashes the boards hard, pulling in 4 offensive rebounds per game, 45% of his total rebounds for the year. Crews and Chism will have to play sound defense and stay out of foul trouble against Hansbrough, and limit his offensive put backs. Lofton will have to resume his shooting from last year. He needs to realize that he is the offense on this team, and he needs to start looking for it. The Vols will have to try to limit their turnovers against the Tar Heels, because if they don’t, UNC will take advantage and put the game away. Look for a high scoring game in the 80’s, and for UNC to win by 8 with UT struggling with turnovers again.

Projected Starting Lineups:

VISITORS

PG – 6’3” #4 Bobby Frasor
SG – 6’4” #2 Wayne Ellington
SF – 6’8” #3 Reyshawn Terry
PF – 6’9” #34 Brandan Wright
C – 6’9” #50 Tyler Hansbrough

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

Butler review

The Vols took their first loss of the season tonight against the Butler Bulldogs. The Vols led 21 -8 early in the first half, and then forgot how to play the game of basketball as they began to turn the ball over and shoot brick after brick. Here are some thoughts from the game:

1) This might have been the first game where I thought that Pearl did a bad job coaching. It seemed as though he never could get his team into the game, and really didn't have any answers for Butler.

2) APB for Chris Lofton. Lofton struggled once again tonight, often seeming as though he was looking to drive more than shoot. He seems to be thinking too much, and thus not reacting and letting the game come to him. He continues to drive and collect charges, thus getting him in foul trouble. You want Lofton to be able to play more, then let him play his game and get out of his head about driving to the basket.

3) Turnovers were ridiculous. JaJuan Smith, Chris Lofton, and Ramar Smith led the team in turnovers with 5, 5, and 4 respectively. That's just not acceptable. Lofton got most of his turnovers off of charges, but both Smith's are now to be known as ATMs. Automatic Turnover Machines.

4) Will the real Ramar Smith please stand up? Ramar is a really good player, I've seen it for myself. But thus far this season, he has been elsewhere. Maybe he is focusing too much on running the point guard position, but he is struggling alot right now. I think it might be time for Jordan Howell to move into the starting lineup.

5) FT shooting was abysmal. How can a team shoot 54% from the FT line? There's a reason they are called "free" throws. You're not going to hit all of them, but goodness gracious, they can barely hit half of them.

6)With all that said, I'm still behid this team. I knew there would be nights like this when nothing could seemingly go right for this team. That's what happens when youth is on the floor. Their will also be times though that their talent will show and they might run people out of the gym. Hopefully Pearl can regroup this team and have them ready to take on the loser of the UNC/Gonzaga game.

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
25 Tabb,Josh...........    2-3    0-1    0-1    0  1  1   1   4  0  1  1  1  19

Butler Preview

Butler comes into the Tennessee game with a 4-0 record, having knocked off Notre Dame and Indiana in the Preseason NIT. The Bulldogs are averaging 67.5 points this season, led by AJ Graves at 17.8 per game. #32 Drew Streicher leads the Bulldogs off the bench, with a team leading 5.3 rebounds per game. Streicher led the team in their last game, a 62-56 win over NAIA Illinois-Springfield. The Bulldogs will be well versed in Bruce Pearl’s style of play, having played against Pearl in the Horizon league when Pearl was at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This will be a reunion of sorts as Pearl will face off against a familiar foe in the Butler Bulldogs. It is no doubt that the Bulldogs will have a excellent scouting report on the Vols, but Pearl will have that same advantage against the Bulldogs. The Vols will once again enjoy a size advantage of sorts as the Bulldogs have no one over 6’7”. Butler struggled in their last outing against Illinois-Springfield, a team from the NAIA that plays a similar style to that of the Vols. The Prarie Stars forced Butler into 12 turnovers on the game, six of those coming from point guard Mike Green. The Vols will look to pressure Mike Green in the press and creating more turnovers. Butler will try to slow the game down, and use their superb defense to win the game. If the Vols can slow down leading scorers Mike Green and AJ Graves, and create turnovers, then the Vols should be able to come away with the victory. If Butler is able to slow the pace of the game down and limit their turnovers, then the Bulldogs will have a good chance of pulling off the upset.

