Avenging a Buzzkill

The last time Tennessee played UT-Chattanooga, Buzz Peterson roamed the sidelines, Chris Lofton was a freshman, and Dane Bradshaw was a backup point guard that nobody trusted with significant minutes. Chattanooga beat Tennessee that night 69-68 in Thompson-Boling Arena. It was the low point in a career that didn’t have many high points for Buzz , and the fans that weren’t already looking to make a change in head coaches started investigating UT’s options. Ultimately Buzz was probably fired for failures in the SEC and failure to make the NCAA tournament in his four years with the Vols, but ugly nonconference losses like this one hurried his exit.

I doubt Bruce Pearl and Buzz Peterson are pen pals, and something tells me that they probably aren’t particularly cordial in person either. But Bruce, no doubt, will be out to avenge that loss. Not for Buzz’s sake, of course, but to demonstrate that his team can play well on the road, and to avoid another embarrassment at the hands of the Mocs. I think we will be ready– especially seniors Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith, who combined for just 9 points in 28 minutes against the Mocs as freshmen.