Vols on Rocky Top high with Auburn on deck
It's been a big week in Knoxville with the Volunteers upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks on the hardwood Sunday and Lane Kiffin bolting from the football program two days later. But life gets right back to normal for Tennessee and Bruce Pearl tonight with the start of SEC play. First on the slate will be the Auburn Tigers at Thompson-Boling Arena. ESPN2 has the broadcast of this one starting at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
Whoever decides the award for men's college basketball coach of the year might want to think about going ahead with the engraving: BRUCE PEARL. The 21,000 or so that will be on hand at Thompson-Boling Arena Thursday night when Pearl's Volunteers host the Auburn Tigers undoubtedly would concur with my choice.
Coming off the 76-68 of then-No. 1 Kansas on Sunday as five-point dogs, the atmosphere inside Tennessee's home arena will no doubt be electric when the Vols begin their journey through the SEC portion of the schedule. With just nine players suited up, only six of them of the scholarship variety, the Volunteers' win capped a week of upsets on the college hardwood.
In reality, Pearl's job will only get tougher from here on out. Getting his squad up to play the top-ranked school in the land on their home court was just the beginning of what promises to be a tough row to hoe.
It's old news now as far as the four players missing from Sunday's upset triumph. Senior Tyler Smith has been dismissed from the team after being arrested on Jan. 2 in Knoxville for charges from alcohol and marijuana to possession of a handgun. Smith was leading the team in scoring at the time of the incident.
Three more players in Smith's company at the time – juniors Brian Williams and Melvin Goins, and sophomore Cameron Tatum – are still under suspension from the team with no word when, or if, they will return.
Stealing some of the spotlight from the basketball team's big win this week on the Knoxville campus was the news that the football team's head coach, Lane Kiffin, was bolting after just one season to take the USC job vacated by Pete Carroll. One can only assume that a Kiffin sighting around Knoxville right now would result in charges far more serious than those handed to Pearl's players.
Ah, but let's get back to basketball, and this game in particular, shall we?
The Volunteers have picked up the pieces the last two games thanks to the play of sophomores Scotty Hopson and Renaldo Woolridge. Hopson scored 17 to lead Tennessee on the charts in the Kansas game, with Woolridge adding 14, including four of six from long range, and eight boards.
Woolridge is averaging 30.5 minutes per game since the four players were arrested against only a little more than eight minutes per contest before. He's scored 24 in the two games with a season-long average of less than five points per contest.
Keeping Woolridge, Hopson and others from wearing down while also continually getting the entire team up for each game is going to be a difficult task for Pearl. Tennessee still has two games against Kentucky, and a home game to start thinking about against Ole Miss this Saturday on short rest. Add in road dates at Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt and the most of the rest of the conference.
One location the Vols won't make a trip to is Auburn. This might have been a good season to go into War Eagle country since the Tigers are not a very scary team. At 9-7 straight up on the year, not to mention 3-7 against the spread, Auburn's best showing of the season was probably its 76-72 loss at Florida State in mid-December. Opening as double-digit dogs and closing at plus nine, the Tigers almost completed a rally for the win in a 76-72 loss in Tallahassee.
Auburn enters off an 80-71 home loss to South Carolina last Saturday. The Tigers were one-point favorites in that one and if not for the personal-best 22 points off the bench by Brendon Knox, they would've been blow out of their own gym.
There shouldn't be much of this game played inside unless Auburn forces Tennessee that way should the 6-foot-10 Knox be able to duplicate his prevoous effort. Tennessee's Wayne Chism along with Woolridge should be the keys to a cover as long as the defense can frustrate the Auburn Bombers – Frankie Sullivan, DeWayne Reed and Tay Waller.
Tennessee is in a natural letdown spot here, no doubt. And it's not exactly like they've owned this series of late dropping two of the last three regular season games against Auburn. Both of those were on the Tigers' home court, however, with the Vols winning and covering the last three in Marble City.
Tennessee opened as 15 ½-16 point favorites, and with a quick turnaround against Mississippi on Saturday, I can't convince myself that Pearl would be too interested in a line that looks a good two points fat.