Matchup to watch for: AJ Graves vs. Chris Lofton. Both leading scorers will be going head to head against each other. Both players like to fire the 3 ball. Graves is 13-36, 36.1%, while Lofton is 12-30, 40% for the year. If either is able to shut down the other, it could lead to a loss for the loser of the battle.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Butler

PG – 6’1” #10 Mike Green
SG – 6’1” #4 AJ Graves
SF – 6’5” #1 Julian Betko
PF – 6’6” #33 Brandon Crone
C – 6’7” #24 Brian Ligon

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

Coppin State Review

Coppin State was looking for only it’s second victory ever against a Top 25 ranked team. Tonight, it was not to happen. The Vols seemed to struggle some coming out of the gate, but picked up the pace toward the end of the first half, and were able to waltz to the 99-65 victory. The Vols, who were led by Chris Lofton’s 19 points, were just too much for Coppin State to overcome. Some thoughts from the game:

1) How about a hand for Dane Bradshaw! The guy might not light up the scoreboard, but he sure does fill up the stat sheet. Dane led the team with 9 assists, 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 steal. I’m sure after the game, Dane would tell you he dedicated that game to Donovan McNabb. McNabb, who tore his ACL today, plays for Dane’s beloved Eagles. What a game for Dane though!

2) Wayne Chism was a beast on the boards tonight, pulling down 11 rebounds, 3 offensive. Chism seemed to struggle in the first half getting points, as he missed at least 3 contested layups. But he was able to open it up in the second half, hitting two 3’s in route to 11 points, and his first double double of his short UT career.

3) Chris Lofton continued to light up the scoreboard, scoring 19 on 6 of 11 from the field. Lofton, who is just 1 point shy of 1,000 for his career, will lead this team into Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night against Butler. He can only hope that JaJuan Smith can get out of his current shooting slump that he seems to be in.

4) The Vols were able to create 24 turnovers by Coppin State, but gave up 22 of their own. If the Vols want to be able to succeed on Wednesday, or for the rest of the season for that matter, they need to get better at securing the ball. Jordan Howell did a good job tonight at the point, scoring 6 with 2 assists and only 1 turnover in only 13 minutes. Ramar Smith struggled with the ball, however, turning it over 4 times in 19 minutes.

5) Here we come New York. The Vols will leave Tuesday to prepare for their showdown with Butler on Wednesday night in the Big Apple. The game is set to tip-off at 7 pm. Hopefully, Pearl will keep the guys from getting big eyes while playing on a grand stage in one of the most famous arenas in the world. Here’s to beating the Butler Bulldogs!!

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    3-3    1-1    1-3    2  4  6   1   8  9  4  1  1  20

Coppin State Preview

The Coppin State Eagles will come into Thompson Boling Arena on Sunday afternoon with a 0-2 record after losing to both Virginia Tech and Hawai'i by an average of 30.5 points. The Eagles are led by #22 Tywain McKee, a 6'2" Jr. PG out of Philly. McKee has led the Eagles with an average of 16 points this season. The Eagles are led on the boards by #40 Robert Pressey, a 6'7" Jr. PF out of Waldorf, MD with 6.5 a game. After McKee, the Eagles don't pack much of a punch. No Eagle rises over 6'7" and will give Tennessee it's first height advantage of the season. The Eagles have struggled to score over their first two games, averaging just 55 points a game. #44 Ethan Kennedy is a 6'7" Fr. PF who has started the first two games. Joining him in the last game was fellow freshman #5 Ruben Britt, a 6'3" PG from Vorhees, NJ. The Eagles have struggled shooting the ball this season, shooting 35% form the field, 29% from 3 land, and 55% from the FT line. The Eagles have been outrebounded by an average of 15 so far this season, turned the ball over an average of 15 times, and given up an average of 25 assists per game.

Keys to the Game:

1) A blowout. If this game is close, then UT is really struggling. UT should be able to force a lot of turnovers. McKee, the Eagles leading scorer, is averaging 5.5 TO's per game. If the Vols can put the pressure on the Eagles, then this game should end quickly.

2) Scrimmage. This is basically a scrimmage. I look for Pearl to try some different things in this game. Bossibly try some different things out in getting ready for the Butler game.

