Posted by Volker on December 22, 2007 at 4:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What an amazing game. The last two and a half minutes was the best basketball one could hope to see. What a run to win the game in hostile territory. Way to win despite the officials. What a poorly, lopsided officiated game.

Posted by bshell12 on December 22, 2007 at 4:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

good win, J.P way to play. JaJaun and Lofton where were they in the second half, neither played like we will need them to. Credit Chism for big rebounds and Ramar for amazing hustle and Tyler is just plain steady.

Posted by bricker865 on December 22, 2007 at 4:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Volker..you beat me to it. One of the worst officiated games I've seen in a long time, involving UT anyway. If you can beat a good solid team and the arena and the officials you have a good team.

Posted by chrisw2967 on December 22, 2007 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I have got a question here. Maybe the reason Lofton cant get going is because oh his minutes? hes only getting like 4 or 5 minutes at a time and he is out for 4 or 5 minutes.
Its hard for anybody to get in any kind of rhythm like that.
It was a great game , I think Tenn got hammered alot with the calls.

Posted by bshell12 on December 22, 2007 at 4:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

chrisw....thats i good point for sure.... but i have noticed that if bruce notices a player on a role he will leave them in there but that could definitely affect Lofton's rhythm

Posted by Kwitcherbellyachin on December 22, 2007 at 4:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Now that was an outstanding game. I would question some of the shots that were taken, but the effort, especially at the end, was stellar. Ramar Smith was terrific in transition, and that floor dive was tremendous. Tyler Smith showed up at the end on almost every play. And J.P. Prince... wow.

I have a huge issue with that stupid coaches' box rule. I didn't like the technical on Xavier's coach, and I sure didn't like the one on Coach Pearl. All he was trying to do was get his players in their defensive stance. How ridiculous is that rule?

Posted by RockyTopRK on December 22, 2007 at 4:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

One of the best games I have seen in years. It's hard to beat a top 25 team at home and the refs as well! We have great depth and a terrific team, however, I'm worried about defense on the inside when we play a team with a big inside attack.

Posted by Kwitcherbellyachin on December 22, 2007 at 4:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I didn't think Lofton played all that poorly, because he drew a LOT of attention and that opened up other players (recall the Chism pick and roll dunk, for example). Lofton's value is going to be as much for the rotation of defenders that shade toward him as it is his deadly three point shot. Even though he only had 9 points, he didn't need to be a prolific scorer to contribute to this win.

Posted by seaplane on December 22, 2007 at 4:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

There should only be two referees officiating the game. With three they have to jusify themselves being there and they call to many fouls. Let um play.

Posted by jevolball7 on December 22, 2007 at 4:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm new on this site.But officiating sucked! Without foul shots it wouldn't have been close.

Posted by Plasticman on December 22, 2007 at 4:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Great win against a team that had won 14 games in a row at home and over 90% of their games against non-conference opponents in their gym. JP Prince is IMPRESSIVE. I don't think he is even 100% healthy yet. He fits Pearl's system to a "T". With that said, this team still worries me with some of their poor shot selection (jacking up questionable 3's) and their lack of rebounding. Chrisw makes a good point regarding Lofton as he seems to have trouble getting into a rythym. How about setting a few more screens for him to get him open??? Great hustle by Ramar,Lofton, JuJuan in the last 2 minutes, THey were determined not to lose this game. I still think this team has the potential to play with the best teams in the country, with POTENTIAL, being the key word. It would be nice to get Crews back. Childress tries hard but gets out physicaled against many players he has to guard. Great win and I can't wait until we play the Zag's next Sat.

Posted by grvol on December 22, 2007 at 4:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Had to beat the damn refs too. Awesome intensity by coaches and players. Hope the FB team (what's left of it) watched.

Posted by dogboy on December 22, 2007 at 5 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Way to go guys!!! Enjoy the holidays, you have certainly earned it.

Go Big Orange

Posted by ONUV on December 22, 2007 at 5:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

i love this team!

outermonvolia.com

Posted by GerryOP on December 22, 2007 at 5:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Great, wonderful, fabulous! We got to see a Tennessee team beat a ranked opponent on national TV! A really great win! Should set the stage nicely for next weekend.

