Saturday, January 15, 2011

Instant "Analysis": Bobby's Thoughts on Vanderbilt's Loss

This one stings. A lot. Vanderbilt, after squandering their second double-digit road lead in 8 days fall to 1-2 in conference and are developing a reputation of being unable to finish games. The trouble began with just over 2 minutes to go in the 1st when Tennessee went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 10 heading into the break. From that point on, Tennessee was absolutely the more aggressive team. In the end, that's why they won.

Some stats that stick out to me:
- 8: That was Tennessee's fast-break point advantage over the Commodores during the final 20 minutes.

- 15: That's how many second chance points Tennessee scored in the 2nd half. The Volunteers grabbed 5 more offensive rebounds than Vanderbilt, and seemed to capitalize every time.

- 21: That's how many turnovers Vanderbilt committed, including 10 in the second half. What's worse, is several were completely unforced. The one that sticks out is Festus' fumbling of the basketball with 3:39 seconds left on a simple hand-off just beyond the arc. Tennessee scored 13 points off of Vanderbilt's 10 turnovers in the second half. Tennessee, who did a fantastic job taking care of the ball in the second half, only committed 2 turnovers, leading to 3 Commodore points. The worst offenders came out of the 4 spot, where Lance Goulbourne and Rod Odom gave the ball away 8 times.

- 23: That's how many more shots Tennessee took than Vanderbilt. Of the 23, the Volunteers attempted a whopping 17 more shots in the 2nd half. That's no way to win a game on the road

- 26: That's the number of points the Volunteers scored in the paint in the 2nd half. The Commodores only managed 12. Tennessee scored 38 for the game, compared to just 28 for the Commodores. Make no mistake about it, Vanderbilt got out-muscled in the second half.


Final Thoughts

This loss is only as devastating as the Commodores allow it to be. The bus trip back form Knoxville is likely to be as long as any as the team has taken, but hopefully they will learn from it. It is better to have tough losses in January and build from them than to have them happen in March and have that be your season. Clearly, there are things this teams needs to work on. Specifically rebounding and taking care of the ball. It is worth mentioning a few things to Commodore fans teetering on the edge however. First, Tennessee desperately needed this game. They HAD to have it. Vanderbilt was in a position to put the Volunteers away early and didn't do it. But as difficult as it is to do, you have to give Tennessee credit for hanging in the game and finding a way to win. Despite their roller-coaster season, they are a very talented team. They found a way to win a game they had to have. Second, Vanderbilt is not at full strength. As good as Lance and Odom have played in Andre's absence, the team really could have used him today. You think UT gets quite as many offensive rebounds as they did if Walker was playing? You think there are 8 turnovers from the 4 spot if Andre suits up. I'm not trying to pile on Lance and Odom, but there is little doubt the Commodores needed their "glue guy" this afternoon.

Finally, Jeffery Taylor needs to have the "moment" where he puts the team on his back and refuses to let them lose. Freije had that moment, as did Derrick Byars, and Shan Foster. Jeffery did have 10 second half points, but he's got to do more. He's got to be "the guy." Now, to be fair, he was clearly fouled going across the lane in the last 90 seconds of the game in one of the most astonishing no-calls of all time. Taylor slide at least 15 feet on the floor while still possessing the basketball. Jeff Greene just called and says that's traveling.

I'm as disappointed as anyone in this loss. The Commodores let another conference road game get away from them. Right now, they are 1-2 in a very muddled, and eminently winnable SEC East. But this loss is only as bad as the team allows it to be. Don't lose faith, yet.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was at this game today and it was a more sickening watching us let this one slip away then Murray St.’s buzzer beater. After blowing big leads during conference play in the 2nd half, I don’t think this team will learn from the mistakes today. This is starting to feel like the 2008 season. I have all the faith in the world this team will win every home game this season, more than likely beat Auburn on the road and that could be it. Props to UT – they win their big games (Today, Memphis, Pitt, Villanova) and we don’t (WV, Missouri, SC, today). They played a gritty second half and we were soft. We have no go-to-guy(s) in late game situations. Taylor was so reluctant to take a shot in the final minutes it was sickening to watch.

We will beat Ole Miss on Wednesday, handedly, and act like everything is ok. We will win every home game and act like everything is ok. It will also continue to show we can’t win a game outside of the “quirky” confides of Memorial. This team has yet to prove we can win in a late game situation, especially on the road. If you want to argue Marquette, the guy who made the last second shot was on crouches today. Not looking very promising…

Anonymous said...

My faith in this team is lost unfortunately. Vanderbilt could be beaten at home by 30 pts. by any team in the SEC, and such a loss would not be as demoralizing as today's. The losses to Murray State or Siena were at least losses to teams who fought hard. Vanderbilt lost today to a UT team which had given up. Honestly, I've never seen a team actually give up on a game in the 1st half the way UT did. At the 2 min. mark, I believe, UT had 10 pts. 10 pts. And despite this, Vanderbilt coaches and players alike effectively shrugged and said "We don't care if we win or lose this game." Case in point, Lance Goulbourne was responsbile for 4 consecutive turnovers in the beginning of the 2nd half.

While I agree that the game is as devastating as Vanderbilt lets it be, it has all the earmarks of being a loss that destroys an otherwise promising season.

