The Mocs and Vols are playing a basketball game on Friday night at 9:00 on SportSouth, as many of you know.
Nothing frustrates Moc fans more than the "Fire" defense that Shulman employs. It doubles the post, leaving open perimeter shooters. If these players are making shots, then they continue to be left open, and they pour points home. Many teams have set records for three pointers made in a game for their school against the Mocs since Shulman has become the head coach. This drives Moc fans crazy, in many cases.
However, the Vols shot under 25 percent from three point range against Indianapolis. The inside game was not productive either, and more than 50 percent of their shots were from three point range.
So if the Vols aren't shooting well, "Fire" might just be the perfect strategy to contain this offense. It's a strange theory, but one that might just work.
Scotty Hopson is the key to the Vols. He is the most important player. He will be their emotional and physical leader. He played just nine minutes against Indianapolis and fouled out. That could easily be why he played so poorly. He has not yet embraced his role as a leader on this team, and until he does, this team will be capable of getting beaten on any given night. Inconsistency could easily plague this team until Hopson learns some cinsistency.
Tobias Harris is going to be a stud, and he played better than anyone else against Indianapolis. But Harris will be playing in his first non-exhibition game. He could cetainly hammer away at the Mocs inside- unless of course, FIRE actually works!
What an amazing concept! Could FIRE actually lead the Mocs to victory over the Vols? Could FIRE be the difference? It could!
Then again, the Vols could shoot 75 percent from three point range and score 140 points because of FIRE. But that's the beauty of FIRE! You never know what you're going to get!
The Mocs offense could have real problems against the Vols defense, regardless. Keegan Bell needs to play like a point guard and control the game. If he can keep from committing turnovers and control the pace of the game against the Vols pressure defense, then the Mocs have a shot in the halfcourt setting.
Athletic players like Omar Wattad and Troy Cage are going to have to play very well, Jefferson, Burroughs, and Early will have to hold their own inside. It wouldn't hurt if Taylor and Odem shot the ball well, either. But those things have to happen for the Mocs to score against the Vols.
And that's where the Mocs are going to have problems. They are going to have a lot of problems scoring points against this defense.
The Mocs strugggled shooting against Tennessee Wesleyan in their exhibition game. They will have to shoot the ball better against the Vols.
Both teams did an adequate but not great job rebounding in their exhibition games. That could be a key battle for both teams.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--The Vols shooting percentage from long range.
--The percentage of three pointers that the Vols take compared to their overall number of shots.
--Number of turnovers by the Mocs.
--Rebounds.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Run around yelling, "GO MOCS!"
--Visit MocFans.com so that I can celebrate with all the Moc fans out there!
--Visit InsideTennessee.com so that I can watch it meltdown.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Avoid MocFans.com, because there will be calls for Shulman's head on a platter (regardless of the final score).
--Sigh and go to sleep.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT PROBABLY WON'T BE RIGHT
--The Vols will not put 13 players on the floor. Probably.
--Bruce Pearl will accidentally tell his players not to tell the NCAA they are playing at this "barbecue...er...basketball game."
--Neither team will shoot free throws well. Bank on it.
--Both offenses will struggle.
--There will be a time in the second half that I think, "The Mocs are going to pull this thing out!"
--The Mocs will just not shoot well enough to be able to pull off an upset like this. The Mocs will wind up losing, but put up a good fight. Tennessee 77, Chattanooga 59.
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