Tarik Black scored 18 points on 7 of 8 shooting and Antonio Barton hit 4 of 5 three point attempts to lead the Memphis Tigers past the Tennessee Volunteers Wednesday night at the FedEx Forum. Trae Golden led all scorers with 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting, but he had no support from other Tennessee shooters in an abysmal offensive performance.
Tennessee opened well on defense, holding Memphis to 3 of 12 from the field, and the Vols actually held a narrow lead at the first half under twelve timeout. But midway through the first half, the Tigers realized that Black could score at will inside, and the game was never close after that, with Memphis shooting over 50% the rest of the way. Not only did Tennessee have no answer, for most of the game it appeared that Tennessee wasn't even trying to defend Black inside, and uncontested dunks ruled the day.
On the offensive side, the Vols seemed determined to get the ball inside in an attempt to duplicate Jeronne Maymon's outstanding performance against Memphis in Maui. But, while the theory may have been good, the reality saw Maymon force numerous bad shots and finish 4 of 15 from the floor. And the Vols got no help from what has been a very good group of outside shooters, as Josh Richardson, Jordan McRae, Cameron Tatum, and Skylar McBee combined to shoot just 4 of 20.
For the majority of the Vol contributors, this was their first experience playing in an environment like the Forum, as Tennessee's only previous road games this season have been against Oakland and College of Charleston. But if jitters were partially responsible for the poor shooting performance, the Vols won't have long to fix the problem, as four of their next five opponents are ranked in the top fifteen.
One positive to take from a bad night was the news that five star recruit Jarnell Stokes had passed through the NCAA Clearinghouse and will be eligible as soon as the paperwork is submitted to the SEC.
Tennessee is next in action Saturday, for a brunch game at 11 AM against #10 Florida at Thompson Boling Arena.
0 recs | 25 comments
this was short and not sweet and just to get something written so I could stop thinking about this
but I neglected to note that everybody except A Barton combined to go 1/16 from beyond the arc. That’s the kind of performance that should give Tennessee a chance to win. Instead, we got blown out
Incipient_Senescence - January 5, 2012
Agreed
Perimeter defense was surprisingly good; UT had no answer for Tarik Black. After Maymon was criticized for not getting more shots up the past few games, he seemed hellbent on pressing the issue. I know Hopson is gone and some fans soured on his moping during shooting slumps, but man this team would be so much more dynamic had he chosen to return for his senior season.
During games like this where you just get the feeling this isn’t the Vols’ night, my thoughts drift to what might have been had UT signed Aaron Craft to run the point. That kid is fun to watch. Perhaps someday we shall see an elite PG running Coach Zo’s offense, as I think Golden is much better suited as a 2 to maximize his scoring ability.
I think Josh Richardson and Yemi both have the raw talent to be at least 2nd team All-SEC players. Can’t wait to see what Stokes can do now that he has been cleared to play.
Go Vols, I am a member of the UT Basketball Cult. I was there every night during the Wade Houston era that comprised my undergrad time on the hill. This team should continue to get better as the season progresses.
pound the rock - January 5, 2012
I'm really starting to think Yemi should be starting over Hall
this season is a loss, give the man with the upside some time. he might be better right now. Hall didn’t grab a single rebound in 20 minutes. Yemi had 4. JRich had 6.
Like I said, this was really short and I didn’t want to bother getting into all the details because I just wanted this out of my head.
But rebounding is another thing that could easily be harped on. Our starting 5 gets ZERO rebounds?
Incipient_Senescence - January 5, 2012
wow
Did not realize that rebounding stat. Hall is such an enigma. He has the occasional good night, or at least a night where he has a couple of “wow” plays. He is also capable of picking up 2 fouls in 10 seconds and doesn’t seem able to keep his head in the game.
Man, I hate to say it, but I am starting to come around to the Lost Season concept. Why not start Yemi over Hall? Maybe it lights a fire under Kenny and more minutes can only help Yemi’s development. I am a big Richardson fan as well.
Rebounding takes some talent, but all I’ve heard from coaches is that the majority of rebounding is aggression and willing yourself to go get the rock.
pound the rock - January 5, 2012
It was a pretty predictable outcome if you watched how TN hung around with Memphis in Maui.