It's been a big week in Knoxville with the Volunteers upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks on the hardwood Sunday and Lane Kiffin bolting from the football program two days later. But life gets right back to normal for Tennessee and Bruce Pearl tonight with the start of SEC play. First on the slate will be the Auburn Tigers at Thompson-Boling Arena. ESPN2 has the broadcast of this one starting at 7:00 p.m. (ET).
Whoever decides the award for men's college basketball coach of the year might want to think about going ahead with the engraving: BRUCE PEARL. The 21,000 or so that will be on hand at Thompson-Boling Arena Thursday night when Pearl's Volunteers host the Auburn Tigers undoubtedly would concur with my choice.
Coming off the 76-68 of then-No. 1 Kansas on Sunday as five-point dogs, the atmosphere inside Tennessee's home arena will no doubt be electric when the Vols begin their journey through the SEC portion of the schedule. With just nine players suited up, only six of them of the scholarship variety, the Volunteers' win capped a week of upsets on the college hardwood.
In reality, Pearl's job will only get tougher from here on out. Getting his squad up to play the top-ranked school in the land on their home court was just the beginning of what promises to be a tough row to hoe.
It's old news now as far as the four players missing from Sunday's upset triumph. Senior Tyler Smith has been dismissed from the team after being arrested on Jan. 2 in Knoxville for charges from alcohol and marijuana to possession of a handgun. Smith was leading the team in scoring at the time of the incident.
Three more players in Smith's company at the time – juniors Brian Williams and Melvin Goins, and sophomore Cameron Tatum – are still under suspension from the team with no word when, or if, they will return.
Stealing some of the spotlight from the basketball team's big win this week on the Knoxville campus was the news that the football team's head coach, Lane Kiffin, was bolting after just one season to take the USC job vacated by Pete Carroll. One can only assume that a Kiffin sighting around Knoxville right now would result in charges far more serious than those handed to Pearl's players.
Ah, but let's get back to basketball, and this game in particular, shall we?
The Volunteers have picked up the pieces the last two games thanks to the play of sophomores Scotty Hopson and Renaldo Woolridge. Hopson scored 17 to lead Tennessee on the charts in the Kansas game, with Woolridge adding 14, including four of six from long range, and eight boards.
Woolridge is averaging 30.5 minutes per game since the four players were arrested against only a little more than eight minutes per contest before. He's scored 24 in the two games with a season-long average of less than five points per contest.
Keeping Woolridge, Hopson and others from wearing down while also continually getting the entire team up for each game is going to be a difficult task for Pearl. Tennessee still has two games against Kentucky, and a home game to start thinking about against Ole Miss this Saturday on short rest. Add in road dates at Florida, LSU, Vanderbilt and the most of the rest of the conference.
One location the Vols won't make a trip to is Auburn. This might have been a good season to go into War Eagle country since the Tigers are not a very scary team. At 9-7 straight up on the year, not to mention 3-7 against the spread, Auburn's best showing of the season was probably its 76-72 loss at Florida State in mid-December. Opening as double-digit dogs and closing at plus nine, the Tigers almost completed a rally for the win in a 76-72 loss in Tallahassee.
Auburn enters off an 80-71 home loss to South Carolina last Saturday. The Tigers were one-point favorites in that one and if not for the personal-best 22 points off the bench by Brendon Knox, they would've been blow out of their own gym.
There shouldn't be much of this game played inside unless Auburn forces Tennessee that way should the 6-foot-10 Knox be able to duplicate his prevoous effort. Tennessee's Wayne Chism along with Woolridge should be the keys to a cover as long as the defense can frustrate the Auburn Bombers – Frankie Sullivan, DeWayne Reed and Tay Waller.
Tennessee is in a natural letdown spot here, no doubt. And it's not exactly like they've owned this series of late dropping two of the last three regular season games against Auburn. Both of those were on the Tigers' home court, however, with the Vols winning and covering the last three in Marble City.
Tennessee opened as 15 ½-16 point favorites, and with a quick turnaround against Mississippi on Saturday, I can't convince myself that Pearl would be too interested in a line that looks a good two points fat.
