Feb
27
Posted on 02-27-2008 at 10:30am
It’s lonely at the top…unless you’re only there a short time
Filed Under (Basketball, Sports & Outdoors) by Lesley on 02-27-2008

Pleasant dreams last night as the last image I saw before falling asleep was a smiling Joe Dubin announcing Vanderbilt’s 72-69 win over the University of Tennessee. I don’t have cable, so I didn’t get to see the game, but luckily, Laura Creekmore was liveblogging the event and has all the highlights.

*snip*

10:03 Bless those Vols and their poor FT shooting.

*snip*

I think I heard more than a few UT fans saying that exact same thing last Saturday night. But I digress. Check out Laura’s blog (usually more about food than sports) for her very entertaining commentary.

Hutchmo wrote up his thoughts over at his place including this one:

It’s pretty bad when fans yell at refs for making calls in FAVOR of their team, begging to let the game unfurl naturally.

Really? Now I’m really sore I missed this game. Hello, Comcast? Um, yeah…

Vandy grad Busy Mom keeps it short and sweet: “Yee. Effing. Hah.”

And what about MCB contributor Big Orange Michael? The smack talk has subsided in favor of delusion:

I know we lost and I’ll give credit to Vanderbilt for playing a good game and catching the Vols at the right time to pull off an upset. But that said, we don’t know what will happen this week. Perhaps Memphis will have its own stumble following the spotlight and national attention of Saturday night. Another couple of teams below us could lose and we could stay stay number one. I’m not saying it’s likely, but I am saying that it could happen.

Seriously? Stay number one after being beaten by a #16? Um, no. I’m not sure that Memphis is going to automatically regain their top spot, but I do think that (and this is good news for fans across the state, for the most part) we’ll see three Tennessee universities in the top 10 on Monday. Not the state’s largest university, though. Sorry, Blue Raiders. 

Aside: How much do I love the photo of Bruce Pearl over on the Commercial Appeal’s website? Lots and lots. Vandy’s win wiped the smug right off his face. I, personally, have never been happier about the outcome of an SEC basketball game.

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Comments

Jim Voorhies on 27 February, 2008 at 10:41 am #

I’m sure that gloating is bad. But our bretheren at the eastern fruit stand lost. Heh.


Ned Williams on 27 February, 2008 at 11:15 am #

Oh, you know, it was the refs, and all the hype from the media and . . . why does everybody hate on UT?

Congratulations to you that we lost, folks. ;)


Lesley on 27 February, 2008 at 12:00 pm #

Gloating is only bad when it’s not against the Big Obnoxious.

And, yeah, bad calls from the refs, all that build-up from the media that hates UT…uh huh. We all know that UT’s win over Memphis was merely a fluke. A fluke, I tell ya!


Ned Williams on 27 February, 2008 at 12:08 pm #

And unfortunately, y’all won’t have an opportunity to prove it until the final four, perhaps. Oh, that’s assuming y’all get a number one seed in the tourney.


gandalf mantooth on 27 February, 2008 at 4:28 pm #

I’ve been okay with UT winning until they dumped our boy Buzz Peterson, which was actually a great move, lol. I like Pearl, though. My only question is will the Tar Heels return to their rightful place or will Memphis slide back up to #1?


Ned Williams on 27 February, 2008 at 4:33 pm #

Seems only fair, under the circumstances, that the team that hasn’t- (recently) been-exposed-as-not-the-best-team deserves to move up before Memphis.


Lesley on 27 February, 2008 at 4:37 pm #

Ah, I see a hatred of Memphis takes precedence over touting the state as the best place for basketball. Tsk tsk.


Big Orange Michael on 28 February, 2008 at 8:18 am #

My argument is this. If other teams in the top lost, it would most likely be to unranked teams. (I don’t have the whole schedule memorized, so I could be slightly less than correct here). Were that to happen, I’d say the team that lost to another ranked team retaining number one over a team that lost to unranked team would be a better argument.

But it’s not going to happen…but I can still bring up the possibility.


Ned Williams on 28 February, 2008 at 9:46 am #

Come on Lesley . . . you’re saying that you think Memphis deserves to be ranked #1 more than UNC?

BOM,
I see your point and I think it’s valid if there wasn’t a UNC right behind us. But if UNC weren’t a factor, don’t you agree that Memphis would have a better case for moving back to #1 than we would under your scenario?


Lesley on 28 February, 2008 at 11:18 am #

Ned, I never said that Memphis deserved to be back at #1. But I see cheering for UNC to move up ahead of Memphis as bad sportsmanship.

I predict UNC will be #1, Memphis #2, Tennessee somewhere around #5 and Vanderbilt at the lower end of the top 10. Nothing to sneeze at for supporters of any of the teams.

Though I still maintain that Tennessee’s win was a fluke. Not unlike this.


CeeElCee on 28 February, 2008 at 11:38 am #

It’s just like during football season when UT fans continue to claim UT should be number one until long after every conceivable permutation of league championship games and potential plane crashes have eliminated any possibility of the Little Orange even finishing 2nd in the SEC East.