In Maui, Tarik Black barely saw the floor the entire game with foul trouble. Stan Simpson was also in foul trouble the entire game as well. I think they both may have actually even fouled out completely. Ferrakohn Hall, another big, wasnt eligible to play with the team yet and Memphis was up 16 and on the verge of blowing that game open. TN clawed their way back into it behind Maymon vs a variety of tall guards down low. Add all those bigs back into the equation, eliminate foul trouble, then factor in home court, and its not a good matchup.
cerebralfish - January 5, 2012
my kingdom for a half court offense
hal41605 - January 5, 2012
I've said before
we’ve had a good halfcourt offense for about two months out of the last five and a half years. It should be no surprise that it corresponds exactly to the time we realized that Bobby Maze was actually a pretty good point guard.
My kingdom for a point guard.
Incipient_Senescence - January 5, 2012
Thought our halfcourt...
was generally pretty good. It wasn’t elite, which is what we needed given expectations, but it’s not like we were totally impotent in the halfcourt.
Caban - January 7, 2012
wait, when are you talking about?
Incipient_Senescence - January 7, 2012
Why would we play a home game at 11am?
And don’t say “for TV” because there’s no way in hell TV ratings are better for any age demographic above children at that time.
birdjam - January 5, 2012 via mobile
ESPN has the Compass Bowl and ESPN2 has the FCS National Championship later that day
NFL Playoffs could be a factor too, who knows. I can’t remember us ever playing at 11 in Knoxville.
Will Shelton - January 5, 2012
That's just dumb
birdjam - January 5, 2012
We saw the #12 team in the SEC last night. Hawaii was an illusion, a false hope.
While the defense was actually reasonable (except for defending weak side against the back cut lob in the second half), our lack of toughness on the boards and complete ineptitude on offense was stunning.
Despite what Cuonzo allegedly said to the TV guys, UT is absolutely in a rebuilding mode. All of the top talent is gone from last year’s squad and what remains is thin. I don’t care about 4 stars. Look at what’s on the floor. We are thin.
I may only watch us against the lower half of the SEC competition as I cheer for us to not be the Cellar Dweller. It will be a very long season.
memphispete - January 5, 2012
lack of toughness and inept offense *were* stunning (I live in Memphis. Give me a break on Subject/Verb disagreements)
memphispete - January 5, 2012
the talent gap between us and actually talented teams is stunning
We have some raw potential in Richardson, McRae, and Yemi, and we have some unfulfilled potential elsewhere, but that’s about it. Golden and Maymon are the only ones who have shown they can produce against legit teams, and they’re far from consistent.
Incipient_Senescence - January 5, 2012
The silver lining of being this bad....
Comeuppance for Wes Rucker and others who laughed so smugly at our pre-season 11th-place pick. I know better than to hold my breath for a mea culpa from #Westradamus though.
birdjam - January 5, 2012
I'm on record for 9th
can I still hold out hope for that?
Incipient_Senescence - January 5, 2012
Go Vols, beat Auburn (#11 SEC Power Rankings)
memphispete - January 5, 2012
You're glad...
someone may be wrong about our team being better than others thought? Your silver lining stuff seems a bit early to me.
I like Wes Rucker a lot. He never puts stuff out there that isn’t true. If you think he is smug, you have an extremely low smug tolerance
sddbaker - January 6, 2012
Ha, OK, sure
Wes is proud of his smugness. He revels in it.
birdjam - January 6, 2012
Wes is good
but he’s definitely smug
Incipient_Senescence - January 6, 2012
Okay...
maybe smug has different meanings for me. What constitutes “smugness”, in your opinion?
sddbaker - January 6, 2012
"Silver lining" also seems to have a different meaning for you.
Where did i say I was glad we are this bad?
birdjam - January 7, 2012 via mobile
Okay...
so you will miss the upsets.
At least you are honest about only supporting them when they are good.
sddbaker - January 6, 2012
Not saying it had anything at all to do with the outcome...
….but did anyone else think this was a poorly-officiated game? It seemed to me they were trying to see if they could get these guys in fight-mode by not calling anything the first half.
sddbaker - January 6, 2012
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