3) Minutes for everybody. I look for the whole bench to get some PT in this game. Everyone should get off the bench for this game. Also, look for some of the regulars to get lots of rest. Hopefully, the freshman can get some more exposure to the college game and grow some.

4) NIT NY. I'm already looking forward to the Vols playing Butler in New York on Wednesday. The tip off is set to occur at 7:00. Hopefully, both Lofton and JaJuan Smith can have good days at Madison Square Garden. Pearl will definitely have the scouting report on Butler, and the same goes for Butler. The difference will be in the players that Pearl now has. Hopefully, the Vols will be able to take down Butler and face the TarHeels or Zags on Friday.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Coppin State

PG - 6'2" #22 Tywain McKee
SG - 6'3" #5 Ruben Britt
SF - 6'6" #32 Julian Conyers
PF - 6'7" # 44 Ethan Kennedy
C - 6'7" # 34 Brian Chesnut

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

UNCW Review

Tonight, Tennessee was able to hold off UNCW 87-75 to advance to the NIT semi finals in New York. The Vols overcame a cold shooting night with stifling defense creating 32 turnovers by the Seahawks. Here were some thoughts from the game:

1) This is the Tennessee game we came to love last year. The Vols seemed to play much better tonight, playing under control for most of the game. The Vols limited their turnovers, and capitalized off those of UNCW.

2) Josh Tabb did not look like a freshman tonight. He took care of the ball and was solid on offense with some nice moves to the basket. We were able to see his stifling defense tonight as he created two 5 second calls on UNCW. It looked like he took over some of Tony Passley's minutes in the second half.

3) A 9 man rotation? It appeared in the second half that Pearl went with a 9 man rotation. Both Passley and Johnson sat on the bench, while Tabb seemed to backup both the 2 and 3, with Jordan Howell coming in as the backup point guard.

4) Jordan Howell. Still with a hurting hand, Jordan was able to bring a calming influence of the bench. He seemd to run the offense really well, probably the best of the point guards to this point. Look for his shooting to return to normal once his hand heals better.

5) Ramar Smith. He looked much better tonight. He was quick off the dribble and drove to the basket well. His athleticism showed tonight. He played well on defense and seemed to get the team into the offense fairly well.

6) Rebounding. Tennessee killed the Seahawks on the boards tonight, outrebounding them by 11 with 17 offensive rebounds. This team just seems to crash the boards hard. Crews led the team with 8 rebounds, 5 on the offensive glass. Ryan Childress also pulled down 5 rebounds, 4 of which were offensive.

STAT LINE of the game:
JaJuan Smith - 21 points, 7-10 from the field, 3-5 from 3 land, 4-4 from the FT line, 1 assist, 4 rebounds, 2 TO's, and a remarkable 5 steals in 27 minutes

UNCW preview

UNC Wilmington is looking to capitalize off their season last year when they finished an impressive 25-8, earning a NCAA berth and winning the CAA conference tournament. The Seahawks are no stranger to success though, having advanced to the NCAA tourney 4 of the last 7 seasons. UNCW replaced Head Coach Brad Brownell with new head coach Benny Moss, an assistant coach from UNC Charlotte last year, after Brownell stepped down after last season. Moss inherits a talented team that lost three starters including the top two rebounders and leading assist man from last year. Moss had another unfortunate break when returning scoring leader and 1^st team CAA selection T.J. Carter was sidelined with a groin injury. Moss brings an uptempo style to the Seahawks and will look to push the ball. With Carter out, Moss has four new starters led by 6’4” Junior SG Daniel Fountain who has averaged an impressive 16.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in their two exhibition games. UNCW was very impressive last year in the NCAA tournament, when I was able to see them lose in the first round in overtime to George Washington 88-85.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Look for this game to be up and down. With Moss introducing his new style, this should be a fun game to watch. The Vols might have the advantage, however, with a year more of experience in the uptempo pace. The Seahawks are a tough team, but are a little damaged with the loss of TJ Carter. Pearl will have the Vols focused on trying to not turn the ball over tonight. The Seahawks committed only 9 turnovers in their opening game win against Belmont. UNCW played 8 guys last night, but look for new coach Benny Moss to substitute more often tonight with a more uptempo game tonight. Key matchup: Daniel Fountain vs. Chris Lofton. Lofton has been known to fall asleep while boxing out, and Fountain could present some problems for Lofton if that’s the case. Look for Pearl to challenge Lofton, however, and for the junior shooting guard to lead Tennessee to victory and a trip to the NIT Semis in New York.

