Tennessee's Trap Game

Bruce Pearl and his Tennessee Volunteers sit at the top of men’s college basketball for the first time in school history and will play their first game at #1 tonight when they travel to Nashville for a meeting with #14 Vanderbilt (ESPN, 9 PM ET) in an SEC East battle. It will be Tennessee’s second straight game against an in-state rival on the road, but certainly not as big as their last one. In the first, the Vols displayed an extraordinary amount of toughness in getting by previously undefeated Memphis in a monumental matchup of the nation’s top two teams. There is still a buzz surrounding Tennessee’s riveting 66-62 come from behind victory over the undisputed number one. With that said, tonight’s game in Nashville will not be the spectacle that the first battle of Tennessee was, but there’s a chance that #1 will fall again.

It didn’t take much for Pearl to get his team motivated for the 1 vs. 2 matchup at FedEx Forum on Saturday night, but following the emotional victory, the Vols are especially vulnerable bouncing back. Tennessee has never had the opportunity of playing in this position, and is a largely inexperienced group, having never been past the Sweet 16 with its current set of players. Although wealthy with talent, both on the court and with its coach, this team is still learning how to deal with success. Pearl was sly when he commented that his team had “everything to gain and nothing to lose” in its game with Memphis, but that title now longer applies now as the top-ranked team, and their opponent in their first game as the top team couldn’t be more dangerous.

14th ranked Vanderbilt enters this game at 23-4 and on a six-game winning streak. The Commodores haven’t lost at home this year, going 17-0 at Memorial Gym and armed with plenty of weapons (81.4 ppg) to compete with the Vols offensive firepower. Tennessee has been regarded as one of the elite perimeter shooting teams in the nation, but statistically, Vanderbilt matches up very well. The Commodores shoot better from 3-point range (40.6% vs. 36%) and make almost as many per game (9.1 for Tennessee, 8.9 for Vanderbilt). Shan Foster is second in the SEC in scoring and has proven to be a more dangerous shooter than Chris Lofton. Foster makes an SEC leading 3.7 treys a game to go along with a sweet 45% clip from behind the arc. In comparison, Lofton only hits 3.3 3-pointers, while making 39% of his shots.

Inside, the Commodores have gotten exponentially stronger with the arrival of A.J. Ogilvy. The freshman from Australia is averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds, both good for top 10 in the conference. He had a rough outing in the first meeting, and must be more assertive this time around. With Ogilvy producing the way he can, Vanderbilt should have an edge inside; Tennessee’s big men love to crowd the perimeter, but none of them are as versatile from anywhere on the court in the way the 6-10 Ogilvy is. Ogilvy can knock down jump shots, or take it to the basket and get free throws. The Vols will throw Wayne Chism at him, which guarantees to be an intriguing matchup. In the first go-round, Chism stole the show by dominating Ogilvy with an 18 and 18 performance. It’s the Aussie’s turn to step up in the rematch.

The Commodores enter this game looking to improve on one of their worst performances of the season during the first meeting between these schools. An 80-60 loss earlier this year at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 17th is still nagging at Vanderbilt, and they’ve been hungry to avenge that defeat ever since. That setback, more than any other, has created doubt about whether the Commodores should be ranked this high. Sure, they started 14-0, and have an 8-4 mark in league play, but impressive wins are a glaring omission from the team’s profile. This rematch gives coach Kevin Stallings and his team a shot at revenge and a quality win to significantly bolster the resume leading up to March. The Vols’ gaudy #1 ranking makes this game even more meaningful. After losing their first game of the season on the road to Kentucky, the Commodores got payback for the loss by beating the Wildcats by 41 when they made the trip to Nashville. A win like that over Pearl’s Vols is not going to happen, but that performance alone should have Tennessee’s attention.