#2 Always Beats #1

I should know, twice #2 Carolina has beaten #1 Duke.

A quick round of thoughts on the Memphis/Tennessee game.

– Overall, a great game. With Chris Lofton out of sync, the whole Tennesse team stepped up to the plate. They never looked intimidated and everyone looked ready to take the final shot.

– You really have to love Bruce Pearl. He brings so much enthusiasm to the game. You can tell his players just seem to feed off him. He never panicked early when the Tigers started draining the 3’s and neither did his players. I love his line in the locker room (I’m paraphrasing) “I don’t know if we’re the best team in the country, but if we win this game, we’ll be #1”. This was a great hire by the Vols and I would be shocked if this guy doesn’t walk away with a title at some point in his career.

– Memphis tried to intimidate Tennessee and it failed. First, they ‘approached’ them in the entrance prior to coming onto the court. Then they got into their space again during the shoot around. This was stupid and petty. It just didn’t need to be done. The Volunteers were walking into a sea of blue, with Elvis’ wife watching, against five guys who will probably be in the NBA real soon. You intimidate with your talent and your play.

– Question of the day, why does a team who is one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country shoot 27 threes? After starting off an amazing 7-10, you would have thought after a couple of misses, Memphis would have settled into a little post-play, but they didn’t. They made (I believe) only two 2-point shots in the entire first half. After that hot start, Memphis finished 1-17 the rest of the way from behind the strip. What the hell? It’s not like they were playing catch up. They led almost the entire game.

– Calipari said to anyone who would listen (Vitale, PTI) that yes, his team sucks at the free throw line, but he said “out of 25 things that I’m concerned about, free throw shooting is number 25.” He claims that his Tigers make them when they have to (meaning they make them down the stretch). You’ll never guess what happened; the Tigers went 1-6 down the stretch in free throws. Pretty important considering they lost by four.

– Overall, I think what decided this game was attitude. Like I already said, Pearl always seemed excited, pumped up and positive; Calipari didn’t. I know that Calipari likes to coach with a chip on his shoulder, but his player’s were not prepared for this game mentally. Also, every time a foul was called on a Tiger player, they got pissed off, threw their hands up in the air and even got in the ref’s faces a couple times. They were lucky they didn’t get a T. The irony is, the refs called more fouls on Tennessee (19-17). When you’re too busy staring down the refs and worrying about the fouls, as opposed to your opponent, you’re going to lose.

– Anyhow, both teams proved they are legit. I don’t see Memphis losing another game and I would not drop them too far in the rankings, maybe #3 behind Carolina. Yes, the conference sucks, but they’ve beaten some solid non-conference teams earlier this season and that cannot be forgotten.

– As for Tennessee, I don’t know if they’re the best. I still say Carolina with a healthy Lawson is the best team in the nation (I’ll be doing my tournament posts soon enough). If I did a poll, which I don’t, I would easily have Tennessee at #1. Pearl is right, I don’t know if they are the best, but they are #1 for now.