Projected Starting Lineup:

UNC-Wilmington Seahawks

PG – 6’0” #22 Temi Soyebo
SG – 6’4” #4 Daniel Fountain
SF – 6’5” #1 Montez Downey
PF – 6’9” #41 Todd Hendley
C – 6’10” #32 Vladimir Kuljanin

Tennessee Vols

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

UT v. Fordham review

Tennessee was able to fight off a determined Fordham Rams team to pull off the victory 78-71 on Monday night in Nashville. The Vols earned a tough victory in this young season in a scrappy game. This was Tennessee's second straight game where more than 50 fouls were called. The Vols were able to proceed though without anyone fouling out however. Chris Lofton, playing with foul trouble for most of the game, led the Vols with 30 points on 9-16 shooting, 5-10 from long range. Brenton Butler came off the bench to lead the Rams with 20 points on 6-13 shooting, 4-6 from 3 land. Here where some thoughts on the game:

1) First, a shout out to Fordham. The Rams definitely brought their A game tonight and were able to keep the game close. They did a good job of trying to slow the game down and causing a lot of turnovers. Unfortunately, they were bit by the turnover bug as well, but that is the norm for teams that play Tennessee.

2) Record number of charges. There had to be a record number of charges taken tonight. It was ridiculous. It seemed like for a portion of the game, there was a charge called everyone time down the floor.

3) Turnovers. The Vols had an uncharacteristic 26 TO's. That is just unacceptable. It seemed as though the Vols just seemed to be out of it tonight. They could never get themselves going with all the turnovers that they committed. Hopefully, those numbers will reverse themselves Tuesday night.

4) Chris Lofton. Can you say anymore about this kid? He had 30 points off of shooting from all over the floor. He had floaters, layups, and 3's. Plus, some of his shots were just sick. He is by far the best contested shooter in America.

5) PG. Both Ramar and Marques seemed to struggle tonight. Ramar needs to get the fouling out of his system so that he can spend more time on the floor getting into the flow of the game. But how about the tip dunk by our point guard. The guy is just athletic. Marques seemed to struggle in the game as well. Hopefully, with their first road game out of the way, they will play better Tuesday night.

Stat Line of the Night: (Keep in mind it was a turnover prone night)
Dane Bradshaw - 6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 steals, and 0 turnovers
Way to go Dane, the only person that played tonight for UT to not turnover the ball!!

NIT Preview

The Keys to the Fordham Game:

1) Matchup at the PF spot. Both Bradshaw and Childress will have their hands tied trying to box out Fordham PF Michael Binns. Binns has averaged 12.5 rebounds per game in jsut 16.5 minutes per game in Fordham's exhibition and season opener. While not a threat to score, Binns has also averaged 5 offensive rebounds per game. Obviously, that will be a key to this game. Luckily, both Bradshaw and Childress are some of the better players at boxing out on the team.

2) Up tempo game. If Tennessee is able to push the ball and create a fast game, then the Vols should be able to prevail. Fordham is not necessarily very deep and only really played 8 guys last year. Fordham also turned the ball over 25 times in their season opener, so if the Vols are able to push the tempo, Tennessee could blow the game open with their depth.

3) Wayne Chism. Chism was limited to only 11 minutes in Friday's season opener against MTSU, but was very successful in those minutes. Chism was able to pull down 7 rebounds along with 10 points. If Chism can be pull off success like that tonight without getting into foul trouble against All Atlantic 10 star Bryant Dunston, then the Vols should succeed.

4) UNCW vs. Belmont. The 10:30 pm game is the other half of the bracket in Nashville. This will be UNCW's first game under new head coach Benny Moss. Moss will bring a uptempo game to the Seahawks while Belmont will rely on their senior trio of ex-UT player Boomer Herndon, Josh Goodwin, and Andrew Preston to lead them. This will be the opening game for both teams, so both teams might get off to a rough start. Belmont will try to use their height advantage, as they have 4 guys towering at 6'10" or more. UNCW will try to push the ball and use their new gun and gun offense. The key to this game might be if UNCW is able to adapt to their new offense sooner than later.