Oh, and regarding JT, I for one am getting tired of how often announcers tout his future prospects. This "star watch" player had 4 pts in the 1st half, and it's not the only game that he's done so. This is the game I realized that he will never be in the Frejie, Byars, or Foster category.

Anonymous said...

Despite the team's record last year, I think we all recognized AJ's tendancy to "disappear" during key games, even though he was physcially on the court. I'm seeing the same tendancy from Jeff Taylor. Will he rise to the occasion and save this season? Who knows? It doesn't look promising. And this loss is one that could breed resentment and dissension among members of the team. That was rumoured to be the case toward the end of last season. All the key players were on the team then.

Anonymous said...

Vandy 1-4 in close games this season. Not a good trend. Only silver lining is that a certain player hit the winning shot in the sole win, and has been out for the other 4 losses. Got glue?

Anonymous said...

47 second half points by UT.

When was the last time VU won a big game?

You are correct, we will kill Ole Miss and act like everthing is fine. Fes and JT will have big meaningless games.

Good news, is that JT will have to come back for Sr. year.

Anonymous said...

Lou Holtz once said something to the effect when asked how do you get such motivated teams? "I get rid of the players that aren't motivated."

Anonymous said...

Agree with everything that has been said. This was a very frustrating loss from a team we all believed was an underdog to win the SEC. After today, I don’t see how this team can do that with the schedule they have left. No team can lose their first two conference road games and expect to finish first. Having said that, I still think we can have a good season. Fortunately (for us), with SC’s win over UF, right now there is no differentiation from the top of the East to the bottom.

Memorial will have a different feel on Wednesday night, because I don’t think any fan is going to feel good if we get a win against a 0-3 Ole Miss team. My feelings towards this team are completely different than 2 weeks ago. I see no heart, no grit, and no urgency to get better. Prove me wrong Vandy

KHH said...

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers WAY TOO MANY. Very poor game clock mgmt in the end, especially with one foul to give, that part lays on CKS. I was literally sick by the end of the game. I'm tired of JT not being a playmaker and disappearing in the second half. He needs to be way more aggressive if he ever wants to play past his college career. This team needs to start strong and actually finish strong, they can do it, they just have to WANT to do it.

bushman said...

Everyone wondered how the team will compete with AJ. It appears that Fes is filling his shoes admirably. The true loss is Jermaine Beal. If Beal was on this team, we win most, if not all, of those close games. No one on this team is willing to step up, put the team on his sboulders and lead. Jermaine was always willing to do that. Although we all loved and appreciate Jermaine's contribution, it is only now where we realize how underrated he really was during his time here. We need someone who wants the last shot. This team appears timid.
Last - Not sure if it starts at CKS but something needs to be done in order to close out the first half and the game. Time management needs improvement.

Greg M said...

Same Old Vandy. I agree that we will win most home games and maybe a few easy ones on the road. But as usual wihtout any heart our soul we will lose to many winnable games and be home in early March with the season over once again.

Anonymous said...

This team has first round NIT loss written all over it. I think for the most part our team is mentally soft. The only guy I trust is Festus, which is shocking considering his limited experience. Taylor pulls an Oglivy - disappearing at big moments- everytime we need him; Tinsley can't shoot it anymore and is not athletic enough to handle the ball against major teams. At least Taylor only disappears during big moments, Tinsley wilts and plays like he bet on the other team (remember the Mizzou game).

Anonymous said...

So far this year, this team is performing MUCH better than anticipated so I don't understand why people are griping and complaining so much. VU is usually decent but not a powerhouse team every year. I think people need to lower their expectations and stop acting like cry babies.

Seamus O'Toole said...

I think the comment directly above really misses the mark. This isn't about what is "usually" the case. Even if it was, fans would still have a right to be disappointed at losing two SEC road games where we were up huge and had every opportunity to put the game away. But aside from that, anyone who's watched the games can see that we have top-15 talent on this team, which is consistent with how the players were rated coming in as recruits. Making the excuse that people need to "lower their expectations" simply ignores the obvious fact that our guys are not playing to their potential. This would be an easier pill to swallow if they were displaying more character and fighting hard every night, but they're not. Time to right the ship.

Seth said...

Let’s get off the "Tinsley sucks" wagon. He struggled in the beginning of the season but has been playing great as of late. He was 3 of 4 from behind the arc and handled the ball nicely for most of the game. The problem is we have no guy we can turn to in late game situations. That’s the problem. The coaching staff also needs to re-evaluate too. I like CKS but I do think he can be stubborn at times. If he doesn’t change the mentality of this team, then he’s being stubborn thinking everything is ok.

Even though we are 1-2, this season isn’t over yet. Thanks to the rest of the SEC underperforming and SC officially being labeled “the pest” of the east, Vandy is only a game and half back from first place. The next 8 games are critical because only 2 of those games are on the road. It will be a tall order playing in Gainesville in that stretch, but even more important is the game in Starkville. Stallings has never won there and can’t afford to let that streak continue. I was pissed they lost Saturday but there is still an outside shot at us winning the SEC.

Anonymous said...

Ya, what Seth said.

Anonymous said...

Ole Miss game just became must MUST win. If we win tomorrow every team in the East will only have two wins. Thats pretty much a clean slate for us to makes up for our poor start. Every team in the East will also have 2 losses except for... South Carolina(????), sitting at 2-1 with KY coming to Columbia on Saturday. Who saw that coming when the season began...