Vols 2 Bulldogs 0 - Vols Over Mississippi State

They do make things interesting, don't they?

The Tennessee Vols have a way of letting teams off the ropes, but still finishing the fight at the bell. Mississippi State took a standing 8-count with about ten minutes left in Saturday night's SEC showdown, came back with a furious rally of three-pointers, but could not ever catch the Vols as Tennessee got another SEC road victory 76-71 in Starkville.

I pointed it out last week and I'll point it out again - Coach Bruce Pearl's teams know how to finish games. Tonight probably was not the best example (Chism holding the ball to get fouled, the unforced travel call against the Bulldogs), but each time the Vols go into the final minutes in a tight one, they walk away with the W.

With so many weapons, there seems to be a new star every game. Tonight, Jordan Howell, Duke Crews and Josh Tabb stepped up with some big plays, but it was once again the Chris Lofton show. What has gotten into, or should I say back into, this guy? He looks so much hungrier than he did just two weeks ago.

Here are two things to watch with Lofton - he is the best player I can remember at finding the .01 seconds between the help and recovery to get a free look when he comes off a ball screen. Every team makes sure to show help off the screen when he uses it which is usually enough to dissuade mere mortal shooters. Not Lofton. As soon as the big man retreats and just before Lofton's man gets back into his face, he gets that sweet looking jumper away.

The other thing that I have noticed about him is how hard he is coming off screens these days. To me, that is the biggest difference between pre-SEC games Lofton and the current version. He is coming right off the shoulders of the screen, curling in if he needs to or flaring out if he can, but always coming off hard and tight. There is no room for his defender to get over the top and he makes them pay for trailing behind.

Before I get to my minor complaints, did Coach Pearl's kid really get onto the floor tonight before Ryan Childress?

I don't know what to make of Tennessee's inability to finish off opponents. Part of it is UT's style that creates so many possessions. If the game is longer, the early 20 point leads do not mean as much. Pearl cannot put the brakes on his boys when they are built on speed, pressure and attacking, but the Vols lengthen the game when they ought to be shortening it.

Another aspect of the Vols inability to hold leads is their bench. While they do have great depth, there is an undeniable drop-off between the starting five and guys like Brian Williams, Jordan Howell and J.P. Prince. It will be interesting to see if Pearl shortens his bench come tournament time.

Finally, the Vols foul too much. They put opponents into the bonus too early and allow too many foul shots. There is no better possession in basketball, according to statistics, than ones with foul shots. You get more points on foul possessions than ones when you attempt either 2-point shots or 3-point shots (thanks to John Calipari for that stat). It may not seem like a big deal at the time, but those are easy shots that add up and also do not allow the Vols to apply their turnover-forcing pressure.

I think the last of these problems can and ought to be fixed. I wish Tennessee would front the post rather than play behind so much. I wish they would eliminate the 2-3 reaching fouls per half that happen when there is no chance at getting to the ball. I wish Wayne Chism and Tyler Smith would see the benefit of avoiding their 1-2 stupid fouls/game (boys - you get to keep playing if you stay out of foul trouble!). I'm not stupid enough to think Coach Pearl has not mentioned some of this, but I also imagine he hesitates to do so because he does not want to temper his team's aggressiveness. If this is true, I respectfully disagree with him. Look at Duke's pressure defense that rarely results in the Blue Devils being in the penalty so early so often. There is a happy medium between aggressive and undisciplined that the Vols will hopefully find soon before March.

Gators on Tuesday - it does not slow down, does it?