Fordham NIT Preview

After opening the season with a 70-68 win against Sacred Heart University on Friday night, Fordham enters this season looking to build off of their success from last year. The Rams finished last season 16-16 after a disappointing 13-16 finish the year before. This year the Rams return 65% of their scoring led by 1^st Team Atlantic 10 Junior Bryant Dunston. Dunston, a 6’8” forward from Queens NY, led the team in both points and rebounds last season with 16.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The Rams will be looking to replace Jermaine Anderson, who led the team in assists last year with 3.4 per game and 15.6 points per game. Looking to step into that spot will be Marcus Stout, a 6’4” Junior guard from Southfield MI. Stout finsished the season last year averaging 13 points per game, and got the season off to a good start leading the team with 21 points in their exhibition victory over Bloomfield.

Keys to the Game:

Tennessee will look to push the pressure in this game. Having played only 8 players double digit minutes last year, Fordham will look to slow the game down. Fordham turned the ball over 25 times on Friday night, and if they play anything like that on Monday night, watch out. Tennessee will focus on shuting down both Dunston and Stout, who are Fordham’s two best players. Rebounding will be key as Fordham will once again hold a size advantage against Tennessee. If the Vols can push the tempo a limit Dunston, then the Vols should pull away at the end. Key matchup: Bryant Dunston vs. Chism/Crews. If both Chism and Crews can limit Dunston, then the Vols will be able to pull off the win easily. Also look for the matchup of Bradshaw/Childress against 6’7” forward Michael Binns, who had 13 rebounds on Friday night, with 6 offensive rebounds.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Fordham

PG – 6’3” #14 Kevin Anderson
SG – 6’4” #1 Marcus Stout
SF – 6’5” #31 Dominic Osei
PF – 6’7” #21 Michael Binns
C – 6’8” #42 Bryant Dunston

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 – 6’9” #4 Wayne Chism

Tennessee Defeats MTSU

Last night the Vols were able to take down the Blue Raiders from MTSU 83-52. MTSU was able to keep it close in the first 10 minutes of the game, but a run led by JaJuan Smith created the seperation that the Vols kept for the rest of the game. J. Smith continued to impress last night with his team leading 16 points in a scrappy game. Here's some thoughts from the game last night:

1) Officiating. How awful was the officiating? It was horrific. I'm usually not one to blast the officials , because they have a hard job and do make some mistakes. But the officials number 1 job is to call a game consistently, whether thats a good consistent or bad consistent, and not make themselves noticable. Well, they were 0-2 last night. I hope they got blasted last night for it too. Gerald Boudereaux was in the house last night watching his SEC officials, and they did an awful job. The technical on passley was hilarious. I was right there, and all Passley did was pat him on the head. And when he stopped the game to talk the players in the second half, I almost fell over laughing. I hope the officiating is better in the NIT.

2) Turnovers. Once again, Pearl's team forced lots of turnovers. 22 in fact. I will be interested in seeing this year how the turnover numbers corrolate with wins and losses.

3) Rebounding. The Vols out rebounded the bigger Blue Raiders by 11, 44-33. The Vols were able to pull down 16 offensive rebounds, led by Wayne Chism's 3 offensive rebounds. Both Chism and Bradshaw led the Vols with 7 rebounds total.

4) FT shooting. While still not performing well, the Vols did improve last night shooting 68% from the line. The troubling part of that was that the Vols missed several front ends of 1 and 1's.

5) Defense. The Vols limited the Blue Raiders to 35% shooting from the field and just 18% from the 3 point line. The Vols team defense seemed to improve in the half court from last year, but they seemed to struggle in the one on one matchups. Their were a lot of reaching and grabbing when guards would try to drive around our perimeter defenders. If this can improve, then this team could be better than thought.

6) Fashion statements. Once again, Chism had on his orange and white diamond socks. I just don't understand where he got those. The biggest statement though was the new warmups. Holy Cow! Talk about flourescent orange. At least they matched the orange shoes and the orange stripes on the uniforms, but geez, that is not Tennessee Orange. Will Adidas ever get it right?

