10:29 I do like this: Kevin Stallings goes over to thank the fans. Well deserved.
10:28 Sweet. We did it. 72-69 Vanderbilt over No. 1 UT.
10:27 That was beautiful. What a hustle on Bell’s part.
10:25 OK, 7.5 sec. 3 pts. Commentators right for once: The UT press stands between us and victory. Must get ball in. Must get it over the mid-court line.
10:24 YES! YES!
10:23 C’mon Shan. This is what we want. 14 sec left, 3 pt lead, game on your shoulders at the FT line.
10:22 Though it IS UT. Ha, sorry, I couldn’t help the dig. I have been very good about not doing that, haven’t I?
10:21 Whatever. Commentators saying the only reason UT fouled was b/c Pearl is at the other end of the floor and he couldn’t make them hear him. Don’t they ALREADY know not to foul Foster?
10:20 Hahaha there’s the cop trying to convince the Memorial Maniacs not to rush the floor. Good luck, buddy.
10:20 54.2 sec left. We have a 5 pt lead. It will now be ugly.
10:19 Run, clock, run.
10:18 Twitter is out. Must be all us Nashbloggers with our game tweets.
10:17 Sheesh. We’re so close to knocking off UT, who also happens to be No. 1, and the commentators have to start chattering about how Indiana should hire Kevin Stallings.
10:16 We are not there yet but close. 1:28 left, VU 69, UT 62.
10:15 I don’t know why UT and Memphis do anything BUT practice FTs. I know I am obsessed with them tonight, but seriously. It’s pitiful to be that good and not make your FTs.
10:13 UT is getting desperate. You can see it in their frenzied movement. Nonetheless, they are still scoring. We have to stay tough.
10:12 Please don’t make us shoot more FTs. Hahaha. Just kidding. Throw us into that briar patch, Vols.
10:11 I’m just saying, it’s hard to type with your fingers crossed. 3:23 left. Vandy 66, UT 58.
10:07 Holy cow. It’s like our players are wearing the UT team on their backs; they’re all over us.
10:06 C’mon guys. Hang in there. Don’t get overexcited.
10:05 BEAUTIFUL!! 3 by Foster, then a rebound of a UT miss.
10:03 Is it just me or is UT looking a little uncertain on their feet the past minute or so?
10:03 Bless those Vols and their poor FT shooting.
10:02 That was a really nice bounce pass on the part of UT. How’d they do that??
10:00 That was a cool shot from the cheap seats of the gym. It’s hard to explain what Memorial looks like unless you’re there in the gym actually looking at it.
9:58 Y’all, we are beating the No. 1 team by 6 points with just under 8 minutes left. Good grief. I have always had low blood pressure. I’m glad no one is taking it tonight.
9:56 Why sports journalism drives me crazy: They feel the need to use over-wrought analogies like calling the NCAA prospects of various teams their seats on an airplane…those in first class, in the exit row, flying standby….what’s wrong with just saying "they’re on the bubble."
9:55 Sheesh, my DVR just wanted to change the channel to record the Daily Show. Doesn’t it know what’s happening here on ESPN???
9:52 27% of our points are off free throws. Doesn’t that seem high?? Oops, even more.
9:40 If you took the Memphis team and gave them Vandy’s FT shooting ability, they’d be unstoppable. Meanwhile, what happened to the REST of our game?
9:39 I’m thinking UT needs more players named Smith. There aren’t enough for me yet.
9:35 Goodness, the players need to stop man-handling each other. Just play ball, guys.
9:34 UT is all over us on defense, but Metcalf seized that half-second of being open for the 3.
9:33 Funny, I was worried about how quiet the crowd was a second ago, then I realized it was because we were shooting those FTs. Doh.
9:33 Good work on the FTs, Gordon.
9:31 Goodness, that was a harsh take-down.
9:30 Who is this yahoo singing One more last chance while Vince Gill plays backup? Oh, the commentator. I guess they like doing stuff like this when they’re in Nashville.
9:26 Sigh. It’s way too early for our big guy to have 4 fouls. I don’t know why, but that just made me think of Keith Lee in the mid-1980s for Memphis. He was constantly getting in foul trouble in crucial games. I watched him sit on the bench for half a season, with 3 or 4 fouls.
9:25 Sure thought we were gonna snag that rebound. Foul on Vandy instead.