Posted by chrisw2967 on December 22, 2007 at 5:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

oh one more thing JuJuan needs to remember he is not Magic Johnson , that pass behind the back was pahetic and it was in a critical situation we were only up by 2 at that time and that could of really cost them. He is the type of player that makes alot of pressure shots and alot of stupid mistakes in pressure situations also.
Im not bashing no player , so lets not get carried away.

Posted by BluetickBlues on December 22, 2007 at 5:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

No wonder Xavier had a 14 game home winning streak with officiating like that. Great game to watch, thanks for the early Christmas present Vol ballers.

Posted by johnlg00 on December 22, 2007 at 5:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ditto all comments about the sorry officiating! Chris got hammered to the floor on a couple of drives with no call, yet seemingly every touch, real or imagined, by a Vol was a foul. I have been as hard on Ramar and Wayne as anyone this year, but they both came up BIG in crunch time. We don't win this game without a couple of big late rebounds in traffic by Chism and the unbelievable hustle steals by Ramar. JP was awesome in the first half but didn't seem to be looking for his offense in the second. Tyler wasn't looking for his shot either, but he too had a couple of big plays at the end. The last three minutes of that game showed me as much heart as any UT team ever has. Total team win!

Posted by Ironcity on December 22, 2007 at 5:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I usually don't complain about the refs but these guys were beyond bad. Great job by the team and the coach for maintaining there composure and putting the game away at the end. I felt bad for Williams, he couldn't look at a player in blue without getting called for a foul. Not sure how you can keep Prince out of the starting lineup. I was also excited to see Ramar and Chism play agressive down the stretch. Poor Howell he got abused all day by Lavender. I think he will be better off the bench for us then as a starter.

Posted by grvol on December 22, 2007 at 5:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Awesome.

Posted by fundamentals83 on December 22, 2007 at 5:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Chism and Tyler stepped up on rebounds late. Man they can jump. This team is going to embarrass some opponents this year.

Posted by madisonvillevol on December 22, 2007 at 5:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

good to beat a good team and the refs too!

Posted by Kwitcherbellyachin on December 22, 2007 at 5:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I believe that if Ramar finds his groove, Jordan won't be the starter. But as long as Ramar is a liability (like he has been for most of the season), Jordan will be in there for more minutes. That said, if Ramar plays like he played today, he'll be the starter without question.

Posted by johnlg00 on December 22, 2007 at 5:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Nobody can stay with Lavender one-on-one. Howell had a big 3-pointer and two clutch free throws late, so I can forgive him for not covering "the waterbug" in the open floor. He has to get minutes even if he doesn't start. I would like to see Prince at point some, but only if it didn't hurt the rest of his offensive game. I agree with you, Ironcity, that Williams was arguably the Vol worst-abused by the refs. At least two of his rebound fouls were incidental contact at most. He also got robbed on a clean block.

Posted by creepykev on December 22, 2007 at 5:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Really good game throughout.

Posted by DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu on December 22, 2007 at 5:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Great heart, pure talent, and fresh legs (depth) won this one for us.

We got blown away again on the boards, though. Just wait until we learn to rebound.

Wayne Chism, who plays the 4 at 6'9" and 242 lbs., needs to stay inside the arc and stop this nonsense of drifting out away from the meat and launching 3s.

Our 4 player only got four rebounds. FOUR from our power forward.

WAYNE WE NEED YOU INSIDE POUNDING THE GLASS. WE NEED AT LEAST 10 BOARDS A GAME FROM YOU.

Posted by creepykev on December 22, 2007 at 5:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The SEC seems really weak this year, we could really clean house. As I'm writing this I'm watching Florida, Ohio State. We can beat both those teams.

Posted by POWER_T on December 22, 2007 at 5:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Great conditioning. Xavier looked exhausted down the stretch.

Posted by marc_ash on December 22, 2007 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I wouldn't go so far as to say outstanding game. I will say outstanding finish. Tennessee played extremely poorly on the glass on both ends, specifically the defensive end. Fundamentals were very poor with many of the Vols releasing extremely early instead of crashing. While that is the mentality of a trapping/running team, the Vols didn't seem to box out well at all until the last minute of the game.

