Vandy over Tennessee (aka: I didn't want your stupid #1 ranking anyway!)

Somewhere between 26 and 38 hours after the weekly AP and USA Today Coaches Polls came out, with the Tennessee Volunteers (now 25-3, 11-2) at #1 for the first time in school history...they politely 'volunteered' (see what I did there?) that ranking away for a more deserving team with a 72-69 loss to in-state rival #18 Vanderbilt (24-4, 9-4). I was able to watch most of this game due to the ongoing snow in the Pittsburgh area, but I sadly didn't learn much about either team or the SEC. What I can say is that Tennessee coach, Bruce Pearl, was decked out in his, now patented, orange sport coat. I don't really have a strong opinion on Coach Pearl either way, but I must say that I love the orange sports coats; they are loud, they add much needed personality to college basketball right now, and they maintain a certain level of classiness. A coach sporting a coat and tie, demolishes any coach with the audacity to put on a mock-turtleneck (see Tommy Amaker or Charlie Spoonhauer). The human creamsicle look is definitely in. I also have to say that I love when Vanderbilt is competitive/relevant because I'm in awe of their kooky home court (Memorial Gym) where the teams are at each end of the floor, under the baskets, opposed to the sides of the court. Unfortunately, these two things are just about the most significant things that I'll take from this game. I wouldn't say the contest was 'good', even though the score was close. Tennessee went somewhere around 12 minutes in the second-half with only two made field goals and Vanderbilt was just as bad because they could never put the Volunteers away. Vandy was up 23-9 with 10:30 left in the first half, but never showed a killer instinct to create some separation. And oh my, they could have easily created some separation. Tennessee 'star' guard, Chris Lofton takes some of the most terrible shots I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, this kid can score, but when he's scoring he's usually draining three-pointers from a set position. When Lofton has to create his own shot, he looks like a horrendous NBA player...which is ironically what he'll probably become down the road. Lofton was 6 of 15 from beyond the three-point line and finished with 25 points. The player that really stood out was Vanderbilt's Shan Foster, who went 6 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with a big 32 points. Foster seemed more comfortable and composed during crunch-time than Lofton did. Although it must be said that the entire Tennessee team was probably a little wiped from the #1 vs. #2 match-up over the weekend with Memphis. At this point I'm just rambling. What I learned was that Tennessee may have been the #1 or #2 team in the country based on the rankings over the past couple of weeks, but they are NOT one of the top three teams in all of college basketball. They will still probably end up with a #1 seed in the Tournament, not to mention that the SEC Tournament could be pretty interesting. Vanderbilt made a nice statement with this game, throwing their hat into the ring for a #3 seed. Either way I'm happy...because Bruce Pearl will be around for a few more weeks with sport coats of various orange, salmon, and peach shades.