HoopNotes: Sheeeeesh!

[orange+white=heaven]

What the heck does one say after giving up an 18-0 run?

Some Notes from a basketball game that was played at Auburn University last night...

tfp...

The final straw came from Pearl himself. A costly technical foul with 21.7 seconds to play allowed Auburn to extend a late lead beyond reach.

"We’re real upset and frustrated," said Pearl, who is mired in a threegame losing streak, his longest with the Vols (13-5, 1-2). "They go to the (foul) line 23 times in the second half, and we go three. It’s hard to win games when you can’t get there."

A string of 11 straight missed shots, sprinkled with three key blocks, allowed Auburn to go on an 18-0 run to seize control in crunch time.

"We lost it in regards to our shot selection," Pearl said.

Pearl’s anger spilled over when a timeout was awarded to the Tigers’ Frank Tolbert while battling for a offensive rebound against Dane Bradshaw.
Immediately, Pearl was irate. Red-faced and screaming, he ventured onto the floor and promptly was served with a technical foul that essentially killed remaining Tennessee hopes.

"It was a 50-50 ball," Pearl said. "You have to have possession to get timeout. You have to have the ball. That’s what I was upset about."

the Tigers went through one stretch 10-of-12 from the foul line, and continually outraced UT players to loose balls.

"They played well," said Chris Lofton, who led the Vols with 22 points, "and maybe we didn’t match their intensity."

South Carolina visits Thompson-Boling Arena at 6 p.m. Saturday.

"The season isn’t getting away from us," Chism said. "It’s going to happen to a lot of teams. We’ve just got to bounce back."

Tennessean...

Dane Bradshaw, though, said nobody's panicking after falling 83-80 to Auburn on Wednesday.
"We knew coming into the year that there was going to be some inconsistency this season," Bradshaw said. "That doesn't mean we accept it, but we have to improve on it.
"If anything, we were reaching our peak around this time last year and went downhill toward the end of the season. Hopefully, it will be reversed this season."

"All year long, we've been unable to have that final knockout blow, and it almost caught up to us a couple of times," Bradshaw said. "(Wednesday night), it got us."

Pearl said it's paramount that Tennessee get more points inside. Freshman centers Duke Crews and Wayne Chism were a combined 5-of-16 from the field and struggled to finish shots in the lane.
"We've got to continue to try to go inside and have a balance," Pearl said. "It's like football. You can't throw every down. We can't shoot the 3-ball every possession."

Even though Pearl ripped off his jacket in anger and was near the mid-court stripe, he didn't think he deserved the technical foul from Tom Lopes with 21.7 seconds to play.
"I didn't think he had to give it to me in that situation, and I think you have to have possession of the basketball to get a timeout," Pearl said.

Lofton, the SEC's leading scorer, didn't attempt a free throw on Wednesday. He attempted just one in the Ohio State loss and two in the Vanderbilt loss.
That's after getting to the line 85 times in the Vols' first 15 games.
"I need to drive to the hole more, get some calls and try to get fouled," Lofton said. "We had bad shot selection, myself included. I settled for some 3-pointers when Coach had called some plays for me to drive to the hole."

This one is really interesting...

Crews and Lofton didn't start the second half, because Pearl said he made a decision before the game to change up the lineup.
"I had decided before the game that both Josh Tabb and Wayne Chism would start the second half because we had started the second half so poorly," Pearl said. "We had been getting off to such bad starts, so I made the adjustment."

Road teams are now just 4-17 through Wednesday night's games. Both of the Vols' two conference losses have come on the road.

"I don't know if it was our composure we lost. We missed a lot of shots and didn't get to the foul line," Pearl said. "When we had a lead, our shot selection was so bad and obviously we didn't get stops.
"As far as losing it, yeah … we lost it as it related to our shot selection. I thought we kind of panicked offensively instead of executing our stuff."

Pearl refused to second-guess the timing of the technical.
"That's easy to write, easy to say, easy to talk about," said Pearl, who never lost three in a row during his first season at UT. "I'm going to stand up for my kids. I'm going to fight until the end."

Lofton led the Vols with 22 points, but was quiet in the second half until the final few minutes of the game. He had several shots blocked and was also unable to finish drives that he typically makes.
"I don't think I was the aggressor," said Lofton, who was 6-of-12 from 3-point range. "They were the aggressor, the more aggressive team, and that's why they won."

Ladies and gentleman, you will notice that the "Fasten Seatbelts" light has been activated in the cabin. Please return to your seats, place your chairs in the upright position, and buckle your seatbelts. We will be experiencing some turbulence as we attempt to pass through this thirteen win plateau en route to the NCAA tourney. Captain Pearl has assured us that there are better conditions ahead, so, please be patient and... as always.... thank you for flying Volunteer Air...

Hang in there folks.
Volunteer Pride.

 

[Fine Vol]

What the heck does one say after giving up an 18-0 run?

Some Notes from a basketball game that was played at Auburn University last night...

tfp...










Tennessean...








This one is really interesting...










Ladies and gentleman, you will notice that the "Fasten Seatbelts" light has been activated in the cabin. Please return to your seats, place your chairs in the upright position, and buckle your seatbelts. We will be experiencing some turbulence as we attempt to pass through this thirteen win plateau en route to the NCAA tourney. Captain Pearl has assured us that there are better conditions ahead, so, please be patient and... as always.... thank you for flying Volunteer Air...

Hang in there folks.
Volunteer Pride.

Fine but I cant believe you ssshhheeeeeeeeshed our team. orange and white = heaven ssshheeeeeesh

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

I agree rough times are a part of all road games in the SEC. Its hard for a freshman to come into this league and have a good performance on the road. You just don't get the calls you do at home and it is very difficult to win on the road. Having said all of that, I personally appreciate everything this basketball team and coaches have done in revitalizing the program. You will always have my support.
Go Vols!

 

[orange+white=heaven]

Fine but I cant believe you ssshhheeeeeeeeshed our team.

It just seemed somehow oddly appropriate to the moment...

 

[VolHolt]

I think I need to stop going to Auburn/UT games, all four games I've attended in person (2 basketball and 2 football games) we've lost.

 

[615 Vol]

I hate to complain about the refs because the Vols still need to take care of their buisness but they got UT again. How does one team go to the line 20 more times in a half? There was no way they should have gotten that last time out and I was happy that Pearl let them have it. I wish Fulmer would show a little more of that passion instead of clapping all the damn time. Bruce will get them on track and they will be a part of March madness so GO VOLS!!!!!! This is actually a good time to get the kinks out instead of struggling at tourney time. I have heard "what til' next year" a lot over the years but that really does apply with this team. If Lofton returns to school next season instead of the NBA they will be loaded.

 

[odbowles]

I too am proud of this team and I am also glad Pearl stood up for his boys, even if it did lead to a T. I agree with what Bradshaw said about peaking too early and hopefully we can get it together and be red hot towards the end of the season. At least we can all agree that they are fun to watch! Go VOLS!!!!

 

[orange+white=heaven]

I'm glad to see folks keeping their attitudes positive.
For me, and just for today probably, I still can't get my mood over the hump of giving up an 18-0 run.

I'm bummed today boys and girls. I'll get over it.
But.... Sheeeesh!

 

[tidwell]

Dane hit the nail on the head talking about the inconsistency. You did have to expect it, but man... this is rough.