The Vols Make Me Want To Puke

I almost threw up last night after the final minute unfolded in Bud Walton Arena where Tennessee escaped with a two point victory over the Hogs. Seriously. I wanted to puke. I wanted to blow chunks right on Bruce Pearl.

After the game, Pearl had this to say:

"Obviously, this is a big step. It's a really good step for us. ... It's got a chance to catapult us."

Well, Bruce. In the words of Christian Bale - Oh, good for you! If you haven't heard Bale's baby tantrum on the set of the new Terminator movie, click on the link to hear the PG version as brought to you by "The Today Show." The moral of this story is - don't ever go into the lighting business in Hollywood.

Anyway, there were definitely some things to like about the Razorbacks last night despite the two point loss:

Reminding us all why Freshmen can be so damn frustrating was Courtney Fortson who in no way resembled one of the best freshmen in the country the first 30 minutes of the game. In fact, I was trying to think up a way to get him off the floor at one point but realized Coach Pel's bench is horribly lacking at this point. But, the last 10 minutes of the game, Fortson almost single-handedly won it for us as he scored 12 of the final 14 points for the Razorbacks and reaffirmed his status as best freshman point guard in the country.

Coach Pel went with Jason Henry in the starting lineup. I think Henry might have the most upside of any freshman on the team and might be the key to how successful the Hogs become over the next two to three years. He had seven boards and shot the ball well the first half.

Michael Sanchez started the night on the bench, but when he came in and got the ball on offense, he was aggressive and took it the hole on Tennessee. I loved seeing that from him last night as he has a tendency to disappear at times.

Stefan Welsh played brilliantly despite missing the final off balance leaner in the lane as the clock expired. Despite the one brick that I can recall off-hand, Welsh shot the ball well finishing with 22 points and had three steals. It seemed like he had more than three though.

M-Dub was Double-Dub again as Washington went for 18 pts. and 11 boards.

It's on to Mississippi State Saturday for a 2:05 tipoff.