Confidence Booster: Vols escape South Carolina on the road, 73-64
by Griffin H.
There is still hope for the Tennessee Volunteers. “We just knew we needed to win this game,” said junior Jerrone Maymon, “We wanted to continue to have something to play for.” And Tennessee is currently playing for a first-round bye in the SEC tournament, an NIT bid, or in the optimist’s eyes a ticket to the Big Dance. Tennessee is tied with Alabama right now for the fourth-place spot in the SEC, but Alabama has the tie-breaker. If Tennessee had a weak spot, it was turnovers. “It’s one of the few games I’ve ever been around with 20-plus turnovers where I thought we played well,” said head coach Cuonzo Martin.
Trae Golden led the scoring charge for the Vols with 21 points. Maymon continued to be a hoss in the paint during SEC play with 14. Jordan McRae came off the bench and again scored in double-digits with 16. He has been playing well as of late. McRae actually played the most minutes, despite coming off the bench. Skylar McBee finally got somewhat hot, and scored 8, and Cameron Tatum led the team with 6 assists.
Tennessee will next travel to Baton Rouge to take on the LSU Tigers Wednesday night at 9p.m. (airing on CSS).
SEC Standings:
1. Kentucky (14-0 SEC, 28-1 Overall)
2. Florida (10-4, 22-7)
3. Vanderbilt (9-5, 20-9)
4. Alabama (8-6, 19-9)
4. Tennessee (8-6, 16-13)
6. LSU (7-7, 17-11)
7. Mississippi State (6-8, 19-10)
7. Arkansas (6-8, 18-11)
7. Ole Miss (6-8, 16-12)
10. Auburn (4-10, 14-14)
10. Georgia (4-10, 13-15)
12. South Carolina (2-12, 10-18)
Factoid of the Day: Jerrone Maymon has not scored less than 12 points since SEC play started.
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Highlight Reel: Tennessee vs. Ole Miss (2-22-12)
by Griffin H.
Since I had not included any videos in my post about the Ole Miss game, I wanted to share these instead.
Highlight Reel (whole game):
Sick Jordan McRae Dunk! (On Sportscenter):
As you can see, that was quite a dunk. It made Sports Center’s Top Ten at number 1, and later number 3.
I hope you enjoyed these highlights and be sure to watch Tennessee take on the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia tonight at 8!
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Toughness Saves the Day: Tennessee bounces back, erases Ole Miss lead
by Griffin H.
While finding our seats in Thompson-Boling Arena last night, Ole Miss was on a 15-2 run to start the game. It seemed like it was gonna be quite a long night. But it wasn’t, because Tennessee fought back. Tennessee went on streaks of their own to close out the game and win their 6th straight at home 73-60.
Jerrone Maymon led the charge with 18 points, and had a double-double with 11 rebounds. Jordan McRae scored 16, topped off with a monster slam! Trae Golden scored 11 and has 5 dimes. Cameron Tatum and Dwight Miller each had 10. It was a real break-out game for Miller, who also hit two 3′s.
Tennessee next goes to South Carolina on Saturday, and can close out the season and finish 4th in the SEC, with a first-round bye in the SEC tournament.
Factoid of the Day: The Tennessee coaching staff had scored more points as players than any other SEC coaching staff.
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Winning Streak Swept by Tide: Alabama snaps 4-game streak, 62-50
by Griffin H.
Tennessee lost a lot more than the game on Saturday when they traveled to Tuscaloosa. They lost momentum, confidence, a 4-game winning streak, and in all honesty probably an NCAA tournament berth (unless we win the SEC tournament). And, it was tough to watch too. Luckily we can regain our momentum when we play Ole Miss this Wednesday.
Alabama hit a 20-3 run in the second half to open a 32-32 game into a 52-36 game (ouch). Jerrone Maymon had 20 points (leading the team) and Trae Golden had 12. Tennessee’s largest lead of the game was 5 (13-8).
In Other UT Sports:
- UT Baseball started this weekend with a victory of NIU.
Factoid of the Day: The Lady Vols beat Ole Miss yesterday 66-56 to get their 20th win
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Linsane in the Membrane?: My take on the insanity (or Linsanity) that is sweeping the sports world
By Griffin H.
I don’t know if you have watched ESPN at all this week, or gone on CNN.com, or glanced at the newspaper headlines, or even tuned in to NPR. But if you have, and maybe if you haven’t, you probably know the name Jeremy Lin by now. You probably also know the term “Linsanity” used to describe the impossible Cinderella (or Linderella) story of a humble young man who became an NBA star practically overnight.
Jeremy Lin is an Asian-American of Taiwanese descent. He played college basketball at Harvard, where he started all four years. He was undrafted and cut by his home-team Golden State Warriors. He was then cut by the Rockets, who had also put him in the NBA D-League. With the New York Knicks struggling to find a true point guard, Carmelo Anthony begged coach Mike D’antoni to give Lin a chance. He came off the bench in a game against the Nets and scored over 20 points with over 7 assists. He broke records when over his first five starts he scored 136 points. He even hit a buzzer-beater to beat the Raptors (Who’s fans were cheering for Lin!).
He is an incredible player, and he has put up huge numbers. And aside from the fact that he is playing great basketball in a system that works for him, I find we can credit some (not all) of his success to these aspects.
- New York is a huge media market. If he were in a smaller market, such as Minnesota, or Portland, we might not know so much so soon.
- He is a feel-good, underdog story. Who doesn’t love an underdog story?
- He is Asian-American. The ratings in Taiwan have skyrocketed as many want to cheer on one of their own. Also, not many Asian-Americans play in the NBA.
The Madison Square Garden stock has gone up, and Knicks games TV ratings have gone up.