It was good to see free throws becoming more consistent. To compete with Xavier who shot the lights out from the stripe, the Vols did a good job hitting theirs.

I particularly enjoyed how the Vols were able to stay composed. You could see the confidence in their eyes like they knew they were going to win. All players played a solid game for the most part and played SMART basketball (with the exception of that behind the back garbage by JuJuan).

Overall a GREAT effort by the Vols. They played through some tough calls in a hostile environment. A good win gearing up for the Zags.

Posted by stroker on December 22, 2007 at 6:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We have a coach who can get more than most from his athletes.

Posted by tenndave on December 22, 2007 at 6:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Anyone know what the latest on Crews is. Is his condition treatable? Can he or will he return to play anytime soon?

Posted by jawbreaker on December 22, 2007 at 6:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

marc_ash, agree on the great finish comment, and this team did play with great effort overall. stroker, good observation about Coach Pearl, but I would commend all of the coaches for having the team ready to play in such a hostile environment. It was great to get to actually see a game on ESPN, instead of missing it on SportSouth or ESPNU. creepykev, watch out for Vanderbilt--that big Australian freshman is the real deal.

Posted by 02champs on December 22, 2007 at 6:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Lofton is in a world of his own. Pearl knows this and is done trying to predict when he comes out of his funk. His game is 100% above his shoulders and invariably improves as the season goes on. As Pearl said, Ramar steps up when the competition is at it's best. JP has added a new twist as has Tyler's game. I actually think we'll play better against a BIG team as proved by our games against OSU last year. Merry Christmas to the Vols and to all of you. 8-)

Posted by eduardo on December 22, 2007 at 7:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That was the worst officiated game i've seen. I seen UT go to Rupp and get jobbed, but those guys were so pro Xavier it wasn't even funny. After UT scored a basket, there should have been a five sec call, but Xavier got bailed on a timeout call. After coming back from the timeout you cannot run the baseline, they did. Nothing called, that's whenI lost it.Terrible officiating, but the Vols found a way to win. Sometimes you have to dig deep to take it away!

Posted by vol52 on December 22, 2007 at 7:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Go VOLS! Take it one game at a time.

Posted by pjhaddix on December 22, 2007 at 8:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Well, all I know is that this game was a blast to watch, and a great pick-me-up after the horrible football week we've had.

Posted by james on December 22, 2007 at 8:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

eduardo-You can still run the baseline after the time out. I agree that it should have been a 5 second call. Every time Xavier took a poor shot, the ref's would bail them out with a foul. To even the game, they called silly outside type fouls against Xavier. Fouls that make the total look even but do little else. Nice win. I hope Xavier has to come to Tennessee next year.

Posted by tigervol9802 on December 22, 2007 at 8:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Nice win. Always good when you win a 5-on-8 game.

Nicest part was seeing Chism and Ramar play well. Easily Ramar's best game of the year. Hope he keeps it up.

Posted by Volsrule92 on December 22, 2007 at 8:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

the backwards alley-oop was amazing!

Posted by chefjorge on December 22, 2007 at 8:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Praise to all of you for not making this a forum for the oc job. Didn't see it heard the end. Absolutely wonderful win. Would go see them in Seattle against the Zags, but in here in Nashville for the holidays. Bummer. Agree with the slam on Bert and the "money" calls. I live in Seattle and while their football is bad and their basketball is okay, but their play by play guy is John Ward-like and the color guys are just killer. Wonderful insight and not just banal drivel.

Posted by TurboFan on December 22, 2007 at 8:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Was at the game in person. Some observations: Several empty seats scattered around the arena, one right next to me. BP's technical was for half his foot over the line, fun to watch his theatrics though. Rebounding is about positioning and Marc was right about orange jerseys breaking down court as soon as the ball leaves fingertips or standing under the basket on trey shots that rebound 8 feet out, are they so worried about getting beat on fast breaks? Cintas center is LOUD for almost 10,000. They serve beer at a private Catholic school arena and have only a few urinals, dumb design. Too far away to comment on officiating but Tennessee slaps at more balls for steals than any team I've seen, thus more fouls. Last thing: FREE PARKING!!!!

