2009 SEC Tournament Championship Game

Final Statistics: Mississippi State 64 • Tennessee 61

Postgame: Quotes • Box Score

Try as they might during the 2009 SEC Tournament Championship game, the Tennessee Volunteers simply could not overcome the Mississippi State Bulldogs … or the officials.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming the BasketVols loss on the officiating, because it was awful in both directions, but the calls in the second half were as poor as I have seen in a major tournament championship in a long time, notwithstanding the fact that Ted “Rah-spect mah Au-thori-tah!!” Valentine was nowhere to be found.

Here are a few highlights, courtesy of ESPN:

Miss. State Upends the Vols| ESPN.com

Tennessee simply failed to execute in key moments near the end of the game and, as a result, allowed the Bulldogs to capitalize and grab the Tournament crown.  In particular, with 9.6 seconds to play, the Vols failed to get the ball in-bounds under their own goal.  Admittedly, it appeared that Tyler Smith had called a timeout prior to the official calling the five-second call, but the inability to bring the ball in play for a chance to win the game was profound example of the lack of continuity the Vols showed on offense throughout the day.

Defensively, the Vols looked better, holding Mississippi State to only 36.2% from the field and 25% from behind the three-point arc.  Unfortunately for Tennessee, Mississippi State also had a banner defensive day, holding the Vols to only 29% from the field.

Coach Bruce Pearl pointed to the Bulldogs’ defensive tenacity as being a key to the game:

Varnardo is a huge factor on the inside.  It was difficult to get two point baskets.  He blocked a ton of shots.  He changed a ton of shots. We got a question about Phil Turner.  He did a great job on Tyler Smith.  I don’t know what Coach Stansbury’s press conference was like, but I guarantee you he gave Phil Turner a tremendous amount of credit for the job he did on Tyler.

— Coach Bruce Pearl Commenting on the Loss to to Mississippi State.

In the end, however, the Vols lacked consistency down the stretch and failed to convert on numerous opportunities to convert offensively, and at the free throw line, where the Vols managed a paltry 27.5% compared to Mississippi State’s 68.1%.  The Vols had plenty of chances to win, but simply failed to get the shots to fall.

Tennessee vs. Mississippi State Statistics

After the 2009 SEC Tournament Championship Game

Stat	Game		Season Avg		Opp Season Avg
Points	64	61	75	79	69	72
FG Att	47	69	57	61	63	57
FG Made	17	20	25	28	25	25
FG Pct	36.2	29.0	43.7	46.1	39.5	44.2
FT Att	32	19	23	22	18	21
FT Made	23	13	16	15	12	14
FT Pct	71.9	68.4	71.0	67.3	64.8	68.2
3pt FG Att	28	27	22	20	19	21
3pt FG Made	7	8	8	6	6	7
3pt FG Pct	25.0	29.6	36.7	31.4	34.0	34.0
Rebounds	39	47	41	41	43	37
Off Rebs	10	22	11	14	14	11
Def Rebs	29	25	27	24	24	23
Team Rebs	0	9	3	2	4	2
Assists	10	13	12	16	10	13
Steals	5	5	7	6	6	6
Blocks	9	2	7	3	3	3
Turnovers	17	14	14	13	13	15
Fouls	17	23	16	18	19	19

On the bright side, with the exception of the game versus Mississippi State, on the whole the Vols looked much more cohesive as a team during tournament play than they have throughout much of the season—perhaps giving hopes of a substantial run in the NCAA Tournament.  As has been the case for the entirety of the 2008-09 season, the Vols real weakness has perpetually been consistency.  Coming away from the SEC Tournament, it is hard to tell (largely due to the fact that it is difficult to assess either of the teams in the Tournament finals due to the poor officiating) whether the Vols are now clicking as a unit, or still caught in a cycle in inconsistent play punctuated with moments of brilliance.

Hopefully, it is the former…

Furthermore, as bad as the officiating was during the championship game, at least the game wasn’t stopped due to a tornado hitting the building, so there’s that too…

Now the Vols now get a chance to make up for that loss as they get ready to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this Friday (20 March 2009) at 12:00 in Dayton, Ohio.  As a number 9 seed, the Vols will have their hands full with the Cowboys, whose season statistics look remarkably similar to those of the BasketVols.

Comparing Tennessee and Oklahoma State: 2008-09 Season Statistics

Ever hopeful despite the loss in the SEC Tournament, Coach Pearl looked forward to the NCAA Tournament saying, “If we can get it going again, because we’ve been playing great basketball here in March. We’ll forget about the disappointment of not winning this tournament.”

More to come on the matchup with Oklahoma State in the near future…

– Go Figure …

Stats Courtesy of: Stat Sheet.com

About the Author:  "Lawvol" -- I'm just a guy living in North Carolina who has an unnatural fascination with the color orange. Just because I'm a Tennessee alum and die-hard Volunteer fan doesn't mean that I can't poke a little fun at the Big Orange and anybody else for that matter. Feel free to complain all you want. >> Read more from this author

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