There are a few questions swirling around right now:
Can Lin play as well when Melo comes back? Yes! Of course he can. The Knicks will not get worse when Melo comes back, they can only get better!
Is Jeremy Lin the Tim Tebow of the NBA? I think there are similarities and parallels, sure, but I think that Arian Foster would be a better comparison. He was undrafted, on the practice squad, and when he finally got his start he rushed for 235 yards in his first game and went on to win the NFL rushing title.
Factoid of the Day: Lin’s 136 points were the most ever from a player’s first 5 starts.
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Domination: Vols scorch Hogs, move to 4th in SEC
by Griffin H.
The Tennessee Volunteers came ready to play Wednesday night when they handily defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks here in Knoxville. The Vols, now on a four game win streak, were not phased by the Razorbacks’ press, and took an early 23-6 advantage on a 19-0 run. Arkansas couldn’t get closer than 11 for the rest of the game. Tennessee walked away big winners, 77-58.
Tennessee did it with defense, offensive efficiency, and balanced scoring with 6 players in double-figures scoring. Jordan McRae led the charge coming off the bench and scoring 14. Trae Golden scored 13 and dished out 7 assists. Jerrone Maymon and Skylar McBee both scored 12 points. Cameron Tatum added 11, and led the team with 9 boards. Jarnell Stokes put up 10.
It was announced before the game that Kenny Hall had been suspended due to conduct detrimental to the team. We do not yet know how long or more details behind the reasoning but Cuonzo Martin said Hall would not travel or practice with the team during this suspension. He had been playing really well during the SEC season, and now Renaldo Woolridge and Yemmi Makanjuola should get some more playing time in his absence.
Tennessee (14-12, 6-5 SEC) is now tied with Mississippi State for 4th place in the conference. If Tennessee wins out, which includes Vanderbilt at home, and Mississippi State loses one game then Tennessee can lock up a first-round bye in the SEC tournament with the #3 seed, on the opposite side of the bracket from Kentucky (what everyone wants).
The Vols will next play Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. looking for their second road win of the season.
Factoid of the Day: Tennessee hit 11 three-pointers which is the most since a 61-60 victory over Florida in 2009 (in that game the made 12).
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Revenge Is Sweet: Lady Vols rout Lady Wildcats
by Griffin H.
The Lady Vols showed their dominance Monday night when they demolished a top-10 Kentucky team. Dressed in pink uniforms for Play For Kay week the Lady Vols played with intense emotion and it reflected in the scoreboard, 91-54.
After losing on a last-second shot in Rupp Arena earlier in the season, the Lady Vols (18-7, 9-3) inched one more game closer to the SEC season championship. They are currently one game back in the standings.
Meghan Simmons led the charge for Tennessee with 25 points, and the 2-3 zone confused Kentucky.
Revenge is sweet, and so is winning.
Factoid of the Day: The Lady Vols have won either the SEC season or tournament championship (or both) 18 out of the last 20 seasons.
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Gators Go Down in Gainesville: Vols sweep Florida, 75-70
by Griffin H.
Tennessee just might be peaking at the right time. After a blowout loss to Kentucky in Rupp Arena the Vols were carrying a 2-game winning streak into the O-Dome of the Florida Gators seeking their first road win.
Let me put it this way: Florida’s last lead of the game was 8-7 at the 14:14 mark. Tennessee hit a 17-4 run and dominated the rest of the game. Tennessee led by 11 at halftime, 41-30. The Vols’ largest lead was 17 and Florida didn’t get within nine the rest of the game. Florida gave them a scare at the end though.
In the words of Mike Strange, “When you get a dumb technical foul [Wes Washpun for Taunting] and the home team swishes not one but two 3-pointers in the final 6 seconds, that usually means one thing: It’s going to be a long, grim trip home. Saturday was a rare and glorious exception for Tennessee.”
Tennessee finished on top 75-70.
Trae Golden led the team in scoring with 17, he also had 7 assists which I find the more impressive stat. Jerrone Maymon recorded yet another double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. Skylar McBee had 13, and Jordan McRae scored 12. Jarnell Stokes got his first action since suffering a wrist injury Tuesday in practice. With a bandaged right wrist he played 11 minutes and scored 4.
Billy Donavan is now 16-17 against the Vols, and has lost 12 of the last 18 against Tennessee.
In Other UT Sports:
- The Lady Vols softball team upset the No. 1 Arizona State Sun Devils last night at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.
Factoid of the Day: Tennessee is 9-0 when Skylar McBee scores 10+ points.
Griffin can be reached at teens4tn@gmail.com. Follow @teens4tn on twitter or subscribe in the sidebar! ->
McBee Magic: Guard scores 18, lifts Vols past Gamecocks
by Griffin H.
Another line-up change, another win. Tennessee is 4-0 this year when they have changed their starting line-up. Skylar McBee slid over to replace Josh Richardson while Trae Golden took McBee’s spot at the point guard. Kenny Hall replaced Jarnell Stokes, who was out with a hand injury, along with Cameron Tatum and Jerrone Maymon.
McBee had 18, hitting 4 three pointers and sinking 6 free-throws. Golden had 14 points and had 4 assists. Maymon tacked on 12. Hall came up big with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Tennessee started slow but was able to head to the locker rooms up 35-27. Their largest lead was 15, and the Gamecocks cut it to 3 late in the game. The Vols hit their free-throws down the stretch to come out on top.
Jarnell Stokes is listed as day-to-day, but he is probable for Saturday’s matchup with the Florida Gators.
Factoid of the Day: Cameron Tatum became only the 44th Tennessee player to reach 1,000 career points. He is only the 16th player with 1,000 points and 200 assists. Congratulations Cameron!
Griffin can be reached at teens4tn@gmail.com. Follow @teens4tn on twitter or subscribe in the sidebar! ->