Posted by Plasticman on December 22, 2007 at 9:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Watching the game on TV and the camera panned the crowd with some TN fans in it. It looked like they were drinking out of cans and my wife said" They serve beer there..?" I said I guess they do and she said "if there's beer, you know UT fans will find it". As for Bert , I think he does a great job as color commentator for the games. He is insightful and knows the game as well as anybody. THis team is fun to watch, the alley oop behind the head dunk to Prince was fantastic and surely will be on ESPN's Top 10 plays of the day.

Posted by Hunter on December 22, 2007 at 10:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How does BP get these guys to take better shots? I know he doesn't want to hinder their aggressiveness offensively, but we have to take better shots. No reason for Chism to shoot a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left on the shot clock unless there is no one within 10 feet of him.

That said, these Vols looked much better from start to finish today. They took Xavier's best shot and came away with a road "W." This win will look good in March, but not as good as Gonzaga, Ohio State, and Memphis. We need at least two of those three......

Posted by FatherVol on December 22, 2007 at 10:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

WD40 -- We Catholics enjoy a good time, especially beer in moderation. Hope you got one, although the lack of urinals may have posed a problem for you later.

Hunter -- I was at the Memphis-G'town game. We have a long way to go before we can even begin dreaming about beating Memphis. I went to the game thinking their weaknesses would be exposed, but when they put it in gear in the 2nd half they were the best team in the country. FedEx Forum will be a very hostile place to play in February. The crowd hates orange.

I had to leave the television just as the T was called on Pearl. Saturday afternoon confessions, you know. I prayed very hard in the box but figured we had lost the game based on the way we had been playing up to the 4:30 point. I only learned of the win from some Memphis fans as they came out of church after the 4 p.m. Mass. The efficaciousness of prayer!

Posted by budrhon on December 22, 2007 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

What and outstanding effort today by the Vols. JP, you're the Man. Xavier had no answer what so ever. In fact I bet he wasn't even thought of on their scouting report. Great effort all around. Chism stepped up big time in the middle. Tyler and Ramar showed tremendous competiveness. Lofton indeed drew a lot of defense attention which really enabled Prince and others to exploit Xavier. Also, this was by far the most horrible officiating I've seen in a while. I hope none of those guys are officiating anything when March rolls round.

Posted by snowvol on December 22, 2007 at 11:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

When you consider we won on a court not many teams win on and then throw in the fact we still aren't hitting on all cylinders . . . the upside for this team is incredible.

Posted by wisonsinvol on December 22, 2007 at 11:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The Dive was the turning point of the game. I love that about this team. Ramar sliding under the Xavier player and finding a teammate. Awesome. I hope BP files a report on these refs. That was the mostlopsided calls I've seen in a long time. It appeared they missed 3 five second calls in the final 8 minutes or so - called a travel on Chism when he went to the ground to get a loose ball and a total BS call on Pearl

Posted by cphil on December 22, 2007 at 11:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How often have we all complained about the officials when calls don't go our way? BUT, this truly was VERY lopsided officiating. For some reason, it seems to me that UT has been on the short end of bad officiating so far this season much more than usual.

Posted by reedt on December 23, 2007 at 12:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

JP, we are glad you are here, excellent!! As a matter of fact, the entire team showed great heart and effort!!

Posted by jwbendy on December 23, 2007 at 12:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The announcers said the head of officials was in attendance for this game which leads me to believe that the officials had to call every little thing. The over the line technical on BP was just hogwash, if thats coach K does he get that call for playing defense??? C'mon ref show some sense. Just like the color coach said, you screw up and I pay for it.

Posted by rootin4volz on December 23, 2007 at 12:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey jwraymond1...you sure you don't want to change your nickname to "Chicken Little?" Geez, is the sky falling?

Great effort Vol hoopsters; and kudos to you JP! Keep up the good work!

Posted by hdhurst on December 23, 2007 at 1:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I vote for putting CL @ point (allowing him to show some NBA potential, then going with Prince (low post)& Tyler (strong side) at forward, with JaJuan at shooting gaurd, and Chism at Center. I think I would experiment with that for about 10-minutes before beginning the rotation (barring foul trouble). The reason I say this is two fold, it solidifies our starting five and it gives them a chance to find a rythmn together. GO VOLS...keep building on what you have and the skies the limit.

