Behind the Scoreboard - Claude Vinson


Thursday, March 6, 2008
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Behind The Scoreboard
By Claude Vinson

Working onfield of 65

Has anyone heard the story about the crook who worked on forging the perfect check? After laboring with pen and paper for six weeks he came up with the perfect instrument. But it was rejected at the bank for “insufficient funds.”

Think that is how the Tennessee Vols felt after dethroning the number one team in the nation and in essence, keeping it for one day? The official voting won’t be completely tallied until after noon on the third, but it is almost certain that the Memphis Tigers will be back on top.

The Vols had their number one status jeopardized by the then number 16 Vanderbilt Commodores. It had taken the Vols almost a hundred years to achieve the number one ranking. Just how far they will fall is a matter for speculation.

And as fortunes go, the Commodores were defeated a couple of days later. This is just an indication of how hard the scramble is during this time of the season. At the end of the week, all teams will be entering their respective conferences’ playoffs. Some have already locked up titles, or portions thereof, of the regular season.

The Bullies of Mississippi State have put another lock on the Western part of the SEC and the Memphis Tigers have their third consecutive title in C-USA. There seems to be little doubt that the Memphis Tigers will also take the tournament title. Will MSU prevail in the SEC? I know Bullies fans would certainly hope so. But, remember, that is the SEC and, well it is the SEC.

All teams are listening for the call, telling them that they are in the magic number of 65 to start the NCAA playoffs. And checking the records, last season there were five SEC teams who got the call of entry. At this point, the SEC has only two teams left in the top 25, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Both were in the fortunate five last season. Will they repeat? And how far will they go?

The Vols went as far as Ohio State last season and Vanderbilt got shot down by Georgetown.

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