9:23 I would feel better if we could pull back out now. I don’t think it will end well for us if the game remains this tight for very long.
9:22 This commentator who keeps saying, "Vandy and UT, they just don’t like each other," is annoying the fool out of me.
9:21 Am grateful we are hanging in there, but UT is very very intense this half.
9:18 I will say now, if this goes south in a hurry, my liveblogging will be over. I can’t deal with tight games/blowouts, especially in Memorial.
9:15 I know I’m vegetarian again, but you are going to have to explain to me the appeal of fried chicken bites toasted in a wrap with lettuce and grated cheese. Those foods don’t go together.
9:00, pt 2: 31 – 28 Vandy at the half.
9:00 Now THAT was some nice defense. We have got to go remember how to score during halftime. Go Dores!!
8:59 The TV really blunts the sound of the band. I wish they would let you hear for a minute how completely our band fills the gym. It’s overpowering.
8:56 Oh my goodness. I think I am glad I am not there. Mini-pileup on the floor. Neltner really tackled the UT guy.
8:55 Our starters are all in the mid- to upper-70s on FTs this year. Not bad. But what on earth are we going to do about Lofton? He is very challenging.
8:52 That’s what I’m talking about. Gotta make all our free throws. When I was in college, we had Steve Grant shooting 90% on FTs and no one much under 80%. It makes a difference. Have no idea how Memphis got to be No. 1 and undefeated for so long with their horrid FT percentage.
8:50 Just looked back over my blog recently….it’s all links and basketball. Sorry about that. I will have to work up some recipes for you this weekend.
8:48 Hey that worked out. Let’s have some more, in that case.
8:48 We need some freakin’ points, people.
8:46 This is a very rough game. Vandy is not known for its physical play, though we have become much more physical in the past few years, I think. But McClellan is not a big guy at all.
8:45 I think the commentator just called UT Kentucky. Funny.
8:42 I NEVER watch a whole ball game on TV. I do something else at the same time, clean, whatever. Tonight I am scared to move. I think UT seems more intense the past couple minutes.
8:42 @#$@#$ [Smith 3 for UT]
8:41 You can really hear the crowd. Memorial Maniacs on the job.
8:40 I’d like to be up by about 15 at the half. This 7 points isn’t worth a thing to us.
8:39 Random comments inspired by something on ESPN. They are free.
8:38 And all I can say is that when Jose Canseco becomes someone the government needs to verify its position on Roger Clemens’ testimony…..well, it’s this week’s sign of the apocalypse.
8:36 I’m not a fan of drug advertising, but I find the side effects listing creepy. Can’t decide if the new habit of having someone play doctor on the commercial to simulate a real situation and then have them saying the side effects is an improvement or not. It’s like the political commercials, where politicians have to claim credit for buying the commercial. It’s rarely done artfully.
8:31 I know there’s been talk in the past few days, but I can’t remember the details. How many times has Vandy defeated a No. 1 team at Memorial? I was there for a dethroning of Kentucky in 1993. I can’t remember if I was at the Florida game last year when we did the same.
8:30 Great save fr out of bounds. I thot he was on the line though.
8:28 Am I looking ahead too far to say, I worry now a lot about the first part of the second half? B/c when a good team goes down by this much in the first half, I have to worry about the motivational effects of halftime. Bruce Pearl will NOT be a happy man in the locker room.
8:26 I wonder if visiting coaches get more Ts at Vandy than at other gyms, due to their frustration over the benches being on the ends of the court. Hmm. Shoot. You can’t miss the free shots you get on a T, even when you’re up by 11.
8:26 Sweet! A T!
8:25 I love that temper on Bruce Pearl. Maybe he’ll get kicked out. That would be fun.
8:24 OK OK we are still doing well. This is good. But UT is deep. Ha, when have you ever been able to say that about the Vols’ men’s team?
8:24 Yes, gym was sold out as recently as Saturday. Whatever.
8:21 This is good practice for SXSW. I hope they have fixed their wireless capacity issues for this year.
8:18 Commentator just said Memorial sold out for first time in 15 years. Don’t see how that’s possible, for it not to have been sold out since I was a student.
I started out tweeting but I have too much to say. I am sure I will rapidly grow annoying so I’m live-blogging instead. So you don’t have to read if you don’t want to.