Posted by DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu on December 23, 2007 at 1:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

FatherVol, I believe the word is "efficacy."

You are forgiven.

Go and sin no more.

Posted by jevolball7 on December 23, 2007 at 4:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

FatherVol can only not spell,but I bet he doesn't even know the meaning of the word he tried to spell!! Thank something he's not my father!! Stupid is as stupid does...spell check is free.I can't cure stupid.

Posted by OhioOrange on December 23, 2007 at 7:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Awesome atmosphere yesterday. Watched from a suite full of Xavier alumni and supporters, who felt like the officials gave the game to us. I guess it is all about 'perspective' huh? Finally had to ask one guy what game he was watching.

You have got to love our fans. I wondered how much orange I would see. Believe me it was noticed by the Xavier crowd. Tons of fans decked out in orange outside looking for tickets. One of the Xavier sponsor suites was decked out entirely in orange with Childress' family and friends in attendance. I heard the comment, 'How could that happen?'. God bless you all.

Lots of comments on C. Lofton. Just remember drawing two defenders consistently outside the arc opens up a lot of possibilities for your offense.

Best part of the game was every time XU began to make a run or get in some type of rhythm- big defensive and offense plays to shut it down...pretty amazing how quiet 10,000 can get after a reverse oop-#2 on ESPN TOP 10 by the way.

GO VOLS

Posted by TDTNVOLS on December 23, 2007 at 8:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If you ride the ref's the entire game worse than most other coaches' you aren't going to get any calls and it could eventually cost you the game.

Posted by DSaVol on December 23, 2007 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

WOW! Great win but long ride home! Couple things:

1. Some folks need to understand that this team has several weapons now. As such, Lofton does NOT have to be a hero every game. He is doing A LOT of little things that are important including drawing attention from defenses that is most definitely opening things up for JP, Tyler, and others. Once teams figure out they had better defend these other guys just as hard, the game will open up for CLo as well. It is good to see him getting back to the penetration game even though he didn't get the calls yesterday. As for his vocal leadership - I guess since it wasn't mentioned in the media it didn't happen. Wrong!

2. The NCAA Coordinator of Officials was at this game. I have to believe that it influenced the way the game was called with the refs making sure to call the "point of emphasis" crap. We were called for carrying the ball 4 times yet haven't had that called 4 times the entire year. The T's on both coaches were simply ludicrous. All the phantom touch foul nonsense was obviously ridiculous. The worst thing though is that the refs weren't consistent in what they were calling throughout the game and appeared to make several "make up" calls both ways after they knew they screwed up. Just really bad overall and we are fortunate to have survived it.

3. I'm not worried about rebounding. It will be fine. Yesterday we spread the floor alot with 4 and sometimes 5 guys on the perimeter. NO TEAM is going to rebound well in from those sets. I believe we'll see an entirely different result on the boards against the Zags. Sometimes this stuff is the result of styles and not effort or ability.

Obviously a resume win though and I believe this one will pay huge dividends in Seattle as well. So far this year we've pretty much had different guys leading the way most games. Can you imagine what happens when CLo, JuJuan, Tyler and JP all go off in the same game??????? OUCH! Lastly, FatherVol - PLEASE tell CHEATER CAL to get ready cause WWIII is coming and it will happen in Mempiss in Feb. The Vols WILL take down the Tigers!

Posted by Plasticman on December 23, 2007 at 9:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

TDTNVOLS, it doesn't hurt Duke's coach ( I can't spell his name) he rides the refs the entire game and they get ALL the calls.

Posted by johnlg00 on December 23, 2007 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good points, DSaVol, except that I doubt our rebounding will improve against Gonzaga. They are a good deal bigger than either we or Xavier are. Their best big man, Heytveldt(sp?), played his first game this year (after a long suspension, I think) the other night at OK City. He will be primed to go in front of the home fans in at least his second game. On defense, I expect them to pack it in and hope we don't shoot the 3's well on the road. On offense, they will let Pargo freelance on the outside, penetrating occasionally, and then pound us on the offensive boards. It will be a somewhat different game from Xavier, but will be just as tough in its own way.
Jevolball7, I suggest you lay off the sauce if you are going to post at 4:24am. For the benefit of you and mbumburu, "efficaciousness" is a word and FatherVol spelled it correctly and used it correctly in context. "Stupid is as stupid does", indeed; you proved your own point.

