Tennessee's players left Stegeman Coliseum with smiles on their faces Saturday, getting their final moments of joy from an 86-77 victory over Georgia.
So how soon do the Vols (10-4, 1-0 SEC) start thinking about Tuesday night's sold-out men's basketball showdown for early-season SEC East supremacy with Kentucky (12-4, 1-0) at Thompson-Boling Arena?
"Right now,'' said Tyler Smith, who played 34 minutes despite suffering a deep bone bruise on his left knee in the Wednesday night loss to Gonzaga. "It's the Wildcats, and we've got to gameplan for some great players - (Patrick) Patterson and (Jodie) Meeks.''
And what about Perry Stevenson, the Wildcat who emerged from relative anonymity to become the Kryptonite to Smith's Superman act last season?
"I know exactly who he is,'' Smith said. "He played some great 'D' on me last year, and I didn't get off to a good start against that guy in either game.
"But that was last year, and this is a different team.''
That may or may not be good news.
This season's Vols are more athletic and better off the boards. But the pressing and trapping defenses that were once a staple under coach Bruce Pearl have not been deployed as often this season.
Ailing Prince: At his best, J.P. Prince is a high-flying playmaker. But nagging ankle injuries and sore shoulders have all but grounded Prince of late.
Prince had 10 points, but no rebounds and just one assist in the win over Georgia.
"J.P. Prince continues to play, but his shoulders are sore, and his ankles aren't 100 percent,'' Pearl said. "It's difficult to watch him play. J.P. is not nearly at 100 percent, and I don't know if we'll get him back to that, because he needs training.''
Feeling Groovy: Junior point guard Bobby Maze said the uplifting feeling a win brings is important to future success.
"We're happy, we feel good about ourselves, and a lot of basketball is about confidence,'' Maze said. "We can feed off each other.''
Maze said the loss UT suffered to Gonzaga was one of the most difficult he has endured.
"We didn't wanna feel like we did after that game,'' Maze said. "I was nearly in tears. I couldn't even eat after that game.
"I'll always be remembered as one of the guys that lost that (37-game) homecourt win streak, and that streak meant a lot to me.''
Georgia On Their Minds: The Georgia game meant a lot to Cameron Tatum, as he wasn't recruited by the Bulldogs.
Tatum scored 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting and pulled down six rebounds. But Tatum was only 1-for-10 beyond the 3-point arc.
"Cam was 1-for-10, but he made the big one (that tied the game at 71-71),'' Pearl said. "Every one of his shots looked good, and every one was a quality shot.''
Pearl mentioned how Georgia didn't recruit Tatum, who is originally from Lithonia, Ga., before coming to UT via Patterson Prep School in North Carolina.
Pearl also said the Bulldogs have a handful of players that he tried to recruit: Jeremy Price, Chris Barnes, Travis Leslie and Trey Thompkins.
MVPs: While Pearl appreciated Tatum's efforts, the play of Smith and Maze spoke for itself in his opinion.
"If Tyler's not the best player in the SEC, he's the most competitive,'' Pearl said. "Bobby stepped up big-time. (Asssistant coach Steve) Forbes and Bobby had a man-to-man talk at the half, and Bobby responded to the challenge."
Maze scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and his lock-down defense was the difference down the stretch.
Forbes, who is noted for his ability to coach defense, explained why.
"It's been frustrating, because it's not like we're not capable,'' Forbes said. "You'll notice it seems teams shoot poor in the first half against us (when the Vols are playing defense in front of their bench) but good in the second half.
"Defense is about being in the right place at the right time.''
Forbes used football as an example, particularly the offensive line.
"You can have four guys in the right position, but if one isn't, there's the breakdown,'' Forbes said. "Instead of a sack, it's a layup.
"It starts with Bobby at the top, because if he's locking down his guy, they can't penetrate and dish, and our wings don't have to come off their guys to help.''
Forbes said the Vols' defense in the post has been solid.
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Comments » 35
CoverOrange writes:
Cameron may be missing from outside but I like that he is finally driving to the hoop. He is not one dimensional.
Why did it take 14 games for Forbes to say something to Maze. I agreed with Bilas last Saturday, we won because Bobby stepped up.
Waldorf writes:
Savor a win?
Over Georgia?
You "savor" wins over top-notch teams, not wins over SEC perennial bottom-feeders. You "expect" to win games like this and move on to the next one in stride.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Agree. This will be a very hard game to win.
VOL_FREAK_91 writes:
It was good to see Cam start to drive to the goal as well as Hopson. Hopson is much to good off the dribble not to try driving to the hoop. I have a feeling he is fixing to grow up in a hurry and I expect a big game from him against KY.
dirtdobber1 writes:
agree. This will be tough game for UK to win.
