University of Tennessee Athletics
The @Vol_Hoops Report: Feb. 5
February 05, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Having arrived at the halfway point of the Southeastern Conference schedule, the Tennessee basketball team sits in a three-way tie for sixth place in the league standings.
As head coach Donnie Tyndall's Volunteers (13-8, 5-4 SEC) stare down the final nine games of league play, they find themselves traveling to face border rival Georgia Saturday at noon (ESPN2).
Saturday's clash with the Bulldogs --- the lone regular-season meeting between the teams this year --- also marks the first of five remaining games against teams listed among the top 50 in the NCAA's current Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
"Everybody knows that this league is a tough league," junior forward Armani Moore said. "Nothing is going to be given to you. It's all about going out and basically taking what you want.
"We've won some big games and we lost some big games. But we can't sit around and mope about the games we lost, because we've still got a lot of ball to play."
Of Tennessee's nine remaining regular-season games, six are against top-70 PRI teams. The lowest-rated remaining opponent for the Vols is intrastate rival Vanderbilt, which possesses a very respectable RPI of No. 109.
Five of those contests take place on the road, four of them at schools that currently sit in the top half of the SEC standings.
As of Thursday, Tennessee's official RPI stands at No. 80.
"The entire SEC schedule, as we all know, is very challenging," Tyndall said. "In our case, the second half of the SEC season is even more challenging than the first. Obviously, we have some tough road environments against some quality opponents, so it certainly won't be getting any easier as we move forward."
The physical grind of the SEC gauntlet is painfully apparent as the calendar flips to February. Moore is making his third trip through the bruising conference schedule, and he understands the importance of preventative maintenance.
"We don't have a very deep, loaded team," Moore said. "When you only have (10) guys, it's really important that you take care of your body. We've really been staying on top of that, getting treat throughout the day around our class schedules, staying in the ice baths. Once you start letting down on that, that's when injuries start happening."
Strength and conditioning coach Todd Moyer is extra vigilant this time of year about reiterating the importance of proper nutrition and ensuring that players check in for a well-rounded daily lunch at Smokey's Grill in the Anderson Training Center.
"We also spend more time doing regular `prehab' exercises," Moyer said. "We still train hard and lift heavy, but the volume decreases."
ABOUT GEORGIA
The Bulldogs are 14-7 (5-4 SEC) in their sixth season under head coach Mark Fox. They are listed at No. 26 in the RPI.
After opening SEC play 0-2, Georgia rattled off five consecutive wins. But in its last two outings, UGA lost at South Carolina Saturday before falling at top-ranked Kentucky Tuesday.
Georgia is 10-1 at home this season.
"They remind me a lot of Texas A&M," Tyndall said. "They have a balanced attack. They have veteran guards. They have big guys with physicality and girth, which has caused us problems all year long. And defensively, they play a lot like Texas A&M in that they shrink the floor and make you make jump shots over tip of them. When you throw the ball into the post, they do a good job of converging and making you kick it back out.
"They're just a well-rounded, physical basketball team."
In SEC play, the Bulldogs rank second in the league with a team 3-point percentage of .412. Georgia has the SEC's best rebounding margin (+4.4) in league play.
Starting big man Marcus Thornton has missed the last two games with concussion-related symptoms. Overall this season, Thornton leads the Bulldogs in scoring (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg).
"We totally will prepare like he'll play, then we'll tweak a few things if he doesn't," Tyndall said. "He certainly is a big part of their team, especially on the offensive end."
UGA sophomore J.J. Frazier is shooting .488 from 3-point range in SEC play while averaging 13.1 ppg.
Frazier's 37 points at Mississippi State Jan. 24 are the most points scored by a player in an SEC game this season.
Tennessee (1) and UGA (4) combine to boast five projected starters who are Georgia natives.
This is the first season since 1963-64 that the Vols will not host UGA in Knoxville.
RICHARDSON PRIMED FOR 100TH CAREER START
Tennessee point guard Josh Richardson's stellar senior season is cementing him into a prominent place in the program's records book.
While he figures to finish his career ranked among the 40 most prolific scorers in school history, his impact has not been limited simply to point production.
Saturday's game at Georgia likely will mark Richardson's 100th career start. He would become just the 11th Vol ever to start at least 100 games.
"Yeah, especially when I think back to coming in as a freshman not really knowing if I was going to play at all," Richardson said. "I guess to reach a milestone like that is cool because it shows the payoff from how hard I've worked. I'm glad I made it to this point."
All-American guards Chris Lofton (2004-08) and Allan Houston (1989-93) share the UT record for career starts with 128.
This weekend's game in Athens, also will mark Richardson's 126th career game played, which will tie for 10th-most in UT history. Richardson could potentially ascend as high as third on Tennessee's all-time games-played list. The top-two Vols on that list are Wayne Chism (142 from 2006-10) and Cameron Tatum (138 from 2007-12).
For at least the next several weeks, Richardson isn't concerning himself with his legacy in the UT records book. Winning games and completing his degree requirements are his only priorities currently.
"I'll look back at all that stuff after the season," Richardson said. "I honestly don't really know where I'm at with any of that individual stuff."
