Game of the Year!

So here it is. The game of the year. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me welcome you back to Planet Earth because you have been gone all week. Yes, I am talking about the #2 ranked Tennessee Vols playing against the #1 ranked Memphis Tigers. If you have turned on a tv to ESPN or read anything about sports on the web, then you have heard about this game on Saturday. This is more than just a battle for rankings. It's a battle for state supremacy. Only 4 times in college basketball history has the #1 and #2 teams met in a game from the same state, twice in Ohio and twice in North Carolina. While sitting here typing this with ESPN on in the background, I have heard two promos for the game. College Gameday will be live from the FedEx Forum at 11 a.m. eastern. Dick Vitale and Erin Andrews will be there for the game. It's going to be crazy baby!(In my best Dick Vitale voice) Chris Lofton vs Chris Douglas Roberts. Ramar Smith vs Derrick Rose. JaJuan Smith vs Antonio Anderson. Tyler Smith vs Robert Dozier. Wayne Chism vs Joey Dorsey. Bruce Pearl vs John Calipari. Volunteers vs Tigers. I can't wait! And oh yeah, that count just went up to 3 promos.

Checking in...

Hey everyone. I know it's been a while since my last post. Almost a full year actually. Life is going good these days. UT basketball is off to a wonderful start and are having quite possibly their best year ever. They have a big game tomorrow night against an Arkansas team that has started slow but is playing very well lately. The game is in Thompson Boling Arena, however, which has been a great home court advantage over the last year. The Vols are ranked #4 in the nation and are 21-2. Hopefully, after tomorrow night, they will be 22-2!

Really, the biggest thing that is happening right now is wedding planning. For those that don't know, I got engaged on August 30th and am getting married on May 3rd to the most wonderful girl in the world, Emily Dawson. We met at West End Church of Christ back in January of 2007. We began dating in March 07 and the rest is history. I am really excited about spending the rest of my life with her, and can't wait for our lives to begin together!

I'll try to check in more often than I have been. Hope everyone out there is doing great! Go Vols!!

Hows everything going!

It's been a while for Big Bentley. I haven't really been able to post lately. My new job has really kept me busy, and between that and the basketball season, I really didn't have time to keep my blog updated. As it's not going to be like it was before the hiatus, I have come here to offer up some thoughts.

The past couple of months have been rough for the Vols. Chris Lofton was lost for 4 games with an ankle sprain. The Vols faced a tough schedule in that time and went 1-3 in that stretch. Until recently, the Vols have been able to turn things around. They pulled off three straight at home against LSU, Vandy, and UK. One of the highlights of that time was seeing Bernard King back in Knoxville. While I was never able to see Bernard play, as he was before my time, I had heard the stories growing up going to the games. It was such a honor to see Bernard back at Tennessee to have his #53 retired. And it was even more special to have Ernie Grunfeld and Ray Mears there as well. Then, yesterday, the Vols pulled off their first SEC road win of the season against Arkansas, locking up a NCAA Tourney bid. While there is still much work to be done, I don't see the NCAA committee passing on a team that would finish at 8-8 in the SEC at worst, with a top 10 strength of schedule and top 20 RPI.

Now, in comes the Gators. They have lost 2 of their last 3, both on the road. The Vols have yet to lose at home, going 15-0. The game is on Super Tuesday on ESPN, and for the first time since the early 90's, Dick Vitale will be in the house to broadcast the game. Now, as annoying as Vitale can be, he is the poster child for college basketball. Whenever he comes to your arena to call a game, it says that your program has arrived. The students are being allowed to campout starting Monday morning, ensuring that the crowd will be crazy. The game should be sold out by Monday morning. The tip off club is having their season dinner at 6:00 at the Foundry. Woddy Paige is the featured speaker and Bruce Pearl will be there as well. And, I will be attending. Looking forward to it. But the best part of the night that I'm looking forward to is the Senior Night Ceremony. Dane Bradshaw is the lone senior on this team, and will be honored justly. I'll admit that I tend to get teary-eyed at ceremnoies like this. Can't wait. Hope the Vols beat the Gators to high heavens!