Posted by kevinlimbo on December 23, 2007 at 10:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

FatherVol,

All we have to do is tip it off to beat Tiger High.

Posted by pearlific on December 23, 2007 at 11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

layoff of jwraymond1!!!! he is there every day at practice, in the locker room, and huddles on the bench. he hears everything lofton says. so he has to be an expert on the situation.GET A LIFE JW!

Posted by johnlg00 on December 23, 2007 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Whoa, kevinlimbo! Have you not noticed that we have trouble with big strong rebounding teams? Have you not seen Joey Dorsey? Do you not realize that Memphis's offense depends on offensive rebounding, while we allow offensive rebounds on well over one-third of opponent possessions? If you are thinking back to the beatdown we put on them last year, just remember that 1) this year we are playing in Memphis; 2) last year Lofton had a game for the ages against them, something he has not approached so far this year; and 3) Rose is an enormous upgrade over the ball-handling they have had in the past. I think we CAN beat them if we do everything right, but if you think all we have to do is show up...well, it's nice to always expect a miracle(;-). Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everybody!

Posted by daddyaxe on December 23, 2007 at 11:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

pearl is the man....let him coach ref....best all around game i have seen this year...bring it gonzaga

Posted by bleed_orange on December 23, 2007 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

GREAT WIN! It seemed like an SEC road game or maybe even more like a tournament game. Before this game I was thinking about J.P.,Josh or even Chris taking some of Ramar's PG minutes away from him, but I have to say Ramar stepped it up a couple of notches and played a solid game. Chris gets fouled so much it's not even funny. Wayne is still taking the 3's, but he is playing better inside too. I thought we really hustled at the end of the game. Of course we got beat on the boards again, but we won the TO's and good FT shooting. We also won in the transition game. Oh, and WOW - J.P. came to play. I know he can play any position on the court, but I think the Wing is his most natural spot on the floor. I cann't sign off without saying that ther was alot of home cooking going on by the REfs. Best game so far. GO VOLS- BEAT GONZAGA!
JDS

Posted by Richmondvol on December 23, 2007 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

We got eaten alive on rebounds....again. Concerning, but I am sure Coach is working on it...good to see free throws improved.

Posted by bleed_orange on December 23, 2007 at 11:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I also watced the Memphis/Georgetown game. Memphis looked better than I thought they were. One big weakness that both teams have though, TN shoot better than both of them from the foul line. That's scary. To beat Memphis, TN will have to be hot from the 3, rebound better and use all our fouls wisely and put them on the foul line. We can beat them, but I don't think we can beat them and the Ref's in the same night (plus Home court advantage). GO VOLS!
JDS

Posted by jkdinpcola on December 23, 2007 at 12:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mbum...correcting a priest? What are you thinking? You, sir, obviously don't realize the seriousness of your offense. If you were in Catholic school there would be about 100 chalkboard erasers coming at your head right about now!!

Posted by pdhuff on December 23, 2007 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Just musing, what would the sidelines be like with Pearl and Trooper, if he was a b-ball assistant? Clipboards and technicals both flying, chest-bumpin', trash-talkin'. Probably resemble Arkie of few years ago, "40 minutes of H##l".

Posted by DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu on December 23, 2007 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

hdhurst, very interesting. That would FORCE CL to be a playmaker. And it would FORCE Chism to play like a big man and stay inside/very near the paint.

Some food for thought: Chism and Lofton had the same number of rebounds for the game -- 5. Unbelievable.

Chism had five rebounds and Xavier's 4/5 guy, Derrick Brown, had 13. Brown is 6'7" and 220 lbs. -- Chism is 6'9" and 242 lbs.

There is absolutely no excuse for Chism not banging the boards if he's at the 4 or 5 spot. If we are to excel, Chism MUST be a rebounding monster.

