"Ground Hogs Day" continues for Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt men's basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse and his team may be feeling like they are stuck in the movie "Ground Hogs Day"- for those who don't know the movie, Bill Murray is a television newsperson stuck in time, repeating the same day over and over- as the latest episode on Tuesday night left the Commodores oh so close, but ultimately too far away from another conference win.
Such has been the case for the Commodores during the second half of the season, save the LSU game where they were able to break the cycle and finish with a win and last weekend at Florida where they were never really in it. It has been a succession of repeating the same scene, leads or play even in the first half, lead in the second half and falls short at the buzzer.
Four of the last five games have followed this pattern.
This is not a great Vanderbilt team as it stands today, down Clevon Brown and Aaron Nesmith and being without Matthew Moyer against Tennessee meant Stackhouse had one less body at his disposal, yet his Commodores had the 18,562 orange-clad faithful squirming in place as the Commodores pulled to within two points with just six ticks remaining on the clock.
Even with Brown, Nesmith before and with them and Moyer last night, there's no guarantee the Commodores would have won any of those "close" games, but it's equally as hard to argue they wouldn't have one any or all of them either.
Stackhouse nailed it in his post-game comments Tuesday when he talked of shooting better. His team got great looks, took quality shots and proceeded to miss more than they mad, finishing 21-58 for36.2% from the floor.
Hit just three more of the 37 missed and the outcome we're discussing today is much different.
There is no doubt the effort, heart, and hustle are there for this team, it's the little thing that just not happening in the crucial moments late in games that are stopping this team from a better final resting spot in history.
The Georgia Bulldogs visit Memorial Gym on Saturday and bring a 12-13 overall record, and just a 2-10 mark in the conference into the matchup. It's a game the Commodores can win.
It's a game they can win if they can find a way to get out of this recurring nightmare and escape Ground Hogs Day for good.
