Today’s game is the biggest Tennessee (17-13, 9-6 SEC) has played all year, the biggest in a long time for that matter. It’s been a long, sometimes painful, and sometimes wonderful season, but it culminates at 4 pm against in-state rival Vanderbilt (21-9, 10-5 SEC) Now there are plenty of scenarios for Tennessee’s SEC tournament seed, but to receive the ideal #2 or #3 seed, Tennessee must win.
“They’re all tough. They’re a talented team,” Cuonzo Martin said. “They played well at their place against us. I think our guys will be ready to go and it should be a tremendous atmosphere.”
Saying they played well is putting it lightly, the Commodores ran the Vols off the court in a 65-47 rout. What happened in that first game? Tennessee couldn’t score, and they turned the ball over. Tennessee shot 35.3% from the field and turned the ball over 25 times in the first contest.
On December 10th, Tennessee lost a bad game to Austin Peay in Thompson-Boling Arena. Since then, the Vols have lost one game at home to #1 Kentucky 65-62. In that streak, the Vols have dominated at home including victories over Connecticut and #13 Florida, and they have outscored opponents by an average of 71.2-58.9.
Vanderbilt has key road wins along with key road losses. They lost in OT to Louisville early in the season, and then won @ #13 Marquette. They won 69-59 @ Alabama, then lost 82-74 @ Arkansas and fell 73-65 @ Florida. They’ve taken care of business at Ole Miss and Georgia, then played a tough game at Kentucky but eventually lost 83-74.
The stakes are high; it’s Senior Night, it’s Tennessee-Vanderbilt, and there’s a #2 seed on the line.
Keys to the Game:
Get the Ball Inside – It’s going to be imperative to get the ball to Maymon and Stokes inside. The Vols cannot outshoot Vanderbilt. That’s precisely what Vanderbilt was able to force the Vols to do in the last matchup. The Vols shot 35.3 % and went 1 of 10 from beyond the arc. Maymon was the only bright spot for the Vols, scoring 15 points. Stokes was not a factor in the first meeting.
Shut Down Taylor and Jenkins – Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins combined for 39 points in the first meeting. Tennessee didn’t seem to have an answer for the tandem. Playing stiff defense and locking these guys down will be huge for the Vols. Jenkins went off for 22 points on his senior night against Florida in Vandy’ s 77-67 win on Tuesday. The problem with Taylor is that he is the kind of player that is nearly impossible to defend. The Vols will have to perform at a peak level if they’re going to want to hold him in check.
Play Defense – When Tennessee plays defense, they win. Especially at home. Cuonzo Martin builds his game plan on the defensive side of the court, and it’s going to be imperative for the Vols today. In Tennessee’s first win over Florida at home, they held the Gators to 35.7 % from the field and 56 points. That kind of defense is going to be big. Vanderbilt has some elite players that can make teams pay for mistakes. But Tennessee, at times, has played stiff defense against some of the best players in the conference.
Tennessee is a different team when they’re at home. The environment is going to be electric on Saturday. Friday night, Carrie Underwood joined Brad Paisley on stage at a concert and the arena exploded so the place is ready to handle some noise. It’s like I said, the season has culminated to this point. This game has been marked on Tennessee’s calendar all year, and the circumstances surrounding it have only added to the hype.
It’s not going to be a shock if Tennessee wins this game. I think when they come ready to play and execute their game plan, they can beat just about anyone. Either way, you can’t discredit the work Cuonzo Martin has done to get this team to where it’s at. By no means does the success of the season hang upon this game, but dropping it would certainly leave a bad taste in many a Tennessee fan’s mouth. There’a a lot riding on this one. For Tennessee to finish second in the same conference they were predicted to finish 11th in would be nothing short of a miracle. Considering this is the same team that lost to Oakland, Austin Peay and College of Charleston, second sounds like Nirvana.
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