[mofome]

I'm trying to tell him, I think your Vols are the real deal.

haha yeah im aware. im just joking a bit. I respect that hoopster knows his ball, i just think he doesn't like how i address some things. im can be a bit more brash in threads about my vols, thats just how i am and how i'll always be. nothing personal. we're going to have a fun run into march.

[imgv94]

Tennessee is far from overrated. They are as dangerous and good as anyone.

Nothing should be taken away from them because of losing by three points on the road at in my opinion the hardest spot to play in the SEC. Was a tough spot for them and they did good.

[Panic]

haha yeah im aware. im just joking a bit. I respect that hoopster knows his ball, i just think he doesn't like how i address some things. im can be a bit more brash in threads about my vols, thats just how i am and how i'll always be. nothing personal. we're going to have a fun run into march.

No problem, man. You know that. Good luck on the run.

[mofome]

No problem, man. You know that. Good luck on the run.

you're one of the best on the forums my friend. i love when you take the time to chime in.

[mofome]

imgv
msg

agreed and agreed. we'll find out soon enough.

[imgv94]

that is pretty childish saying stanford is better then tennessee, now that is a joke.

Yeah that is stretching it. And I'm a Pac-10 guy and I don't even think thats true.

[Panic]

you're one of the best on the forums my friend. i love when you take the time to chime in.

Thank you, Mo.

[5 star bomb]

Tenn and Memphis will both come up short because they cant hit free throws to save their life

[mofome]

right on imgv..

what is up man

and mofo.

how are you doing my man? Vols lost but man they will bounce back dont let these punks ruin a good day for you!

things are great. the vols played hard today and thats all you can hope for. they were playing some 40 hours after beating the #1 team on the road. they got back to campus at 3am on sunday morning and then they had to travel to vandy shortly after. i was impressed with their effort, things just didn't go their way today.

[mofome]

yeah its cool everybody has their own way of adjusting to the emotional and physical up and downs like that. nothing against Tenn there a great team. i didnt see the game was at work 2-10:30 but they are still right up there.

who do you have for tomorrow ? I am just starting to look myself, so goodluck and lets cash in!

havent looked much, ive been kinda sick today and haven't looked over much. just hanging out and watching sc.

let me know when you've got some early leans.

[mofome]

Other than Vanderbilt's hot start from three-point range, the biggest factor in the game were the referees who seemed intent on controlling the proceedings.

All told the game saw both teams whistled for 53 fouls and both sides had their share of gripes. Tennessee was called for 27, Vanderbilt for 26.

It made the game a long, hard slog and had a very clear impact on the way things played out starting from the outset.

Tennessee was whistled for nine fouls in just over 12 minutes of play with the most severe blow coming when Wayne Chism went to the bench with his third foul of the game with 7:40 still left in the first half.

The foul trouble in the post extended well beyond Chism. Duke Crews and Brian Williams both picked up two fouls in the first 10 minutes, prompting Ryan Childress to get on the court for some rare first half action.

Vanderbilt had its own issues, chief among them A.J. Ogilvy joining Chism on the bench after picking up his third at the 6:28 mark.

"I think the foul trouble, with those early fouls, he and Ogilvy kind of cancelled each other out. It turned into a different kind of a game," Pearl said. "There were a lot of fouls, it was hard to get any kind of a rhythm. We couldn't get the tempo up."

And as bad as the first half was in regard to the whistles, the second half appeared to be even worse. Tennessee was on the line shooting 1-and-1 with only 3:57 gone by in the second half and by the nine-minute mark of the second half both teams were in the double bonus.

No matter who you were rooting for, the fouls were excessive, affected the flow of the game and were an example the referees ruling with too strong a hand.

No Excuses

Everyone knew before Tennessee left for Memphis last Friday that going 2-0 on the just completed road trip would be a quite a feat. The loss tonight was hardly the 'upset' some will make it out to be considering both the environment and the opponent.

No one on the Tennessee team was interested in using Saturday's tank-draining effort at Memphis as an excuse for losing at Vandy though.

Pearl saw a much simpler explanation for the loss; namely two players who showed up and didn't get a lot of help.

"We were fine, we were absolutely fine. We had no problem as far as our rest or our preparation. It wasn't a factor," Pearl said emphatically. "Tyler Smith played with such passion and energy, and Chris Lofton played well for us. We play best when everyone contributes and tonight we just didn't get a lot of contributions from a lot of guys we normally do."

But What Is A Problem Is This…

While Pearl didn't have any interest in using physical or mental fatigue as an excuse, he had no problem identifying the area of his team that gave him the most concern leaving Memorial Gymnasium.

"We've got to get better point guard play. I can tell you that. It's difficult from the bench to have to set the table to much. Those guys have got to do a better job of leading the team," Pearl said, mincing few words.

"If I knew (what the problem was) I'd fix it."

Starter Ramar Smith finished the night with eight points, three assist and two turnovers while going just 2-of-5 from the free throw line.

Jordan Howell had another in what has been a string of troubling performances, scoring zero points on 0-of-2 shooting and failing to register a rebound or an assist in the game.

Howell's cold shooting dates back to the Florida game. In the last six games, the senior is 2-of-19 from three-point range.

Eyes on the Prize

After the game the Vols' players were far more upset about the hit they're going to take in the SEC standings as opposed to any fall out in the rankings as a result of the Vandy loss.

Tennessee still controls its own destiny in the SEC, and can clinch an outright title with three more wins, but the Vols weren't pleased with letting this one slip away.

