| 13 January 2012
Thursday night the Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team took the floor in Starkville, MS and came up short against one of the SEC's best squads. The Vols lost 62-58 but had the ball down by two in the closing seconds before Trae Golden slipped and lost the ball to the Bulldogs' Dee Bost who scored and sealed the victory. Golden led all scorers with 20 points and Kenny Hall looked good for the second consecutive game coming off the bench. Hall had 12 points and 3 rebounds in 28 minutes. Jeronne Maymon's foul trouble hampered the Vols' offense. Maymon was productive when he was in the game but was sitting on the bench for much of the contest. He had 13 points on 6 of 9 shooting and 4 rebounds in only 18 minutes. Tennessee needs Maymon and Golden on the floor as much as possible to be an effective offensive unit.
Despite the heartbreaking loss there was much to be excited about for Tennessee fans. Cuonzo Martin's team seems to be playing with the fire and defensive intensity that most expected. After holding Florida's potent offense to only 56 points last Saturday, keeping State to 62 in Starkville makes for impressive back to back defensive performances. If the Vols can continue to hold SEC opponents to 59 points per game, as is now the average, this team might outperform the low preseason expectations that many placed on them.
But, here's the bad news...Kentucky is up next. The Cats come into Knoxville with a 16-1 record ranked #2 in the country. Kentucky has the best lineup in the SEC and arguably the best lineup in the country. Tennessee will need to have another stellar defensive effort to even hope to be competitive in the ESPN televised game.
More and more fans seem to be on the Cuonzo Martin bandwagon. Eric L. Taylor wrote yesterday that Martin is proving there is life after Pearl. If the effort in these first two SEC games is any indication, Eric looks to be exactly right.
One of the big questions that many are asking about tomorrow's tilt with Kentucky is whether or not 5-star recruit Jarnell Stokes will get any minutes for Tennessee. After initially saying that Stokes would not play during his first week of eligibility, it seems that Martin might be wavering some from his earlier line of thought. Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News Sentinel reported here that Coach Martin is considering giving the youngster some minutes on Saturday. Talk about an early test. Stokes would potentially be going head to head with either Kentucky's Terrance Jones or Anthony Davis, two of the best forwards in college basketball. We could see very quickly just what Cuonzo Martin's biggest recruit to date is made of.
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