Local College Basketball Beat

Tennessee welcomed back coach Bruce Pearl this weekend with a loss to Florida. The loss stung because it drops UT to 5-5 in the SEC and a tie for fourth place in the east. Tennessee had it chances as they were up by as much as eight points in the second half and got a strong performance from sophomore Scotty Hopson who scored 22. UT shot 49 percent from the field easily their highest mark in SEC play and forced 14 turnovers. That should be enough to win the game but the gritty Gators roared back and the Vols let them by not knocking down there free-throws. The Vols have had trouble all season closing out close games as they lost to Alabama and Florida the first time in similar fashion. If the Vols (15-10) are to make a run at the NCAA tournament it has to start Wednesday against South Carolina. Pearl knows this as he tries to ease himself from his 8-game suspension, Pearl stated “Late-game offensive execution to win games is an area we have scored very poorly in,” Pearl said. “I hope that we can learn from some of those mistakes and do a better job of closing them out down the stretch.” UT also has to get better play out of starters Tobias Harris who only had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Melvin Goins, the starting point guard had 7 points with NO assists. The time is now for the Vols to get hot make their run for the tournament. The team that shows up in South Carolina will tell us all that we will need to know Wednesday night.

Vandy got a stirring performance from super sophomore Jeff Jenkins as he just assaulted the Kentucky defense from long range. Jenkins went off for 32 as the Commodores were able to hold off the Wildcats. What made the performance even more awe-inspiring was the text Jenkins got from his mother who said he needed to score at least 25 or more for Vandy. Jenkins did more than that with a dazzling array of spot up jump shots and coming off ball screens to knock down a career high six three-pointers. Vandy also got help from big man Festus Ezeli as he chipped in with 14 and Brad Tinsley added 11. The Commodores are as dangerous a team as they come when Jenkins is shooting the ball well. Jenkins is living up to the billing he had come out of high school as one the best shooters in the country. Vandy stands at 18-6 and 6-4 in the SEC good enough for second in the rugged east division. The Commodores seem to have a nice blend of athletes and shooters that play well together. When you throw in the presence of Ezeli in the middle it makes for a team that could make a run in March. Jenkins seemed to know the importance of beating perennial SEC and national power Kentucky as he stated I told Coach I must’ve been dreaming because this can’t be real. Especially being from here you see a lot of great games against Kentucky,” Jenkins said. “To be a part of that part of that legacy now is something special.” Vandy faces Georgia this Wednesday in what will be another test for the streaking Commodores.

Tennessee Lady Vols 65 vs. Vanderbilt Commodores 57: This was another classic is this epic women’s rivalry. In a game that was eerily similar to they previous meeting this season, the Commodores couldn’t have asked for a better start as UT couldn’t make anything in the first half. The Lady Vols scored a whopping 15 points in the first half on 20 percent shooting as the Commodores built an 11-point lead. But things changed in the second half for the lady Vols upon the insertion of backup point guard Lauren Avant. She seemed to spark the lady Vols as they went on a tear and scored 50 points in the second half. The slow start could be attributed to the fact that UT had played 3 games in the last 7 days. The Vandy lead was 39-28 before UT would go on a 16-3 run and never look back. Avant scored on a lay-up and added the free throw and then added a three-pointer to spark to the Vols. Jence Rhoades of the Commodores led all scorers with 15 but it wasn’t enough. The lady Vols always seem to find a way to pull out the win on the Commodores and this time wasn’t different. Vandy coach Melanie Balcomb summed it up the best as she stated "You hold somebody to 15 and then they score 50?”."I mean 20 might not have been enough at that point. The frustrating piece, until the last eight minutes we were beating them, and they're the No. 4 team in the country and there's a lot to be said for that." Both teams are in action this Thursday as the lady Vols take on the South Carolina Gamecocks and Vandy face the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs.

Local College Basketball Beat

UT Men: The Tennessee Vols men’s basketball team escaped with a win against the Georgia Bulldogs. Escaped is the best way to put it as the Vols needed a last-second shot from big man Brian Williams to seal the victory. Tennessee was down by as many as 17 before turning the game around. The Vols were led by Junior Scotty Hopson and Freshman Tobias Harris who both had 15 points. Tennessee’s roller-coaster season continues as they now are 12-6 and 2-2 in SEC play. The Vols started the season off hot at 6-0 after winning the pre-season NIT and beating Big East heavyweights Pittsburgh and Villanova but they are just 6-6 over their last 12 games. The embattled Bruce Pearl will be back on the sidelines for their next game against the eight ranked Uconn Huskies. The Vols have been successful in beating Big East teams this year but they will need Pearl and any other help as they try to stop PG Kemba Walker, as he has been on a tear this entire season. Speaking of Pearl, he is four games in to his SEC mandated suspension of eight games. Stephen Pearl was the subject of Georgia fans as they chanted “Where’s Your Daddy?” but the Vols got the last laugh with the victory. The Vols travel to Uconn this Saturday. The return of Pearl and the spectacular play of Walker should make for an entertaining game. Make sure you tune in.