"The whole No. 1 thing was good for the program and it made our school look good but that was never our main focus," Duke Crews said of the situation. "Our main focus has always been to win the SEC championship, so win or lose going into the Memphis game, this one was a bigger game for us. We haven't done it in 41 years so this was the bigger game the whole time."

Techs Are Flying

In addition to calling every touch foul available to them the refs also managed to squeeze off three technical fouls in the game. Kevin Stallings caught one of them from the Vandy bench, Bruce Pearl caught one on his end, and JaJuan Smith was 'Teed' up as well in the second half.

Part of Pearl's 'blow-up' appeared calculated, but the head coach said it was fueled by what he felt was a lack of respect for his team.

"I felt like…Vanderbilt shot more free throws than we did when they came to Thompson-Boling, in a 20-point loss. We're a good basketball team," Pearl said of what he was thinking at the time. "We've beaten Xavier, Mississippi State and Memphis on the road. We've beaten three top-25 teams on the road…I was obviously unhappy."

For his part, Smith said he was stunned when he drew his technical.

"I asked the ref what the call was and he T'd me up. I thought a captain a could do that," Smith said of the offense.

Weathering the Storm

In the Memphis game the Vols watched the opponent start out 7-of-11 from three point range. Tonight Vandy's Shan Foster threatened to match that kind of effort on his own. The senior wing was 4-of-5 from deep in the first half, hit three in a row at one point, and finished 6-of-9 from downtown on his way to a game-high 32.

His early theatrics helped put Tennessee in a 23-9 hole that the Vols were fortunate to dig out of.

"Foster's a great player, great shooter. He's a guy that you have to try and make beat you from two. We didn't do that tonight," Pearl said.

Déjà vu

Not much else about the game was similar but the start to this one played out like the first meeting in Knoxville.

Vanderbilt obviously wanted to go inside tonight, and A.J. Ogilvy obviously wanted to even the score against Wayne Chism after that first match-up went heavily in Chism's favor.

But that early focus got nowhere when Chism stuffed Ogilvy's first shot on the first possession of the game, in nearly mirror image play of what happened to start the game in Knoxville.

Neither player was much of a factor in the game however.

Chism finished with just four points and three rebounds in 23 minutes. Ogilvy matched him with four points and three rebounds in only 12 minutes on the floor.

[BadNina]

Just like the Vols. I want them to win a game and they don't. I'm starting to take it personally.

[jackpot269]

Just like the Vols. I want them to win a game and they don't. I'm starting to take it personally.

Never can trust the vols!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Seer]

things are great. the vols played hard today and thats all you can hope for. they were playing some 40 hours after beating the #1 team on the road. they got back to campus at 3am on sunday morning and then they had to travel to vandy shortly after. i was impressed with their effort, things just didn't go their way today.

Mo I have to admit I saw this coming. As soon as I saw the line come out I knew Vandy would win it. I figured they wouldn't be able to focus and there'd be a let down. Plus, they just looked physically tired too. That is natural for kids that age. I couldn't bring myself to bet against th em though. I expect them to bounce back. I think BP will have his team focused on the stretch run.

[Sportsgirl]

Mo I have to admit I saw this coming. As soon as I saw the line come out I knew Vandy would win it. I figured they wouldn't be able to focus and there'd be a let down. Plus, they just looked physically tired too. That is natural for kids that age. I couldn't bring myself to bet against th em though. I expect them to bounce back. I think BP will have his team focused on the stretch run.

I picked Vandy at the top of page 2 of this thread for the same reasons.

[Willie Bee]

Good thing I've acquired a taste for crow following years of soured predictions. I really thought Tennessee would come out sky high and win it. Pretty good game to watch, would've been even better if there hadn't been all that noise from the other room while my wife watched that American Idol crap

Could be very interesting to see if Vandy and the Vols meet up again in the SEC tourney.

[BadNina]

Never can trust the vols!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ain't that the truth?

[WileOut]

The refs were definately on the Vandy side, no question about it. Thats why at halftime at matchbook in the live market for the game, there was about 70k available for the vols and maybe 1k available to take on Vandy. The sharps were all over Vandy at the half.

To me the Vols lost it because of Lofton trying to force things. They were all over him and he was trying to force it. Also, 2 possessions back to back in the 2nd half they jacked up 3's real early in the possession without good looks. Those were the 2 possessions that did them in IMHO.

If you would have told me that the center for Vandy would have had no impact on the game I would have told you that UT probably won in a blowout because Ogilvy is where Vandy had a big advantage. Weird how things workout sometimes. Foster came out on fire though and the vols never fully recovered from that early run.

[mofome]

the worst thing about all the foul calling was it never gave the vols a chance to run. the game was awful to watch imo, the game had no flow, there were 3 tech, it was slow and everything vandy could have possibly hoped for. how do you get to the line about 30 times without having anyone who could drive to the hoop or a post presence?

[WileOut]

the worst thing about all the foul calling was it never gave the vols a chance to run. the game was awful to watch imo, the game had no flow, there were 3 tech, it was slow and everything vandy could have possibly hoped for. how do you get to the line about 30 times without having anyone who could drive to the hoop or a pot presence?

Toss up as to whether the refs had money on Vandy or not. 50/50 the game was fixed. Just MHO.

[mofome]

Toss up as to whether the refs had money on Vandy or not. 50/50 the game was fixed. Just MHO.

h yeah remember this:

the sideline reporter said that Stallings told his guys in a timeout to "keep fouling" us because it was "working."

vandy was trying to foul, the vols were not, but somehow the fouls ended up even.

[Poker_Beast]

You know there is always a ref somewhere got some cashy cash on these games

Bastards!!!!!

[d ray]

what would you know? have you ever seen pervis ellison play? yeah, thats what i thought.

never nervous