Randy Smith: Vols Open New Season In NCAA Tournament

  • Monday, March 18, 2019
  • Randy Smith
Randy Smith
Randy Smith
Hey Vols......What happened? After playing so wonderfully against a very good Kentucky team on Saturday, you tried to phone it in against Auburn on Sunday in the SEC Tournament Championship Game and kept getting a wrong number. Taking nothing away from Auburn but that 84-80 loss at Auburn nine days ago should have given your team plenty of incentive to beat the Tigers. It didn't.

I believe that the stunning 82-78 come from behind win over the Wildcats Saturday afternoon took a lot out of the Vols, both physically and emotionally.
I've heard some fans making excuses for the Big Orange, like they were tired for having to play three days in a row. Forget that.....Auburn was playing a fourth straight day and dominated the Volunteers in every facet of the game. There were two big stats that were so telling in the Tigers 20-point win. Auburn torched the nets for 15 three pointers and forced the Vols into 15 turnovers, 12 in the first half. You can't beat a bad team with that kind of performance, much less a team as good and as well coached as Auburn.

So, where do the Volunteers go from here? For starters they head to Columbus, Ohio and a date with 15th seeded Colgate on Friday afternoon. It's the NCAA South Region and the number two seeded Vols once again face a great three point shooting team. It appears that guarding against the three point shot has become a real Achilles heel for Tennessee. And if the Volunteers survive Colgate they will likely face a tremendous three point shooting team again as they would face the winner of the first round game between Cincinnati and Houston, both quick up tempo teams with great three point shooters.

I'm sure that there was a lot of soul searching going on when the team returned to Knoxville following that dismal performance against Auburn. It may actually be a good thing to get blistered that badly by the Tigers. No doubt Tennessee needs to rediscover the same ability it showed during that school record 19-game winning streak. You know, the same winning streak that catapulted the Vols into a number one ranking midway through the season.   If they can do that, things will be fine. If they face Colgate with the same enthusiasm they faced Auburn with, it will be a quick trip to the Big Dance. I prefer to think in a more positive fashion.

I'm hoping that the Volunteers great leaders like Williams, Schofield and Bone will step up and deliver once again as they did against Kentucky in the SEC semi-finals. This has been a magical season all along for Tennessee and a trip to the Final Four is still on the table.

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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com

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