Why I picked Tennessee to win, and the show today

We are scheduled to be joined on the show today by... Rece Davis from Gameday (now dependent on flight delay), Briarcrest standout and Tiger/Vol recruit Leslie McDonald, Jason Smith from CA, Grant Wahl from SI, and former voice of the Tigers Big Jack Eaton. Check it.

Why I picked Tennessee...

You can disagree, and many of you have. You can call me names, and many of you have. You can get upset or claim that I am just trying to get a rise out of people, but I have my reasons for the pick.

Both of these teams play at an extremely fast pace when they are at their best. Neither of these teams are very good half-court teams. In fact, that is exactly why both of them got beat by Ohio State in the tournament last year. It is also why both of them would be vulnerable to a UCLA or UNC in the tournament. These teams have to be playing in space for them to be at their best. Memphis has an real advantage over almost every team in the country when the game speeds up, but not against Tennessee. UT is the one team that does not become overwhelmed when the game gets to be played at a rapid pace, and in fact they get better.

So we have two teams that I am convinced will play at a fast pace. Give me the team that fully commits to that style of play.

You can say I have some sort of axe to grind against Memphis
You can say I am a UT fan
You can say that I just want to get a rise out of people

Examine the message, not the messenger. I guess I could have just been a total homer because I think that is what people would want to hear, or I could tell you what I believe and why. Sane people respect the latter, even if they disagree.