If we have an Achilles Heel at this point in the season, it's rebounding.

In terms of rebounding margin, we are ranked 216th nationally out of 328 teams. We have a negative rebounding margin of -0.9.

I have every confidence that Bruce Almighty is painfully aware of this and is working the issue hard.

Posted by FatherVol on December 23, 2007 at 4:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mbumburu -- Thank you for your gracious mercy. You, Sir, are correct; it should have been "efficacy."

jevolball7 -- Sir, for a person who has never made a mistake in your life you are a mean-spirited ____. (The ability to accomplish that for which it was intended.)

kevinlimbo -- Have you seen Memphis play? By the way, I like the screen name; I hope it has no bearing on your state of being. LOL

jkdinpcola -- Thank you for coming to my defense, but I did make an error while inadvertantly coining a word and I am grateful for the correction. Your memories (I make a presumption here) of Catholic school brought back memories of my own. Thank you for that, too.

Posted by FatherVol on December 23, 2007 at 4:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

DSaVol, I will tell Cal what you said, but do you really want to give him something he can pass on to the Tiger players as added fuel for motivation? Believe me, last year's humiliation at the hands of the Vols is all they really need. Even Rose knows about the game in Knoxville last Decemeber.

Posted by martinvolfan on December 23, 2007 at 5:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Way to play tough on the road vols! If that game was coached by any of our past 3 coaches it would have ended in a Loss. Having a coach with passion for the game and a lot of smart play calls is a great CHRISTmas present!

Posted by jevolball7 on December 23, 2007 at 6:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I simply meant it was a word out plce on a board where most can't spell very well I don't care if he's a priest or a butcher,baker or candlestick maker.I don't darken the doors of institutions that I'm supposed to give my money away. Unless I need to laugh at the flock of blind sheep or neen a good nap

Posted by budrhon on December 23, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

bleed orange I watched the Tiger/Hoya game also, the thing with Memphis is they are extremely quick in transistion. The Vols are quick, but the difference will be in the individual match ups. I don't see the Vols handling Dorsey/Dozier in the middle and Derek Rose will be hard to keep up with. Flip side is can they defend Lofton and now the emergence of JP will add another wrinkle. But with that being said it'll be a classic one to watch. Can't wait.

Posted by DSaVol on December 23, 2007 at 9:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

FatherVol...tell the great cheater whatever you'd like but just be sure to tell him he's going to wish he would have given in to BP and scheduled this game for December. YOU of all people should know CHEATERS NEVER PROSPER!!! Before it's all over, he'll have Mempiss on probation just like he did at UMass - and don't anybody tell me he didn't know all that was going on there either.

Posted by WhoDey on December 23, 2007 at 11:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The complaints on this site over the officiating have been preposterous. Xavier shot a grand total of 7 more free throws than Tennessee. The disparity seems about correct with the number of fast break points Tennessee had.

Now, the officiating throughout was abysmal. The technical on Pearl was nonsense and the technical on Miller was very, very poor. But, to think it favored one side over the other is a complete misread. I'm a Xavier fan and my voice has not completely returned from booing the referees. As an aside, it appeared to be an all SEC crew...none has done an A-10 game that has involved X.

Here's hoping both Tennessee and Auburn have good SEC seasons.

Posted by johnlg00 on December 24, 2007 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Jevolball7, just because you don't recognize a word doesn't mean it isn't one! Of course, judging by your spelling and punctuation, there are probably lots of words you don't recognize. Any Catholic priest in the world is better educated than you seem to be. FatherVol is clearly more gracious than any of us, since, as is taught in the Bible, he gave the "soft answer that turns away wrath" in the face of your ill-tempered slam. If you have anything interesting to say about Vol sports, which is what this site is about, feel free, but otherwise keep your ignorant, ill-mannered sneers to yourself.

Posted by kevinlimbo on December 24, 2007 at 11:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

FatherVol I've seen Tiger High play, and they look like any other Calipari Team.

My point is the only way we're going to know what it's going to take is by playing the game, and Bruce Pearl teams have more heart than the talent heavy Calipari teams. They can talk team concept all they want in east Arkansas.

