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#2: Vols ascend to #1 in polls
By rbk | October 16, 2008
This post is part of a series counting down the top moments of the Bruce Pearl Era. There will be 5 moments per week, with #1 posted on October 17– the first day of practice for the Vol basketball team.
February 23, 2008: It was the game of the season to that point. It’s not common for the #1 ranked team to play the #2 ranked team that late in the season in college basketball, and it’s even more unusual that it is an intrastate but non-conference matchup. Tennessee, ranked #2, traveled to play #1 Memphis in the FedEx Forum in front of a packed and rowdy house and the largest ESPN college basketball audience ever.
ESPN hyped the hell out of this game. Local media did too. Here at TBBB it was scarcely mentioned, with just three preview posts (chuckle). It was a tremendously well-publicized matchup.
I could stop there. The amount of hype and publicity that accompanied this game was unprecedented in Tennessee basketball history. Never before were so many people talking about the Big Orange in men’s basketball, breaking down the roster, discussing the history, and more or less providing a free advertising campaign for Tennessee hoops. That publicity alone is worth a high ranking in this countdown.
But we all know it was even better than that. Tennessee outcoached, outhustled, and outplayed the #1 Tigers en route to a 66-62 win that would not even have been so close without some circus shots from Derrick Rose. Rather than re-summarize a game that Vol fans know all about, I’ll refer you to my reaction from the weekend of the game.
Bottom line: at the end of the night, the Vols had won the most highly publicized game of the year on the home floor of the #1 team, make their ascension to #1 the next day a mere formality. They had done it despite not playing their best game offensively and with their star bottled up. With the spotlight directly on it, a rare occurrence in Vol basketball history, Tennessee stood up and proved it belonged. It was huge.
To add to the pregame frenzy, Bruce had given his patented rah rah speech in a Memphis bar on the day of the game. Just as with the pre-UF game speech in #3, he put fire in the bellies of fans that had, just a few years earlier, no reason to even watch UT basketball, much less tailgate in Memphis for a game such as this. Luckily, several witnesses captured moments on film for the rest of us to enjoy:
It’s hard to watch videos like this and not feel the need to pinch oneself. Is this really UT basketball? My, how much can change in a short time.
Why is this #2? In terms of publicity and image, this was a peak in Tennessee basketball history. You can scan through this countdown and find numerous examples of moments in which the Vols improved their brand, inserted themselves into the discussion, or otherwise got into bigger and better conversations, but none could touch this. ESPN was all over this game, and we know the power it wields in the sports world. The national media, print, radio, and broadcast, would devote time to this game for several days after the game. You just can’t buy that kind of attention.
Oh, and there’s this little thing about beating Memphis and John Calipari . . . on their home floor . . . when they were unbeaten and ranked #1 . . . on national TV . . . to ascend to #1 in the polls for the first time ever. Every win over our rivals in West Tennessee is to be cherished. Calipari runs a strong program and is never easy to beat, as evidenced by the Tigers’ success in the NCAA tournament. This was almost certainly the top single win in the Tennessee program’s history. Only a successful run deep into the NCAA tourney could surpass this as a single moment on the hardwood.
Please enjoy the following game highlights:
Topic: Uncategorized | Tags: Vol History
October 16th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
As a Memphian, this is my absolute favorite moment. My favorite comment from Digger Phelps is about 5 min into the clip where he talks about Bruce Pearl outcoaching Calipari at the end of the game. I’ve said it before to Memphis fans and they hate it.
Bruce might be the only coach with a winning record over Coach Cal at Memphis. We are definitely the only team to win seven of the last ten over Memphis. To do this on a National stage… my favorite moment.
rbk, terrific list. I see no way to top this one. Pass the BBQ sauce, please!
October 16th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Okay, I thought this will be on number 1. If the Memphis game isn’t number 1, then what is number? Hmmm I can’t think of anything. Guess I’ll wait till tomorrow.