Georgia No Match For Vols

Before a quiet, lethargic crowd that sat on their hands most of the night the Tennessee Volunteer basketball team moved into a four way tie for first place in the SEC East. Tennessee defeated a woeful Georgia team that never offered up a fight.

It is no secret that I have complained some this year about the shortcomings of the Vol basketball team, but compared to what I saw out of Georgia last night, maybe I’ll just begin to appreciate where the UT hoops team is at the moment.  

This hasn’t been a record setting year, nor do I believe that it will be one of those seasons that will be long remembered by me or Vol fans, but in comparison to the state of basketball in Athens these days I guess things aren’t all bad.  

Last night I was impressed with the aggressive defense the Vols played, but was again dismayed at the numerous offensive lapses exhibited by this Tennessee team. I realize that a 79-48 win is a huge win especially when you consider this was a conference game, but lapses like that get you beat when you face teams like Kentucky and Florida.  

I am pleased with last nights win, but the UT schedule gets much tougher the rest of the way. It is a schedule that includes road trips to Columbia, Lexington, and Gainesville.  This is a young Tennessee team and they showed it last night, but they did win by 31.  It was not surprising to see the offense show sings of its athleticism and talent, but it was also not surprising to see it struggle at times in their offensive sets.

Another factor that has to be taken into consideration is the opponent the team faced. It was obvious to the Vol players early on that this would be no contest, and that sometimes affects the way a team will play. It is difficult to maintain intensity and focus when you face a woefully inferior team as it did last night. 

The Good:
Defense: The Vol D led by Bobby Maze hounded the Dogs all night long and extended its half court defense with tremendous ball pressure on the Georgia guards. Tennessee held the Dogs to 36.0% shooting for the evening and forced 29 Georgia turnovers. 

Free Throw Shooting: The Vols shot 81.8% from the free throw line (9-11).

Tyler Smith scored 15 points despite playing with flu like symptoms throughout the contest. He was 7-15 from the field. He has struggled with his shot this year, but you have to give him credit for playing with intensity all season.  

Bobby Maze played in my opinion one of his best games all season. Maze was tremendous on the defensive end, on offense he scored 6 points and dished out six assists.  

The Bad:

An announced crowd of 18,623 played no part in last night’s game. It was a good crowd, but they were really never heard from. Hard to be too critical though the game was an absolute yawner.