Stat line of the night:
Wayne Chism-10 points on 4-6 shooting, 7 rebounds (3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 turnover, and 1 steal in a remarkable 11 minutes playing due to foul trouble

Tip-off!!!

Tonight is the night. Basketball season finally begins tonight. With UT set to tip off against MTSU at 7:30 tonight, the second season of the Bruce Pearl era begins. What can Bruce do with his second team, which is the youngest he has ever coached? Well, going into tonight, here are a couple of things to look for:

1) TV. For those in the Knoxville and Nashville areas, you are in luck. The game is being picked up by local stations in those areas, with the game being aired on MyTV in Knoxville (channel 8 on Comcast). Hopefully, this won't turn away a crowd that should be great.

2) Chris Lofton. Lofton was quiet in the first two exhibition games. Tonight, we find out if he was just trying to focus on driving to the basket, or if teams might have found a way to shut down C-Lo. I tend to lean toward the former more than the latter. Chris has an uncanny ability to turn the switch on or off. I believe Lofton was trying to focus on driving to the basket more in the exhibition games, knowing that he wasn't really needed and was focusing on improving his game. He often passed up wide open shots from behind the arc, and Im sure Pearl has talked to Chris about that. Look for Chris to be looking for his shot a little more starting tonight.

3) Coaching. Tonight, Pearl will coach against one of his former players from Wisconsin-Milwaukee Dan Weisse, a Graduate Assistant with MTSU. Dan will no doubt have an excellent scouting report on the Vols, so it will be interesting to see how the Vols can respond. The Vols will definitely try to speed up the game tonight to try to limit the size advantage the Blue Raiders have on the court.

4) Newcomers. Tonight will be the first big test for the 6 new players on this year's team. Pearl will start two freshman, Ramar Smith and Duke Crews. Playing significant minutes off the bench will be forwards Wayne Chism and Tony Passley, along with guards Marques Johnson and Josh Tabb. With the real lights turning on tonight, and the team playing against real competition, how will the new players respond? We will find out tonight.

Signing Day Recap

Yesterday was the first day of the early signing period for college basketball and Tennessee took advantage signing two players to play at Tennessee next year. Cameron Tatum and Brian Williams will be watching the Vols this season and looking forward to what they can bring in next year. Cameron Tatum is a 6’6” 190 lb. wing from Atlanta, GA. Tatum had some academic struggles and was originally slated to graduate with the ’06 class, but reclassified and is currently attending Patterson Prep in North Carolina. Tatum has been a commitment for a long time now, having committed in the ’06 class before reclassifying for the ’07 class. Tatum looks to transfer to the shooting guard or small forward position in college, as he has a wide range of talents. Tatum has the ability to shoot the 3 or put the ball on the floor and create shots for himself.

Brian Williams has been a late addition to the Tennessee commitment list, just committing in the last couple of weeks. Williams has been seen as a fallback for the Vols after missing out on some of the higher ranked players in this class. However, Williams has lots of potential and with some work, might be able to provide key depth for the Vols next season. Williams, at 6’9” and 300 lb., will bring some needed size and depth to the post position. Williams currently attends Harmony Community Prep in Cincinnati, OH, which happens to be were current Vol freshman Josh Tabb attended. Williams will bring lots to the court with his excellent hands and footwork. If Williams can shed some more of his weight, he could end up being a big contributor to the Vols next season.

The Vols will take one more scholarship into the spring signing period, where anything is possible with Bruce Pearl. Pearl may decide to hold the scholarship for the loaded 2008 class, where he is already in on some of the bigger names in that class. Don’t be surprised however if Pearl tries to sign Jason Henry, a four star small forward from Decatur, GA. Henry is said to be high on the Vols and would be a huge addition to the recruiting class. Remember, at this time last year, how many knew about Duke Crews and Ramar Smith, and if you did, who would have thought both would end up signing here!

MTSU Preview

This is the first installment of game previews for the year. I hope to preview each game through out the year to let everyone know what should be expected. I’m going to try to put my obvious bias aside and preview the games straight up. I know that will be hard to do at times, but we will see how it works out. Now onto MTSU vs. the Vols on Friday Nov. 10^th.

