Oh Tennessee

I have always lived by the rule that if you wish to be taken seriously as a basketball school, don't rush the court. This rule especially applies to teams that have a number in front of their name. Well, ladies and gentlemen, Tennessee has just taken that to a new level.

While I was a bit surprised that Tennessee did not rush the court after their 76-68 win over then #1 Kansas, what ensued post game took it to another level. Today, January 13th, it has been brought to my attention that t-shirts were made to commemorate their victory over Kansas.

I am probably in the minority when I say that I do not even think that winning your conference warrants a t-shirt to recognize that. So, along those lines, winning a single game at home against the number one team absolutely does not call for a shirt.

In order to be taken seriously as a college basketball program, and as a ranked team, doing something like this is a joke. I understand that this team was limping with only 6 scholarship players and 3 walk ons leading them to victory, so it was that much more sweet for them, but still, you were ranked #16 at the time. They should have their eyes on a much bigger prize, not a single game that was played like it was their championship.

Don't get me wrong, congratulations to Tennessee for outplaying the number one team in the country, and most peoples pick to win the national championship, but celebrate like you win big games all the time, PLEASE! Making a shirt for another reason besides the Final Four or a National Championship is superfluous and should not happen.

Kansas v. Tennessee

[Watched on TV]

It seems that Kansas basketball has been walking a tight rope for some time now. Throughout the early part of the season, Kansas was able to overcome sloppy play and mediocre opponents to a 14-0 start. On Sunday afternoon, all the mistakes, all the carelessness caught up to them in a 'stunning' 76-68 loss to Tennessee.

There is nothing that I want to take away from Tennessee, they were able to overcome their own off the court issues to win. However, Kansas stunk. Tell me why Tyshawn Taylor is on the court. Did the Morris twins skip the junior league practice when the coach was teaching lay-ups? Why so careless with the ball? The things that haunted Kansas against Tennessee are the same things that they have been able to get away with up to this point. Today, however, things were a bit different.

Brady Morningstar in the starting line up please. Morningstar did his time and paid the price. He is the best defensive option that we have on the team, a consistent three point shooter, and perhaps most importantly, he takes care of the ball. Let's get him in the starting lineup and see how that changes the team. See what Taylor can do coming off the bench, see what kind of team player he is. I don't know if I am in the minority in my opinion of Taylor, but he has done nothing in my view to warrant all the playing time. I cannot dwell on that for too long of my skin starts to boil.

Speaking of my skin starting to boil. The Morris twins. I don't get that one either. This is the thrid game in a row that I have watched in which point blank lay-ups were missed. As I said earlier, were they home sick that day that lay-ups were taught. Why would I think anything else? Much like Taylor they do not do enough to warrant all the playing time. Let's see Thomas Robinson in big minutes. Against Tennessee he had roughly 5 minutes of PT. Robinson has proven to be a viable option through the first 14 games. He plays with energy, makes lay-ups, and rebounds like an animal. Those three characteristics are exactly what this team needs most. I want to see the twins excel, show improvement, and they are not doing that right now. They are far too inconsistent at this point. And if this team is to be a true title contender, those two need to play better. They are looked to as important pieces to this Championship puzzle, act like it please.

There is a final thought here that I need to make sure to mention. This team is not built to have one person bear the weight of it all. Against Cornell, Sherron was able to be the man. He put the team on his back and brought them to victory. He was unable to do that against Tennessee. They have to be more consistent with the scoring, constant contributions from everyone is how this team is going to win.

I am not totally discouraged by the loss to Tennessee, but the Jayhawks are a ways off from being the best team in the country. They can get there, live up to the preseason hype, but as of today they have a lot of work to do. We'll see what type of magic Bill Self can make. We'll see if he uses this game as a learning tool and a way to motivate. We'll see what the "#1" team in the country is made of.