ETSU Review

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stat Line of the Night:

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