Ohio State Preview

Both teams will enter this non-conference game coming off a conference road loss. Ohio State lost at Wisconsin on Tuesday night, while the Vols lost Wednesday night at Vanderbilt. Ohio State enters the game with the same record as the Vols. However, all three losses came away from Columbus and at the number 1, 2, and 3 ranked teams in the country. Everyone has heard of the “Fab Five,” well Ohio State brings their number one ranked recruiting class, aka the “Thad Four,” to Columbus. Greg Oden leads the list of freshman, but he is joined by an impressive class. Mike Conley is their starting point guard and leads them with 6.6 assists per game. Fellow rookie Daequan Cook leads the Buckeyes in scoring while coming off the bench with 14.8 points per game. Last is David Lighty, a small forward that is best driving to the basket. Cook, senior Ivan Harris, and junior Jamar Butler lead the team in three pointers, all shooting over 40% while firing up at least 4 attempts each game. Oden leads the team on the boards, collecting 9.2 a game along with 13.9 points per game.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

So here’s the key to this game. How do you guard Greg Oden? In my opinion you have to limit him. You can’t let him get easy looks around the basket. He takes advantage of his height quite well, but his offensive game isn’t that polished. He has struggled on offense when he has had to create his own shot. Oden excels and crashing the boards and getting rebounds, and he runs the floor well for a player his size. Unless Oden proves me wrong, I would play behind Oden and make him shoot over top. Pearl likes to front the post, but I think this would be a game to not do that. If you front the post, you allow Oden to get position for rebounds, and also possibly easy dunks. Second, you have to keep Ohio State off the offensive glass. This ended up killing the Vols on Wednesday night against Vanderbilt, and it could do so against the Buckeyes as well. If Ohio State is able to dominate the boards, then this game could be ugly.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Ohio State

PG – 6’1” #1 Mike Conley Jr.
SG – 6’2” #14 Jamar Butler
SF – 6’4” #12 Ron Lewis
PF – 6’7” #3 Ivan Harris
C – 7’0” #20 Greg Oden

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

Vanderbilt Review

First, I’m going to start this off by saying that it’s kinda hard to review a game when you don’t get to watch it. I was able to listen on the radio and got a chance to look at the stat sheet following a game, but you really don’t get a good picture of what is happening in a game. That in no way speaks bad of Bert Bertelkamp or Bob Kesling. I think they do the best job they can and are very entertaining to listen too. It’s just hard to get a mental picture listening to anybody on the radio. It’s just an easier game to watch then listen to. With that said, my thoughts on the game…

1) First off, I almost wanted to cry when the game was over. After the come back the team put into the game last night, I really thought they would pull it out. I guess you could say I was just shocked when the game ended. I just sat here in my chair in shock. You can second guess Pearl’s decisions over fouling at the end all day long, but it doesn’t matter to me. If the Vols pull off the win, then Pearl isn’t second guessed.

2) The Vols really struggled rebounding in the second half Wednesday night. Vanderbilt recorded 12 offensive rebounds in the second half, compared to Tennessee’s 10 defensive rebounds. That’s bad. That’s all you can say.

3) On the bright side, Lofton once again had an unbelievable night. He hit a shot right before halftime that was said to be farther out than the Texas shot. Most said at least 35 feet. Unbelievable. Ramar Smith also played great, continuing to improve game by game. Ramar made a CLUTCH three at the end that put the Vols up 3, and then made the pass with under 5 seconds left to Crews off a screen and roll to put the Vols up 1 with 4.7 seconds left.

4) There was some dissention on the bench last night, and while we don’t know all the details, we do know some of the details. Chism was said to storm off the bench last night and into the locker room in the second half. Pearl declined to comment after the game saying he didn’t know anything about it. It was reported by the News-Sentinel that Chism had an asthma attack, but that didn’t sound right. I don’t think someone having an asthma attack would be screaming and yelling. It came out today that someone in the Vandy section behind the UT bench apparently yelled the n word at Chism, which made him react. Can’t really blame the guy for reacting the way he did.

Now, for the Stat Line of the Night...