Vandy’s Men: After dropping their first two SEC road games, Vandy defeated Ole Miss 84-74 at Memorial Gym. The Commodores were led by super soph John Jenkins’s 20 points and big man Festus Ezeli’s 16. Lance Gouldbourne had a career high 15 rebounds.After a hotly contested first half, Vandy opened the second half on a 12-3 run and seemed on the verge of pulling away. The Rebels would not go away though as they staged a 14-3 run also that put them ahead 66-65. Dundrecous Nelson of Ole Miss fueled the run by scoring eight straight points, hitting two-straight from 3-point land and making a pair of free throws. Vandy would not be denied this victory as Jenkins sank another one of his silky smooth 3-pointers on the Commodores next possession and they would never trail from that point. The ‘Dores are now 13-4 and 2-2 in SEC play. They face Southern Methodist this Saturday. Go Commodores

Tennessee Lady Vols and Vanderbilt Lady Commodores: The two elite women teams in Tennessee faced off with UT taking the victory 68-56. The fifth ranked Lady Vols (17-2) were just too much for Vandy (12-6) as they jumped out to a 21-5 on the strength of a 18-0 run. The Lady Vols held Vandy to a season low 18.9 percent shooting in the first half of the game. Vandy would go down by as many as 22 points before they were able find there groove and begin to mount a small comeback. The Commodores would cut to lead to 64-56 thanks to a Jasmine Lister 3-pointer but that would be as close as they would get as UT closed the game out scoring the last four points. Meighan Simmons continued her hot play and led the Vols with 17 points. Angie Bjorklund and Glory Johnson both chipped in with 14 points a piece. The lost continued Vandy’s woes at Thompson-Boling arena as they dropped to 0-26 in games played at the venue.



Both Teams will be in action this Thursday as the Lady Vols travel to Columbia to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Vandy women come back to Nashville to face the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Sportaholic Mid-Week Speed Drills

The Nashville Predators seem to be cooling down after their hot start. They lost last night to the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 to extend their season high losing streak to 3 games. The veteran defensemen Ed Jovanoski posted a hat trick for the Coyotes. Nashville had been the NHL’s best team in one-goal games, going 23 straight without losing in regulation, dating to Feb. 9 but were unable to pull this one out. The Preds entered the 3rd period up 3-2 but allowed two power play goals, one by Lee Stempniak and another one to Ed Jovanski. Steve Sullivan had a breakway before the two goals were allowed in the 3rd but could take advantage of it.Pekka Rinne did have 28 saves in the losing effort. "We did a decent job, but we’re going to need to find a way to win some games here,” Predators coach Barry Trotz said. The Preds looking to get back on their winning ways begining this Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Vandy's and Tennessee's men basketball teams both began their season on on the right note. The 23rd ranked Vols defeated Brevard 91-42. Scotty Hopson led the Vols with 17 points and super freshman Tobias Harris added 16 as UT looks to put the Bruce Pearl allegations to the side for the moment. Vandy defeated Alabama-Birmingham 69-53. Sophomore Jeff Jenkins sparked the Commodores with 19 and Jeffrey Taylor chipped in with 11. "I think it was just what we hoped to get in an exhibition game - a team that's well coached and stuck with their plan," said head coach Kevin Stallings of Alabama-Huntsville. "

Tennessee Volunteers football team will start freshman QB Tyler Bray for the first time vs. Memphis this year. With the Vols going nowhere this year (2-6, 0-5 SEC) this was the logical move for coach Derek Dooley. I'm very high on Bray. I like his arm and moxie. He showed what he could do against Georgia this year, making some beautiful throws and showed confidence. The future is now in Knoxville and it looks bright at QB with Bray at the helm. Check out Bray's cool tattoo as well: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Headlinin-Tyler-Bray-and-his-amazing-back-tat-;_ylt=AnV6qVqo.g4Sut_c_2luYz3ynYl4?urn=ncaaf-281854

Vandy's football team welcomes Florida to town this weekend. The Commodores will try move on without leading rusher Warren Norman. Norman dislocated his right wrist in a loss to Arkansas on Saturday. Vandy's offense has already been dreadful this year, scoring 18.2 ppg this season while generating 286.8 total ypg, so it going to be tough sledding without their top back.

The talk of town has been the Randy Moss signing. Everyone seems to be excited to see what's in store for the Titans. It's good that they have a bye week to get Moss acclimated to the team. I'm still curious to see which Moss will show up here in Nashville. I think coach Jeff Fisher will get the best out of him though. He has way more control of his team than Brad Childress. I look for the Titans to have a special package for him when they face Miami in two weeks. Chris Johnson will benefit the most because you can't put eight in the box versus Moss. Do so at your own risk. The arrival of Moss came at the right time, with sources close to the team reporting that Kenny Britt could be out for 6 to 8 weeks.