Coming off of a disappointing 16-12 season with a conference tournament loss to Denver on their own home court to end their season, MTSU looks to rebound this season. The Blue Raiders lost 51% of their scoring, 46% of their rebounding, and 50% of their assists. The Blue Raiders compare well with Tennessee in that they are a very young team. Their projected lineup features three sophomores, one redshirt freshman, and one senior. However, of the 7 players that return from last year, Calvin O’Neil played the least amount of minutes at 10.3 a game. He has the tough task of stepping in and replacing Pre-Season All Sun Belt Conference selection Adam Vogelsberg at the SG with Vogelsberg out with a broken ankle. The Blue Raiders will rely on their big men down low, however, with returning starter Kyle Young, at 6’10”, as the only senior in the starting lineup. Young was second on the team in rebounds last year, and looks to build upon his success from last season. Joining Young down low will be 6’10” 235 lb. Theryn Hudson. Young dominated MTSU’s exhibition game against York University of Canada with 15 points and 7 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. If last year was any indication, MTSU will substitute tons through out the game. Eleven players averaged over 10 minutes a game last year, with 10 averaging 13 minutes in their exhibition opener. Last year, MTSU struggled to out score their opponents, only scoring 1.3 more points through out the year, despite their depth.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

Tennessee will not be able to tire the Blue Raiders. Tennessee will have to force turnovers with their more athletic team. Although MTSU substitutes generously, they don’t appear to like the up and down game, only averaging 70.6 points a game last year. If Tennessee can force the game to be played at a more uptempo pace, they may be able to limit the size advantage that the Blue Raiders have down low. Key matchup of the game: SG replacement Calvin O’Neil matching up with Tennessee’s Chris Lofton. Look for a close game, but for UT to pull away at the end.

Projected Starting Lineups:

MTSU

PG – 6’2” #5 Kevin Kanaskie
SG – 6’4” #4 Calvin O’Neil
SF – 6’7” #31 Desmond Yates
PF – 6’10” #44 Kyle Young
C – 6’10” #45 Theryn Hudson

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 – 6’9” #4 Wayne Chism

What a weekend

Sorry for the late post guys, but today has been a crazy day. What a great football game. Unfortunately, the Vols weren't able to pull it out. But it was still a great game. But onto the point of this post, last night's basketball game. So last night's game started out a whole lot closer than the Vols wanted it, but by the end of the game the Vols pulled out the victory 100-57. Leading only 36-27 at halftime, I'm sure the guys got a good talking to in the locker room. So, in keeping with what I have done so far, here are a couple of points that I came away with from last night.

1)The press might be lethal. I know UT was only playing Tusculum, but when they turned the press on, it worked. As the team gets more and more used to pressing, they will continue to improve, but they were pretty good at it last night. The depth on this team allows for the team to press for a lot of the game, which is good considering their half court defense isn't too good. Hopefully the half court defense can improve and help the pressing defense.

2)FT's were horrendous. These guys really need to work on their free throws. Chism and Crews were just horrific. Crews I understand somewhat as he is not a great shooter, but Chism is. Something needs to happen here.

3)More fashion statements. Chism wore orange socks last night with small white power T's on them. Jordan Howell had on calf length socks with two orange stripes on the top. Passley passed his huge shirt onto Marques Johnson. And 3 of the freshman lost the headbands halfway through the game.

4)Rebounding improved. Although the rebounding tended to vary throughout the game, UT seemed to dominate the glass. Both Childress and Crews had 9 rebounds, with Crews getting 7 offensive boards.

5)UT had 24 assists, 8 coming from Ramar Smith. However, they had 16 Turnovers which is way to much. Tusculum on the other hand had a remarkable 36 Turnovers, many of them due to the press. Some other interesting stats: UT had 23 offensive rebounds, equal to Tusculum's 23 defensive rebounds. Out of the 14 players that played for UT, 10 registered a steal with, get this, Wayne Chism leading the way with 5.

6)Stat line of the day: Wayne Chism - 5-9 FG, 2-6 FT, 12 Points, 5 Rebounds (3 offensive), 1 Assist, 2 Blocks, 5 Steals, 2 Turnovers

I will give a couple more thoughts later in the week leading up to the first game on Friday night November 10th against MTSU along with a preview for the game Friday night. Throughout the year, I will try to give preview for each game and what to expect and look for. It's time to get excited as the season is now quickly approaching and the Preseason NIT begins in 8 days in Nashville. But first things first, take care of business against the Blue Raiders on Friday night.