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..  11-15   6-7    1-2    0  2  2   0  29  1  3  0  3  36

Vanderbilt Preview

Vanderbilt enters their home SEC opener against Tennessee coming off a 68-65 loss at Auburn. The Commodores are 2-2 in their last 4 games after winning 7 straight. Vanderbilt is led by junior Shan Foster who is scoring 15.3 points per game, and is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. The Commodores run a version of the Princeton offense, with lots of fake screens and backcuts to the basket. This could be difficult for the Vols freshman as they have not faced anything like this yet. Couple in with the fact that Vanderbilt makes the second most threes in the league, and you can’t sag off your defender to help out in the post. Four of Vandy’s five starters are capable of shooting the ball from behind the arc, which limits their rebounding. The Commodores are last in the SEC in offensive rebounds with less than 10 a game.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

If you are a fan of the 3 point shot, this game is definitely for you. If you like block shots, then don’t watch this one. Both teams are 1-2 in the SEC in 3 pointers made and dead last in blocks per game. Tennessee will have it’s hands full in trying to stop Shan Foster and his 3 point shooting teammates. As I stated above, four of their five starters shoot the three well, all over 35% for the season. Both teams lead the SEC in turnover margin as well, meaning either they don’t turn it over (Vandy) or force a lot of turnovers (Tennessee). This will be the first SEC road game for Tennessee’s four freshman, and I don’t know if there is any place worst to start your SEC road career. Memorial is definitely a different place to play, and couple that with the difficulty you can have guarding Vandy’s offense, it could spell trouble for the Vols. One key for the Vols may be the offensive glass. Tennessee is leading the SEC with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game. If the Vols can crash the boards hard, they may be able to take advantage of a Vanderbilt interior that isn’t that good.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Vanderbilt

PG – 5’11” #3 Alex Gordon
SG – 6’5” #20 Dan Cage
SF – 6’7” #4 Derrick Byars
PF – 6’6” #32 Shan Foster
C – 6’9” #41 Ross Neltner

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

Mississippi State Review

The Vols faced off against a tough Mississippi State Bulldogs team on Sunday afternoon and were able to come out of the game with their first SEC win of the season. It’s always going to be a different type of game for freshman, and I think Tennessee’s freshman were up for the task tonight. It’s usually tougher for the freshman post players to adapt to SEC play since they are going up against a ton of good post players, and tonight was a perfect example. Both Crews and Chism were exposed to the SEC and both came away improved. Both faced off against Charles Rhodes and were introduced to the physical play of the SEC. Couple that with the fact the Jamont Gordon was living inside the paint tonight, and there was a lot of big plays being made in the paint. My thoughts from the game…

1) Chris Lofton had an off night, kind of disappearing into the game, but still scoring 21 points. It’s amazing that the guy can have a quiet game, yet still score 21 points. It was a good sign that the Vols were able to play well on a night that Lofton couldn’t hit a field goal.

2) Ramar Smith continues to improve each game. I told people at the beginning of the season that he would be really good, and some still didn’t agree with me after the Memphis game (cough..cough..Cody..cough..cough). Well after his last couple of games, let me officially announce that Smith has arrived. Ramar finished with 13 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 HUGE blocks, and 1 turnover. How is that line for your point guard?

3) I really thought the refs were awful tonight. Real big surprise I know. And they were bad for both teams. They seemed to be biased in spurts, especially in the second half. The first half of the second half was definitely in favor of Mississippi State. They were getting away with all kinds of stuff and were going all over the back all day. Then the last half of the second half was in favor of UT. Stuff like that just really ticks me off. Call the game even and not in spurts. More reasons to hate SEC officials.

4) I am becoming really worried about our depth. It’s not really an issue right now, but could become one as the season progresses with the style of game Tennessee plays. The Vols had four starters play over 30 minutes, and with two of those being freshman, that’s not good news. Tennessee desperately needs a ninth player to step up (uhem..Tony Passley..uhem) and provide some quality minutes until Jordan Howell returns.

And now for everyone’s, and by everyone I mean all three readers, favorite part of the review, the Stat Line of the Night. Now, I always give the stat line to the Vols, and will this game, but I got to give some props to Jamont Gordon who had 25 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals in 35 minutes. Now onto the Vols. And it shouldn’t be a surprise after the way he played today, and with his first Stat Line of the Night….

