Scheduling has been Key for Tennessee Basketball

Bruce Pearl has always been an advocate of playing a difficult regular season schedule and this season has been no exception. The Vols strength of schedule has ranked number two or three in the country for most of the year, and for good reason. Looking at their out of conference games, it's easy to see why -- Sienna, Georgetown, Gonzaga (twice), Temple, Marquette, Kansas, and Memphis. Of those games, only Memphis and Gonzaga were played in Knoxville.

The go anywhere and play anyone approach has served Bruce Pearl well during his tenure at Tennessee. The Vols played their way to a No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed twice in Pearl's three trips to the Big Dance. In each case, strength of schedule was essential in obtaining such a high seed.

This year has been no different. Tennessee's RPI, influenced by their strength of schedule, is the key component that currently differentiates the Vols from the log jam of 19+ win SEC schools. Aside from Tennessee and LSU, the other teams are paying the price for poor scheduling and consequently, are bubble teams at best. Those schools are going to need a strong showing in the upcoming conference tournament to punch their ticket to the NCAA tournament.

In his Monday press conference, Coach Pearl acknowledged that scheduling has served him well -- it's something that he believes in strongly and will continue in the future. However, this season it's been somewhat of a negative for his young team because it hasn't allowed them to build any confidence or momentum by putting together 5,6, or 7 wins in a row. Regardless, Pearl insists that his formula for success is working.

The question then, is if strong scheduling is such a benefit, why doesn't every school do it? The answer is simple according to Pearl -- job security. Due to high expectations and the emphasis on winning NOW, typically about half of all coaches are on the hot seat and are therefore reluctant to schedule better teams. It's high reward, but also very high risk. If a coach over schedules and his team doesn't perform, that coach may not be back the following season. That's the reality.

Hungover in Knoxvlle - Tennessee Falls to Alabama 70-67

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.
  

If You Take Me Back I Promise I Will Change -- and This Time I Really Mean It

As it turns out, even though I've only made a few posts here, this blog is like the steady girlfriend that I keep leaving behind and yet she keeps taking me back. Recently, I've spent time chasing other hot blogs around the internet. Some lasted and some didn't. Some were fulfilling for short time and some weren't. Yet here I am, back at The Vol Critic after an absence of nearly a year.

So why didn't I just start a new blog? I could have done that, but it's too much work. I tend to spend enormous amounts of time preparing for new things instead of just doing them. No, what I need is to log more time hammering on the keyboard -- not more time trying to pick out themes and tweak css files. I spend enough time doing that for some of my other interests.

So, here I am, but why? This blog always remains in the back of my mind for some reason. I seem to be drawn to it. Hopefully this time I can make a commitment and not walk out on her. (Is it weird that I keep referring to this blog as "her"?)

Any questions? Now that we have that reintroduction (sort of) out of the way, let's get to it.

There's a lot on the docket right now in the world of Tennessee sports. The football team begins Spring practice on Tuesday and there's going to a ton of material to get through in the next few weeks. It's likely going to be a media circus with Kiffin and company -- new coaches, a new class of players, new offensive and defensive schemes, full media access, and even a practice open to the fans. It's certainly going to be a lot different that any Spring we've had around Tennessee in quite some time. Buckle your seat belts and hold on.

But for now, I want to stick with basketball.

Less than two weeks ago, the Vols basketball team suffered an embarrassing loss to the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington by 19 points. To make matters worse, that loss was on the heels of a 16-point drubbing at the hands of Ole Miss in Oxford. Fans were questioning the heart, drive, and overall talent of this basketball team. Even our fearless leader, who could do no wrong the past three seasons, was suddenly under attack.

After that Kentucky loss, Pearl called out his players. He said they quit and weren't representative of a "Bruce Pearl coached team". Pearl also called out himself and his coaching staff. With NCAA Tournament hopes dwindling, the Bruce Pearl era had hit its low point and bandwagon fans were jumping ship.

The following game, Tennessee returned home to try and get well against Mississippi State. The Vols won the game, 81-76, but weren't overly impressive in victory. Nevertheless, this team needed wins on their resume, and they got a crucial one against the Bulldogs.

But 17 wins wasn't going to be enough to get this basketball team into the Big Dance. Most analysts believe that with 18 wins, Tennessee would be a bubble team. However, with 19 wins, they would be a lock. The good news: the Vols could hit that mark by winning two of their final regular season games. The bad news: two of the remaining three games were road games against teams that were also battling for their tournament lives -- Florida and South Carolina.

Fast forward to the high point. Tennessee dismantled Florida in Gainesville 79-74, in a game that was not nearly as close as the score, and just days later, with the SEC Eastern Division title on the line, Bruce Pearl and company destroyed South Carolina by 17 in Columbia. With the wins, the Vols locked up a No. 1 Seed in the SEC Tournament.

Currently Tennessee stands with 19 wins and will have a chance to earn number 20 later today against Alabama.

All aboard! Fans are now knocking each other down to climb back on the bandwagon. This time, more fanatical than ever. The talks are now of a conference tournament championship and a possible appearance in the Elite 8. All of this from a team that fans had written off just a couple weeks ago. Makes you understand why fan is short for fanatical, doesn't it?