Round Dos

So tonight I get to see the Men play again. After the killing that the men gave Lemoyne-Owen on Tuesday night, they really need to be tested somewhat. Tusculum really shouldn't give UT any kind of trouble tonight, but they should present a little more of a challenge. Here are a couple of things I'm looking at going into tonight's game.

1) More of the press. Although we probably won't get to see much of it, look for more pressing than they did against Lemoyne-Owen. Pearl really needs to get his new players acclimated to the press and see how they react to different teams. Although he won't press the whole game so that it's not a total blow out, I do expect to see more pressing than last game.

2) Jordan Howell. Jordan was cleared to practice on Wednesday and will play about 10 minutes tonight. With Jordan returning, Pearl now has 11 players available to him to play and all are capable players with no drop off occuring. Jordan is the most experienced PG on the team, which isn't saying much as he doesn't have that much experience. But what Jordan does have is a depper understanding of the offense than the two freshman do at this point.

3) Improvement on defense and boxing out. Tuesday night the team really struggled in these two aspects even though you wouldn't realize it by looking at the score. The team defense tended to struggle at times, and the perimeter players really struggled with their boxouts. I'm sure Pearl chastised the team for these two things, and I look to see some improvement in these areas tonight.

4) More of the freshman. I am looking forward to seeing more from the new guys. I got a good look Tuesday night at the freshman, but I hope to see some more tonight against hopefully some better competition.

I'm not sure if I will be able to post a game review tomorrow, as I will be attending the UT-LSU game, but I will be sure to remark on Sunday if I can't get to it tomorrow. Go VOLS! Beat the Pioneers and the Tigers!

WOW

So last night Tennessee played Lemoyne-Owen. I don't really know what to say about the game. It really wasn't fair from the get go. UT hit their first 18 shots and had 41 points with 11 minutes left in the first half. I was wondering if they would hit 150. Well, they came close. 126-66 is kind of ridiculous. You schedule these exhibitions hoping to learn something about your team. You expect to win the game, but you hope it will be a little bit closer and more of a challenge. Last night it wasn't. But here are somethings I learned about this team watching them last night.

1)There is still lots to improve on. Some of the players seemed to struggle on defense. They are really going to have to improve that to be able to compete in the SEC. Rebounding needs to improve as well. UT is going to be outsized almost every night on the floor, so they need to be great at boxing out, which they weren't last night. Both the 3 point and FT shooting will improve. The more reps you get, the better you will shoot. Hopefully some of this was a little effort induced since UT had at least a 30 point lead for most of the night.

2)UT has a ton of athletes. I already knew this, but it was proved true last night. Ramar and Duke are just athletic phenomenons. Once Jordan Howell returns, UT will have a legitimate 11 deep that they can run at you. And this team is fast, I can't wait to see them when they really press a team. They really only pressed about 8 times last night, and it worked most of the times.

3)Fashion statements. This whole team is full of fashion statements. Passley loves the long shirt under his uniform. All the freshman but Johnson are all over the headbands. UT might lead the nation in headband usage. And then there was Chism's socks. If you saw them, then you know what I'm talking about. They looked like those dress socks that have the large diamonds on them, but in orange and white. All I can say is WOW.

4)I was right about a lot of things. I said last year that Passley would be a big improvement to this team. He is the 3 man that this team, and last year's team, needs. He just has a toughness about him that I like.

5)My new favorite player......Josh Tabb. They guy might be the biggest steal of the class. Not really highly touted like the others, but brings a LOT of intangibles to the court. He seems to be able to play the up tempo pace at a slow speed so that he is always under control. He understands the game very well and plays great defense. I felt bad for him last night as he was the only person that dressed that didn't score. I felt as though instead of the crowd yelling "SHOOT!" when a walk-on touched the ball, they needed to yell that when Tabb touched the ball. He is just so unselfish it's ridiculous.

Hopefully, Pearl will be able to learn some more about his team on Friday night when the Vols take on Tusculum. We will see.