Overrated it’s the chant so often heard when the highly-ranked visiting team loses on the road.
The Over-rated! chant must be ringing in the No. 8 Volunteers’ heads after losing their last three road games.
First, the then-No. 4 Vols traveled north to Lexington only to get dominated the entire game, losing 84-74 to an under-matched and unranked Kentucky team. Oh yeah, the game was on a nationally televised ESPN audience.
Over-rated! echoed throughout Rupp Arena.
After almost blowing a 19-point lead against Mississippi State, Tennessee held on for an 84-79 win in Knoxville. Whew!
Next up was a trip to conference-leading Georgia. After forcing the game into double-overtime, then-No. 6 Tennessee forgot to play defense and lost 77-75 after Chris Daniels made an open layup with 7.3 left to play. Did I mention that UT blew a 16-point first-half lead?
Over-rated! echoed throughout Stegeman Coliseum.
Tuesday’s 81-67 loss at No. 13 Florida was the latest setback.
Ron Slay was the only spark in a fire-less Tennessee team. He had a team-high 18 points despite the lack of help from his teammates. Although it was difficult to see more than one team on the floor (the only one being the Gators).
You guessed it, Over-rated!
Perhaps the masses that fill Rupp, Stegeman and the O’Connell Center have caught on to something that the top 25 voters haven’t. Perhaps the Volunteers are … (as I put my pinkie finger to my lip) … overrated.
Attention basketball team, it’s gut-check time.
After losing at Kentucky, Tennessee noted that it needed to address some problems like rebounding and better shot selection.
Well after Tuesday’s loss at Florida, it looks like the Vols need to correct a lot more problems:
Consistency. It seems like every game, whether the Vols are winning or losing, there are frequent sags in the offensive production. For example, blowing the lead at UGA and almost blowing the lead against MSU. Who would have thought that Tennessee firepower would lack offense?
Lack of patience. No matter what, if UT is trailing, you can bet the house that a 3-point shot will be taken.
Tuesday, the Vols were trailing but there was plenty of time left. Did UT dish the ball into the post? No. Instead, it was raining 3-pointers all night. (Translation: Give Ron Slay the ball!)
Play to win, not like you expect to win. In the SEC, anybody can beat anybody. Georgia has proved that. However, all those weeks with a top-five ranking seems to have went straight the Tennessee players’ heads.
There is a certain arrogance that walks onto the floor alongside the men in orange night in and night out. There’s nothing wrong with being confident, but when you lose, that means the other team was better that night. Deal with it.
Talent. The Vols have arguably one of the most talented teams in the nation. However, talent only takes you so far. Individual talents and awards don’t win a title, the team does.
Leadership. Ask every member of the team and he’ll tell you, We don’t have one leader. And yet they act like that’s a good thing.
It’s not. Tony Harris has the potential to run the team but lacks consistency when the Vols lose. Isiah Victor has the appeal to be a leader but lacks the voice on the court. So are the Vols willing to give the leadership role to a sophomore? (Ahem, Ron Slay? Jon Higgins?)
It seems as though the top 25 is divided into three tiers. The elite level consists of Stanford, Duke, Michigan State and Arizona. The middle bracket is those teams at 17-3, 17-4, etc., while the bottom is those teams who just popped out of nowhere.
Tennessee falls in the second bracket with all the other 17-4 teams. UT has what it takes to move to the next level. But, as of Tuesday, don’t hold your breath.
