BTO’s South Carolina postgame report

#1
bleedingTNorange

bleedingTNorange

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#1
1. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, that’s a good win and one that will look good in March...no South Carolina is not likely to be a tourney team, but they are going to have a Top 75 RPI and it was at their house, something UK couldn’t do. That qualifies as a quadrant 1 game, argue all you want if it should or not, fact is that’s a good win in the committee eyes.

2. Nice to see you Lamonte Turner...after disappearing for the last several games he was our saving grace tonight. 25pts 6-9fg 3-3 from deep 10-10ft and added 6 rebounds as well, nice to see one of the guards step up.

3. Welcome Derek Walker, without a doubt his best game as a Vol...25 minutes 10pts on 5-5fg and 4rbds. I love some Fulk but it looked like a changing of the guard taking place tonight, not sure you’re going to see much Fulkerson going forward, great effort from Walker. Staying on the new look rotation, I also thought Pons looked decent out there, to me he looked just as effective as JJ, think he’s also deserving of getting another chance going forward.

4. Our perimeter defense continues to be a major issue, South Carolina continuously found open looks and as a result a team that shot 37% overall from the field while we shot 58% was right there the whole game...the 3 ball kept them in it and they aren’t a good 3 point shooting team. I haven’t dove into it enough to tell if we are sacrificing 2pt defense and giving open looks or if it’s breakdowns, but it needs improvement.

5. We shot the ball extremely well, and it’s a good thing, because other than that we didn’t do a whole lot very well...South Carolina made life tough much like Missouri, the defense was we shot the ball well, Turner got hot and we made some key plays down the stretch. This game gives the team a lot to work on but it’s nice when those games still result in a W.

6. Looking ahead...Tennessee has a stretch of 4 very winnable games, I don’t expect them to win all 4 but going 3-1 would be nice. In the next 4 games we play 3/4 lowest remaining RPI teams on our schedule, so avoiding the bad losses especially at home is going to be key. We’ve got Vandy at home, at Iowa State (just beat #8 Texas Tech, home against LSU & Ole Miss...if this team wants to punch their ticket early and play for seeding rather than the bubble this 4 game stretch is pivotal.


GBO!!!
 
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#2
#2
Its about time Walker got more playing time over Fulk.


As far as next 4, I think 4-0 is very realistic.
 
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#3
#3
A win...and a road win!

Going 1-1 for Columbia is not bad.
 
#6
#6
Another key to the win was that UT kept Chris Silva at bay as he only scored six points and on a side note Zion Williamson chose Duke over South Carolina which gives the Blue Devils the top 3 players for 2018 in the ESPN 100.
 
#10
#10
Agree. Having Walker step into the lineup was a huge plus going forward. Needed another big man to show up and he was really very good.

4 wins of the last 5. Have to say I'm pleasantly surprised.
GBO
 
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#13
#13
Yeah, I'm hoping Walker gained some confidence and continues to build on this performance. Like I said, UT needs him when Kyle is in foul trouble or disappears. Be nice to have both of them clicking, tho
 
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#15
#15
If we had a point guard, we would be a dangerous team come tournament time. That's the missing link to this team being a great team vs. just above average.
 
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#17
#17
“Hard to overstate the toughness in that win. Colonial Life Arena was sold out and rocking today. #Vols wavered but never lost it. Huge response from them today.“ -Wes Rucker
 
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#19
#19
I think Fulk can still help us in some zone heavy games or against teams with weak bigs, but teams with string bigs like SC need strength as an answer (aka Walker).
 
#21
#21
If you replace Walker's minutes with Fulkerson, I don't think we win this game. And finally getting guard play like Turner gave us tonight was also crucial. Williams and Schofield contributed with their consistency.

I think for Fulkerson, he needs to work very hard on his strength and physicality in the offseason and perhaps be able to help his team next year. But Alexander and Walker can make a difference this season and hopefully get us back to the NCAAT.
 
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#22
#22
Chris4Vols22 said:
Pretty sure. They tied it once or twice, but I don't think they took it.
Click to expand...

They never got the lead in the 2nd half. They had a few possessions but couldn't break thru. As poorly as Bone played he had a huge bucket during that stretch
 
#23
#23
LibertyVolance said:
If you replace Walker's minutes with Fulkerson, I don't think we win this game. And finally getting guard play like Turner gave us tonight was also crucial. Williams and Schofield contributed with their consistency.

I think for Fulkerson, he needs to work very hard on his strength and physicality in the offseason and perhaps be able to help his team next year. But Alexander and Walker can make a difference this season and hopefully get us back to the NCAAT.
Click to expand...

Good post. Agree on all points.
 
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#24
#24
sport3500 said:
Another key to the win was that UT kept Chris Silva at bay as he only scored six points and on a side note Zion Williamson chose Duke over South Carolina which gives the Blue Devils the top 3 players for 2018 in the ESPN 100.
Click to expand...

I think it was the key stat. Yeah they made a few perimeter shoots that kept them in it but being aggressive and going at Silva paid off in the end. No question about it....
 
#25
#25
BruinVol said:
They never got the lead in the 2nd half. They had a few possessions but couldn't break thru. As poorly as Bone played he had a huge bucket during that stretch
Click to expand...

Yup. It's kinda sad that I wasn't expecting that shot to go in.

Makes it a little easier to swallow considering he's a sophomore.
 
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