With this Vol Team we don't know which part of it is going to be the game changer. Could be Prince off the dribble, Lofton from behind the arc, Jujuan from various places(he's a bit streaky), R. Smith penetration, Tyler making clutch plays, or combination of all of the above offensively--and of course defense and turnovers. Now I don't hold out any hope that free throws made will be what wins it for UT.

Posted by kevinlimbo on December 24, 2007 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

BTW johlg00, did you not realize or notice my post had nothing in it about just showing up? However, I did realize and noticed that your post needed to make that assumption.

Posted by FatherVol on December 24, 2007 at 10:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)

kevinlimbo, it just might be free throws that win it for the Vols against Memphis. The Tigers are much worse that we at hitting those gimmies.

johnlg00, I thank you for your kind words. I shall say a pray for you tonight at Midnight Mass.

jevolball07, don't worry; I'm praying for you, too.

Posted by DenmarkVol_aka_Mbumburu on December 24, 2007 at 10:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

johnlg00, you must be an Alabama grad.
"Efficaciousness" is not a word I can find in any dictionary of the English language.

Maybe you're using Forrest's Alabama dictionary?

I am indeed correct: the correct word to use in FatherVol's post was "efficacy."

Look it up -- and Merry Christmas!

Posted by phi0129 on December 26, 2007 at 8:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Memphis is looking stout, that is going to be one heck of a dogfight for us. Especially since we waxed them last year and beat them in their house the year before.

But for the game, what heart our boys have! They played their butts off to get that W. Ramar came up HUGE at the end of the game and Prince was one cocky bad@$@ just putting it to those guys.

THE REFFING WAS HORRIBLE. There was definite Xavier favoritism no matter what that guy up above said. Did anyone notice the ESPN announcers though? They were all over Xavier's nuts. Especially the first half. They would comment about how terrible we were and our shots were and then get down on their knees praising Xavier every time they even made a decent pass. It was one of the most unprofessional and appalling things I have ever seen on national TV.

Posted by lnbadger320 on December 26, 2007 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

phi0129 i think memphis beat us at there house, we came back and killed them last year.

it's got to be a pretty wild crown there, xavier has always been a tough team. and you know the alcohol has to get them pumped up to cheer. we needed a win in that type of environment to get ready the sec.

Posted by jevolball7 on December 26, 2007 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Johnlg00,thanks so much for policing this site. R U on the force? I didn't get my M B A at seminary school!

Posted by yabadabadoo1026 on December 26, 2007 at 5:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

on come onnnnnnn Phi0129, you're not watching the games for entertainment/enjoyment value if you are paying so much notice of stuff to be "appalled" about-----methinks you and other vols who are always whining about officiating and media commentary are just too paranoid and thin-skinned. GENERALLY if officiating is suspect it goes both ways but if their may be a homecourt bias sometimes we are on the receiving end of such also---there is no mass anti-tenn conspiracy out there as so many of you suggest. I think commentators call them as they see them with generally little if any bias---its just that some of you guys are overly focused on finding stuff to be "appalled" by---if a team jacking up/forceing bad shots and shooting bricks I have no problem them saying so---you are selectively listening for commentary to condemn--they praised Prince a lot----THERE IS NO ANTI-VOL CONSPIRACY just vol supporter paranoia in many cases

Posted by LongtimeVol on December 26, 2007 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mbumburu,
johnlg00, you must be an Alabama grad.
"Efficaciousness" is not a word I can find in any dictionary of the English language.
------------------------------------------------

Then you need a better dictionary, because it is in both the Webster Unabridged and the OED that I have. FatherVol's use and spelling are both correct, though the shorter version "efficacy" is more likely to be recognized. They are synonymous, or synonyms if you prefer. You can look it up.

Posted by LongtimeVol on December 26, 2007 at 10:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

As for the Memphis game, I understand all of the smack talk and testosterone, but that is a very dangerous game against a very formidable team. We will have to play at the top of our game to win that one. Memphis is a much better team than the one we destroyed in Knoxville last year. Someone is going to have to step up in the paint. This may well be a game that is won by coaching, because as good as Cal is at recruiting, he isn't that great a game day coach whereas Bruce is. I believe in Pearl!