Ernie Grunfeld honored and Vols win

Sunday was a great day for Tennessee basketball. It was senior day for Chris Lofton, Tennessee’s all time leading three point shooter. Ernie Grunfeld was in town having his #22 jersey retired and lifted to the rafters of Thompson Boling Arena. Former Vol greats Bernard King and Allan Houston were back in the arena to watch Tennessee play one of it’s top Eastern Division rivals. And most importantly, Tennessee beat Kentucky 63-60.

Does it get any better? According to some, it must.

Many of the posts on the message board today seem to have that ‘sky is falling’ mentality. Tennessee just beat an SEC East opponent and improved their overall record to 26-3, which ties the record for most victories in school history, while extending their home court winning streak to 31 games. The Vols currently have the #1 ranked basketball team in the country. Even after the new polls come out tomorrow, they should be no worse than #4 in both major polls. It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!

I understand that all Tennessee fans wanted to win by 30 today and I can appreciate that fire. However, the Wilcats played tough and made some very difficult shots with the shot clock running down. They shortened the game, limited the number of possessions, and gave themselves a chance to win in the end. It’s a strategy used by less talented teams when they don’t have the athletes to compete. Isn’t it great when teams must resort to playing slow, boring, deliberate basketball just to stay in the game?

Reasons for concern?

• The offense struggled again at times. As a team, Tennessee shot just 41% from the floor.
• A Kentucky team without Patrick Patterson had more rebounds than the Vols did.
• Duke Crews and Brian Williams had just one rebound between them in 19 minutes of play.

Keep in mind that Tennessee’s schedule has been brutal. From Bruce Pearl after the game:

“Kentucky is the most patient team in the SEC. We pressed all day long, and tried to wear them down. Some of this is uncharted territory for us. I hope, at some point during the rest of the season, we will be able to relax a little bit more than we did today. Bill Raftery told me after the game that he has not seen a team play a schedule like this night after night.

Next up: the Florida Gators Wednesday night in Gainesville.

Discuss this or anything else that’s on your mind in our Vols Forum.