University of Tennessee Athletics
Expectations Do Not Define Vols
January 05, 2015 | Men's Basketball
By Brian Rice, UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee stands at 8-4 on the season as Southeastern Conference play opens up Wednesday night at Mississippi State. It is a record that is ahead of where the "experts" predicted the Volunteers would be.
But 8-4 is not where head coach Donnie Tyndall thought his team would be. The first-year coach expects his team to win every time it hits the court, that any number other than zero is unacceptable in the loss column.
"We're excited about where we're at," Tyndall said. "But as you have gotten to know me a little bit, 8-4 isn't good enough. I expect to be 12-0."
That said, the Volunteers are well aware of what was said about them in the preseason. UT was picked to finish 13th in the SEC, ahead of only Mississippi State, the team it will face on the road Wednesday night.
"Our team knows what others think of it," said Tyndall. "We've talked about (the fact that) expectations only matter with the people in our locker room. Outside of that, no one's opinion really matters. We have to improve every day--individually as players, and individually as coaches--then collectively our team will get better."
To keep exceeding expectations, the Volunteers will have to continue focusing on the defensive end. Over the last four games, all Tennessee wins, UT has held its foes to 54.8 points per game.
"All four games, we've done a little something different to win. Against Butler, I feel like we won because of our press. Against Tennessee tech, we had to execute the last eight minutes in the half court offensively. Against Mercer, that was a team that made us play against mixing and matching defense and kept us off balance a little bit. Then, the other night against ETSU, we had to do a good job, which we didn't at all times, of getting out and guarding the 3-point line. Each team brought a little something different to the table, and we were still able to win."
One thing that has been consistent through it all has been the dominance in the second half. The Vols have gotten off to slow starts, averaging 28.4 first-half points to their opponents' 31.4. But in the second half, it has been UT's turn to shine, outscoring foes 37.9 to 32.8.
"I think we have a very resilient group," Tyndall said. "We've been able to overcome some tough spots during games or stretches during games."
Vols Down To Nine
The season began with Tyndall trying to figure out trimming his rotation before SEC play. As it turns out, injuries trimmed it for him.
Tyndall announced Monday that graduate transfer point guard Ian Chiles tweaked his previously injured right shoulder and would undergo season-ending surgery.
"He's really tried to battle and get through that injury all fall," Tyndall said. "I don't know that it was ever totally better, but he was trying to play through it."
Freshman forward Jabari McGhee suffered a right foot injury at NC State on Dec. 17 and had surgery Dec. 19. McGhee may try to make a comeback for the stretch run, but a redshirt is a possibility if he does not improve quickly.
"If he doesn't come back in the next three or four weeks, which is doubtful, we would redshirt him," Tyndall said.
SEC Road Test
The Vols open SEC play on the road for the second time in as many seasons, a formula that worked for UT last season with a win at LSU.
Though the Volunteers played before hostile crowds against VCU at the Veterans Classic and Kansas in Orlando, UT will play just its second true road game of the season in Starkville.
"Any true road environment is challenging," Tyndall said. "Our guys, with such a youthful team, maybe aren't completely understanding of that, but they know how tough it was at NC State and they know how loud it got against Kansas and VCU, so they'll be ready Wednesday."
Tennessee has won 12 of its last 15 SEC openers. The losses came on the road at Arkansas in 2011, and in home contests against Kentucky in 2003 and Ole Miss in 2013.
More From Moore
The Tennessee game notes call junior Armani Moore the "human multi-tool," a nickname he has more than lived up to in the season thus far.
"Armani is my type of guy because of his intensity, his toughness; he's a physical guy," Tyndall said. "Like Josh [Richardson], he's not hung up on having to slide over to play the four. He's a mismatch problem, and I think he understands that. When he's at the four and has a bigger guy guarding him, he has driving lanes and driving angles where he can get to the rim and draw some fouls."
Moore has started all 12 games this season and leads UT in total rebounds (6.9 rpg), offensive rebounding (2.4 orpg) and blocks (1.2 bpg). Moore has set career-highs in every statistical category, including an 18-point, 13-rebound effort against Marquette Nov. 30.
