Battle of the SEC’s Best

SEC pundits have had tomorrow’s date circled on their calendars for months.  Not only is it the day they will finally by something for their wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, live in partners etc, It is also the day where the premiere team in the SEC travels to Knoxville to face the upstart Tennessee Vols who are riding high on a home winning streak that goes all the way back to March 2007. 

Tennesse coach Bruce Pearl is the worst dressed coach in the history of college basketball.  His rugged good looks and manly chest hair have made him the idol of many a Tennessee hillbilly chock full of the mountain love of orange. 

But enough about the Rubenesque women of the Far East and more about the basketball teams hitting the court tomorrow night.

Arkansas is obviously the more talented team, they feature Sonny Weems and Patrick Beverly two players that do more than just score.  They also defend, get rebounds, and make everyone around them play better.  Tennessee has the better record and has a boost to their RPI by playing in the stronger eastern division of the conference.  They also have the star power in Chris Lofton.  A pure scorer, but lack luster defender and team player.  Chris Lofton is a vagabond.  A rogue out only for himself and his stat sheet.  After the horriffic beating of Arkansas-Monticello 101-44 Chris Lofton was found crying in his locker due to his only scoring 5 points during the game(he also played 22 minutes).  The Volunteers also feature two Smiths, but they are just back up players to the shooting star that is Chris Lofton.  They are only there to play when he feels like a breather.

When it comes down to coaches, Bruce Pearl is the more tested and proven coach.  Many people say his new style of play including an up and down style of basketball has galvanized the Tennessee players into playing some team ball and getting after it.  While they Tennessee players have been playing with heart and a wild abandon that would help them win more games, the only excuse for their turn around with winning games has been the bullying style with which Bruce Pearl attacks the refs and forces them into making the calls for the Orange and White.  Many referees have been reduced to tears by the threat of him removing his shirt and revealing the body paint he applies every morning thinly frosted over a greying sheet of fur that he calls chest hair.

But if you talk about the style of play, both teams want to get up and down the floor and the guard play that Tennessee employs so well should help them out.  Will Arkansas need to slow the tempo down to win?  Or will they have to play faster than the vols and expect huge plays from the back-court of Weems, Ervin, Beverly, and Welsh?

The key won’t be on the offensive end for this game.  It’s gonna be on the defensive end.  The hogs have one of the better defenses in the league and it all comes down to how well they defend the perimeter.  For the Vols they will have to find ways to stop the big men for the hogs.  Steven Hill isn’t a huge offensive threat, but on a given night against a small SEC east team he can score 15 points.  The rest of the front-court, Washington, Townes, and Thomas, will score again and again unless Smith, Chism, Crews, and Williams can stop them. 

The Hogs are going to put it inside and the Vols will shoot from outside.  We’ll see what happens, but Rocky Top might be home sweet home, but the hogs come from the Ozark mountains.  With a victory tomorrow night, the razorbacks might be calling the hogs and feeling right at home in Knoxville.