Given the propensity of this year’s UT Men’s Basketball Team to bring us to the brink of exhilarating highs (i.e. the first 39 minutes of last Sunday’s SEC Tournament Championship Game) followed by jaw-droping lows (i.e. the last minute of the aforementioned game), I’m publishing my fan’s guide for watching the Vols as they make their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance. My goal is to help you experience the latter while avoiding the former.
5. Keep things in perspective.
Prior to Coach Pearl arriving, this time of year we’d be talking about the Vols disappointing season capped off by another disappointing loss in the first round of the NIT.
4. Kentucky and Florida are playing in the NIT.
This one is related to #5; however, any Vol fan can see why this deserves special mention.
3. Enjoy lunch before/during the game.
I’m taking a midday break for the game and inviting a couple of friends over to the home office for pizza. However, we’ll make sure we’ve finished eating well in advance of the end of the game lest tip #2 comes into play:
2. If the game is close in the final minute, look away from the television.
Time and again, this team has disappointed us in crunch time. If they’re able to pull out a close one, you’ll have witnessed:
A) a marked improvement over their regular season play, OR
B) a miracle.
Either way, be thankful. And, if they stay true to form with things not working out at the end, refer back to points 4 and 5.
1. Chillax! – This team is unpredictable.
They’ve gone 5-2 over their last seven games, looking great in the games they’ve won and clueless in their losses. The question is which team will show up? I say there are two ways to respond to this:
1) Stress out, OR
2) Sit back, enjoy the ride, and refer back to points 2, 3, 4 and 5 when things don’t go our way.
All that being said, I hope the Vols pull it out against Oklahoma State this afternoon. Here’s hoping they have a sudden injection of leadership and poise along with a commitment to getting the ball inside to Chism and Smith. Go Vols, and Happy March Madness everyone!
I’m assuming on point 4 you meant FL and KY are NOT playing in the NIT, and agreed with point 1 don’t worry be happy if they beat Okie State they aren’t likely to prevail over Pitt so it’s all good, have fun enjoy the game for what it is.
@Mark OC: KY and FL are playing in the NIT. KY beat UNLV 70 to 60 on Tuesday, and FL beat Jacksonville 84 to 62 on Wednesday. More details here: http://www.collegesports-fans.com/ncaa-tournament/nit-basketball-tournament.html
I plan on knitting from the beginning to end and enjoying the game, but I will be happily surprised if we win.
I do like this team and even if they don’t win, I look forward to seeing them improve..or play consistently..next year. When they are at their best they could beat most anybody.
My humble opinion.
Fun article, enjoy your pizza.
@Ms.Dragon Pearl Jasmine: Excellent plan. Sounds like an excellent implementation of my guide.
It’s currently halftime, and we’re getting ready to chow down on our second pizza.
Well, they held true to form for this season. Tip #2 came into effect with the Vols losing it in the last minute. My consolation in this one is that they didn’t completely give it away like they did last week against Mississippi State. Byron Eaton made a great play, and the Vols’ defense was exposed. All-in-all, it was a “bleh” type of ending for a middle of the road season. However, I’ll also apply tip #5 and say that it shows how far this program has come for a middle of the road season to include an SEC East 1st Place finish and an SEC Tournament 2nd place finish.
Ah revealed my ignorance. I didn’t realize they were seperate tournaments and TN did do well this year as you said alot of SEC powerhouses didn’t make it. GA didn’t make either tournament. TN put on a good game just came up short in the end.