UT- 93
UK- 50
volcycle writes:
This was Georgia at home. Did you forget what Georgia did in the SEC tourney last year?
bhjohnso#207063 writes:
I doubt they're "savoring" it, but road wins haven't always been easy for the best teams the SEC has seen, and you'll take them when you get them. Mostly I think these guys just needed a win to ease the confidence crisis a bit, and maybe an effort like Tyler's will get some of the youngsters seeing what it takes.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Guess you haven't seen much of this team yet. With all its obvious weaknesses, ANY win is to be savored, but ESPECIALLY a road win against a division opponent. This team can't take anyone for granted. I'm pretty sure UNC "expected" to beat Boston College at home; if so, they were sorely disappointed. UNC is WAY better than we are and BC isn't a WHOLE lot better than UGA. Bottom line: NO ONE can take wins for granted!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Vandy isn't "terrible"! They were picked to win the SEC in pre-season! They are WAY more experienced than our Baby Vols and they were playing on their stupid home court. I agree that the Vols should have put UGA away in the first half, but they pulled it together when they had to, and maybe they learned something about themselves in the process that will help them later in the season. If by "not going well" you mean we won't win championships, you may be right, but if that was what you were EXPECTING, you were drowning in orange kool-aid!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
It would be a LOT of fun if the Vols win(;-D)!
dwa7#337691 writes:
prediction
UT 80
Mildcats 76
in a close one...................WHEW!!!!!
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
you know the perennial bottom-feeder won the conference last year and we didnt and they showed quite well in the tourney---before slamming other programs consider that before BP arrived ours was certainly was no more lofty than theirs------all road wins should be appreciated
Waldorf writes:
UGA caught fire for 4 days last spring, and while it is commendable, it does NOT negate their standing in the conference for the remainder of this decade.
As for the raminder of this....
Hence the big problem - this is NOT the same program that it was when Bruce Pearl arrived. People need to realize that it isn't Wade Houston, Kevin O'Neill, Jerry Green, or Buzz Peterson coaching this team. We have turned the page.
Open your eyes people, as it currently (not historically) sits, we're one of the top 2 programs in the conference and we should act like it as a team and as fans. I get sick and tired of any time a fan wants to go farther and says it that he gets ridiculed about where we sat from 90-04.
It's NOT the same program as then and our standards should increase as well. Sorry, but struggling at home or on the road with UGA doesn't cut it for me.
Let me really blow your minds - I EXPECT to beat the Cats tomorrow night and will be quite upset if we don't. Why? Because right now we've got a better thing going than them and are the better team.
Waldorf writes:
In addition to that, I know he never would, but I would absolutely love if Pearl would come out and say -
"With all due respect to the history of Kentucky basketball, currently we are better program than Kentucky and this is a game that we should win and I expect us to win."
overatedvols writes:
Over the weekend Memphis won a hard fought battle against UCF(univ. of central florida)in a hostile environment to move to 11-3 for the season. The 10-4 UCF team was NBA caliber and so it was a quality win on the road. Memphis is now 1-0 in conference play and won their 44th straight conference game.
In the meantime, the vols struggled against a cupcake caliber team, Georgia. I turned the game on and in the first 4 mins I couldn't believe how bad Ga. was. I turned back over at halftime and it was close..unbelievable. I turned back over midway thru the second half and Ga. had a decent lead. Amazingly the vols pulled it out. I'm not sure you guys would survive in cusa.
As far as the Kentucky game. I'll pick Kentucky in a blowout. After all the vols are playing on the road.
Tigers next game, tommorrow night 6:30pm cst, on the road against mighty Tulsa in another big conference game.
Only 12 days till the beatdown at TBA.
overatedvols writes:
Correction, the game is in Knoxville. I'll have to change my predictions of a Kentucky blowout. Kentucky by 10.
murrayvol writes:
We'd better beat em now because they're going to get better with age.
murrayvol writes:
The crack of dawn.
murrayvol writes:
"NBA" caliber overinflated? I seriously doubt that.
TheTrueTO1731 writes:
NBA caliber? Could you please elaborate on this considering UCF does not have one NBA prospect on their team. And seriously, your bragging about beating UCF? The C-USA powerhouse (you know the conf. we couldn't survive in)has played two SEC teams and got drilled both times. (Lost to Ole Miss by 32 and Florida by 27). Have fun playing against Tulsa, I'm sure they're "NBA caliber" as well.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I admire your optimism. I hope the players and coaches FEEL that way, but, as you say, CBP would be nuts to say something like that in public. Besides, I just don't see how you can say that we are either a better program or a better team right now. We don't have anyone better than Patterson or Meeks at their positions and Stephenson is a major presence defensively on the inside. True, they PROBABLY don't have anyone comparable to Tyler, but we need a BIG game from Wayne, B.Maze, and at least one of the wing-men to take the pressure off him inside. I give UT a SLIGHT edge based on the home-court advantage and my own optimism, but actually winning will take 40 minutes of a caliber of play that we have so far only seen in stretches this season.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
Thanks for the link; good read indeed! Like you and the rest on here, I'm REALLY looking forward to this game. Time for the team to step up BIG time, because nothing else will bring us this win. GO BASKETVOLS!!!
