Tennessee committed three huge turnovers in the last three minutes and missed a last second shot and fell to Oklahoma State 77-75. Bryon Eaton blew by Josh Tabb for an easy layup with 7 seconds left to secure the win. This finally ends one for the books in Big Orange country.
Following impressive wins over Florida and South Carolina the Vols looked lethargic and un-inspired in a home loss to Alabama. They followed that loss with two impressive wins over Alabama and Georgia in the SEC tournament. Then things went back to normal and the Vols have now lost 2 games in a row to finish the season at 21-13.
I think the wins over South Carolina and Florida at the end of the regular season gave us all false hope that this team was coming together and ready to play it's best basketball. They did play better basketball but it wasn't enough to do anything to be proud of. There will be no championship for this team this year other than a division title.
I guess what we have learned from all this is that the SEC really is as bad as everyone thought, which means the Vols aren't very good. It's ok, it happens. You can't be great every year and I would say with all the numbers in, that this team actually did about everything it could have done. They won 21 games which should be plenty to smile about if you are a Vol hoops fan.
The Good:
Tyler Smith played an outstanding game. He was 10 of 10 from the free throw line and finished the game with 21 points.
Scotty Hopson showed that he has the ability to beat his man one on one and get to the rim. He had some nice drives to the basket against man to man defense.
The Bad:
You are not going to win many NCAA tournament games when the opposition shoots 56% from the floor for the game. Oklahoma State ran their offense to perfection and had no trouble at all getting the looks they wanted. OSU scored on almost every possession in the second half when they did not committ a turnover.
Either Bruce Pearl is clueless when it comes to coaching defense or his players turn a deaf ear to anything Pearl has to say regarding the subject. How many times can the same guys get beat by the same pick and roll play that has made them look so bad so many times this year? OSU used the pick and roll to get way too many easy shots in the lane.
Tennessee needs to find something, anything different to run against a zone defense. The Vols looked good on offense when OSU was in a man to man, but when they went zone, too many Vols just stood around. Occasionally they would post Tyler in the paint and let him dish, but too many times they settled for a three point shot.
The Vols attempted 33 three point shots today. When you shoot 30% for the year from three you can pretty much go ahead and put another L in the loss column if you are going to attempt that many threes.
The season has been an up and down year for the Vols and most fans would say it was a huge disappointment. I do not agree however. Considering the fact that the Vols have no outside threat whatsover, they have no one who can play consistent defense, and when you have players like Prince who gives the opposition at least 3 extra possessions per ballgame, I would say this team probably overachieved.
You also can't leave out the fact that Tennessee had horrible point guard play all year. Bobby Maze is a decent player but he does nothing that you expect from a point guard. He does not drive the lane and look for passing opportunities and he does not drive the lane to shoot or get to the free throw line.
When you consider all these factors I think this team overachieved by winning twenty one games. This year's team simply does not possess the mental toughness or shooting ability to play with the big boys. I'm just glad we don't have to see Pittsburgh and may this season rest in peace.
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