This is a provocative piece. I’m not sure if I agree with the overall premise, but Mandel makes some nice points about Duke’s scheduling and it’s recruitment of McD’s A-A’s.

A few comments on the big battle between Memphis and Tennessee on Saturday:

- The atmosphere was great, the play was erratic. Both teams acted like this is the biggest game of all time. Of course, the kids from UNC and Duke do this same thing a couple of times (at least) each year. And that was the difference. The beginning of the game was so hectic it was tough to watch. It looked like a high school game with better athletes.

- Bruce Pearl said that he hoped Vitale was giving it to the nation like he (Pearl) was feeling it. The problem, of course, is that Vitale has seen way too many UNC-Duke games to think this was some abnormal occurrence. Dickie V rarely got excited. He even remarked at one point how passive the crowd had become when the Vols took a little control midway through the 2nd half. That doesn’t happen in Cameron or the Smith Center during a close game.

- Did you notice how gassed the players were? The shot of Rose bent over near exhaustion was classic. You just don’t see that from the UNC-Duke game. The players (and coaches) are used to the whole deal. UT dealt with it better, and that’s way they won – that, and the fact that Memphis is a horrible shooting team.

At the end of it, I came away thinking that Tennessee was good, but not great. The Vols have a spotty half-court offense, and they don’t always defend with purpose (to steal a Jimmy Dykes phrase). Memphis lost, but they’re really good – especially Rose and Douglas-Roberts. CDR is a 1st Team A-A. However, the Tigers cannot win the title unless they get seriously hot from outside the paint (3 ball and FT’s). If their shooting stats hold true in March, they won’t make it to the FF. Remember my March Mantra: To win, you must shoot well and not turn the ball over. The Tigers are ok with TO part, but they suck at the shooting part.