Excruciating. That's the word I would use to best describe today's 70-67 loss to Alabama. The three point prayer by Anthony Brock at the buzzer spoiled the Vols chances for 20 regular season wins.
From the beginning, the the body language of both our players and fans was horrible. Everyone in the arena behaved as if they were suffering from a hangover. And the students were apparently still sleeping theirs off. The student section behind the basket was practically empty.
With about ten minutes to go in the first half, Wayne Chism motioned and pleaded to the students to get up and get loud. The response? About five of them stood up and clapped. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the mascot game of musical chairs and the kiss cam get more of a reaction than the basketball game.
As for the players, it was glaringly obvious they didn't bring the same level of intensity they showed the last two road games. With the exception of a couple stretches in the second half, they played uninspired basketball .
The bottom line is fans didn't create a hostile environment and the Alabama players wanted this game more than the Tennessee players. The Crimson Tide deserved to win.
On the positive side, I give props to the person that came up with the idea to honor Ryan Childress. During warm-ups, the players all wore shirts that stated: "Childress #34 Senior".
The other positive was Wayne Chism. I thought he was the only player that played with any passion and energy. His outside shooting and defense ignited the run that erased a double-digit Alabama lead.
I'll close with this thought: can we please stop talking about Anthony Brock and his "great story" now? I mean, he missed his flight and drove from Arkansas. Good for him. But it's not like he walked... barefoot... uphill the entire way. The media is always looking for an angle.
What other bloggers had to say:
- 3sib is the only other Vol blog I could find that already had some post game commentary -- Sleep Walking
- Chris Rich at FanHouse says the Vols are a team without a clue.
Posts
1 comments:
It was a tough loss for sure. The wins at South Carolina and Florida loom large now. Otherwise we would be a bubble team.
Post a Comment