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I REALLY hope you are right; from what I have seen of them, PG seems to be their only weakness. We will need every edge we can get. I just wish I could be there. The ones who are there need to be a real "sixth man" Tuesday. No more Thompson-Boling Mausoleum! GO BASKETVOLS!!!
overatedvols writes:
Brownie, Tigers aren't looking that bad honestly. They've still got problems but they are shooting better and playing together much better. Refs didn't get em back in that game, they just turned it up a notch toward the end of the game to win it. I'm surprised they didn't break back into the top 25.
Next Fri. night. I can't say we'll break that long winning streak now. Gonzaga spoiled that, but the win will be nice.
I'm sure the crowd will be as rowdy and loud as it's ever been. Vol fans better hope you pull it out because it's been your only bragging rights. Memphis is tops in all the other things but vol fans have been able to say we beat you the last 2 times. If you lose this even that line will be gone. It will be 2-2 over the last 4 years and should be 3-1. Unbelievable how bad the Tigers screwed that game up last year. I'm thinking it's the vols turn to screw it up this year.
john#208876 writes:
Jeff Goodman from FoxSports.com wrote "Tennessee is soft like butter. The Vols don't have that toughness that Bruce Pearl's teams have been known for in the past. They look tough and physically intimidating in the layup line, but appear to have no interest in banging on either end of the floor. Unless they start guarding opponents, they'll be a quick out in the postseason." I hope he's wrong but thats pretty much what I see. We were obviously going to miss Chris and JaJuan this year but we miss Ramar and Duke more than I expected.
overatedvols writes:
Tulsa is 11-5 and has beaten Okl., Okl St., Texas A&M, Illinois and BYU. Good tune up for the vols game.
trollhunter writes:
I am now looking forward for the bounty placed on your head by the judge after he is through with you.
trollhunter writes:
What you are observing on the board now is a blatant example of treason on this board.
sayhitomaggie writes:
Wow that article hit it dead on. A few years ago, (when this rivalry was at the peak of its loppsidded-ness) I had always wondered what the deal was with the Tennessee-Kentucky football game as to why it "excited" people. Then I was fully introduced to UT basketball and I completely understod. Haha.
I admit to being one of the new fans with the Pearl era (although being a student here excuses me a bit) because I can remember when I was in middle and high school UT Chattanooga was in the tournement more often than Tennessee. Thankfully, things have changed.
This will be a close game and I know one thing, I definitely need to show up about 2 hours before the game starts to ensure a decent seat in the student section.
Here's to starting off the Vols new home winning streak with a bang!
overatedvols writes:
Actually you are right Brownie, they did lose to all of those except A&M. I looked at it wrong. Oh well, not much of a tuneup then. All those teams are trying really hard to beat us though. 44 games straight is ridiculous.
Things going well over at the institution trollhunter. I hear they gave everybody a new strait jacket for Christmas.
Tell cousin Rob I said hello. I'm sure he's over there with you.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I'm somewhat less concerned about Wayne guarding Patterson--IF he can avoid early silly fouls--than I am about Wayne having to LEAVE Patterson to cover up for perimeter players getting beat on drives by UK's guards. So far, it has been mostly on the help defense that Wayne has appeared lost; he does a pretty good job head-to-head IF--a real BIG IF--he can stay out of foul trouble.
yabadabadoo1026 writes:
Pearl himself said there are 3 or 4 Ga players that he too recruited and wanted so to suggest they accept lesser talent than we would just is not right---now i will admit there is more to it than just talent but because we play in front of 20000 and UGA draws just 9000 against us does not reflect on the ablity and potential of that team but just on the enthusiasm about BB at GA where FB is king as it was here before the slide----last year and this Ga has kicked off the team 3 or 4 starting types and the "perennial bottom feeder" would have ruled the conference last year otherwise--------most of us feel with a young team any road win should be appreciated as ugly as some may be
TheTrueTO1731 writes:
Last I checked UT had the same amount of nccaa basketball championships as tiger high. And no I don't care about how many times you finished the season in eighth place.
trollhunter writes:
Preparaing your execution date, you tratiorious BOS!
trollhunter writes:
Hey pother tucker,
My army also went by your part of town and blew some of your brothers out of existence. So why don't you go back to that underground tigger troll website before I send my army to eradicate it as well. Don't worry, your leader won't be coming back because it will be me that will make sure he doesn't.
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