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
Smith,Ramar ...  5-10   1-2    2-3    3  3  6   1  13  7  1  2  1  33

Mississippi State Preview

Mississippi State enters the game against Tennessee coming off a 83-75 loss at Missouri. The Bulldogs are 9-4 and ranked 84^th in the College RPI. According to the RPI, they are 0-3 against the Top 50, with those losses coming to Clemson (14), Missouri (27), and Winthrop (44), while 8 of the Bulldog’s 9 wins have come against teams ranked 101 of lower. That doesn’t bode well going against a Tennessee team on the road ranked 16^th in the RPI. The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Jamont Gordon with his 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game which all rank in the top 10 in their respective categories within the SEC. Helping out Gordon on the perimeter is super freshman Barry Stewart and Ben Hansbrough. Stewart is second in the SEC among freshman with 11.6 points coming off the bench for the Bulldogs while Hansbrough is averaging 8.2 points and 4.1 assists in 27 minutes per game. Down low, the Bulldogs employ 6’9” freshman Jarvis Varnado. Varnado is averaging 7.2 points and 6 rebounds per game. Varnado is joined by Vernon Goodridge and Charles Rhodes down low. Rhodes was the starter earlier in the season until he sprained his wrist against Charlotte on November 29^th.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This will be a coming home of sorts for the Bulldogs as 4 of their starters reign from the state of Tennessee. Also, this will be the second time this year that the Vols will be facing a Hansbrough. This time, however, it will come in the form of 6’3” younger brother Ben Hansbrough. The Bulldogs will match up quite well with the Vols height wise until they bring in Rhodes or Goodridge. The starting lineup consists of 4 guards just like the Vols and will setup an interesting matchup between Jamont Gordon and Dane Bradshaw. The bigger question will be, as it will be for all Tennessee opponents this season, how do you limit Chris Lofton? Many SEC teams will be finding out soon how much Lofton has improved. Last season, if you shut down Lofton from 3, he seemed to disappear. You do that this year and he will drive right around you. Lofton is averaging 1.8 more 2 point field goals per game than last year to go along with 2.7 more free throw attempts. This game will be a great preview of whats to come in the SEC with two young teams that are full of talent. The Vols will focus on shutting down Gordon and Stewart and will be trying to force the tempo and create turnovers against the young Bulldogs.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Mississippi State

PG – 6’3” #11 Ben Hansbrough
SG – 6’4” #24 Reginald Delk
SF – 6’4” #1 Richard Delk
PF – 6’4” #44 Jamont Gordon
C – 6’9” # Jarvis Varnado

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

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

ETSU Preview

ETSU enters their game against Tennessee at 8-5, having won 6 of their last 7. Their only loss in their last 7 games came at Vanderbilt, with a score of 104-62. The Buccaneers are led by sophomore Courtney Pigram’s 16 points a game. Pigram is averaging 2.6 steals per game, while turning the ball over 3.8 times per game. He is shooting 36% from behind the arc, while firing up twice as many 3’s as anybody else on the team. The Bucs are led down low by Center Brad Nuckles who is averaging 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds. Both Nuckles and Pigram are the only two players for the Bucs who average over 31 minutes per game. The Bucs have played 7 players for every game this season, with 9 players averaging over 10 minutes a game.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

This game will be a nice showdown between two players that love to shoot the three. Both Courtney Pigram and Chris Lofton have shot over 100 3’s on the season which puts them with an average right around 8 three point attempts per game. One of the things that could come back to haunt the Buccaneers is their rebounding. The Bucs are getting out rebounded by an average of 2 rebounds per game, and are giving up 15 offensive rebounds per game. The Vols are averaging picking up 15 offensive rebounds per game. Those that have watched the Vols know that that is one of the strengths of the team this year. That could be bad news for the Bucs. If the Vols are able to get their missed shots and get put backs, this game could get ugly like their game against Vandy did.

Projected Starting Lineups:

ETSU

PG – 6’2” # 23 Tayloe Taylor
SG – 6’0” #3 Courtney Pigram
SF – 6’6” #20 Eryk Thomas
PF – 6’8” #35 Andrew Reed
C – 6’9” #51 Brad Nuckles

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