BTO’s Florida Postgame Report

#1

bleedingTNorange

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#1
1. I said it repeatedly yesterday and today, this league is so damn tough, you take any win you can get no matter that fashion…that was a Florida team that came in short handed, really needed a marquee win, and they let it fly from deep with zero conscious, fighting back and winning that game isn’t to be taken for granted. I’m sure there will be plenty of folks saying we should’ve won by 50, blah blah blah, again, conference game against a team really needing a W, sometimes you’re going to get their best shot and when that happens you find a way to win, and Tennessee did just that.

2. The offense looked as good as it has in awhile, the turnovers especially in the first half were way too many and made this more of a game than it probably should’ve been, but overall the offense showed some life. 1.12ppp offensively and an EFG of 55.5%, both of those numbers are very good and above our season averages…46% from deep and 94% from the line are great signs. Again the turnovers brought those numbers down some and those have to get cleaned up, but was a step in the right direction. I don’t expect to shoot 94% from the FT line but Chandler had to be better and to his credit he was, 6/6 tonight, Vescovi matched him, that’s great to see as those guys are going to get plenty of opportunists between them.

3. Defensively that was only the 3rd opponent all year to go over 1ppp on us, part of it was them shooting a large numbers of 3’s and hitting a decent percent but again our turnovers didn’t help that matter much. Tennessee went almost solely small ball in the 2nd half which matched up much better with what Florida was doing, this was a big part of Florida going from 52%fg to 35%fg and 44%3pt to 18%3pt…Barnes is a bit stubborn to go small ball and I’m afraid at some point it’s going to cost us a game, it was clearly the move tonight but it took him too long to make that switch imo.

4. Continuing off the end of the previous thought, small ball is where this team will succeed…rotate bigs based on matchups and ride a hot hand. JJJ gives you 9rbd tonight, Zeigler gave you 6rbds which is incredible, we out rebound them by 10 yet played our small ball lineup the majority of the time. We are better defensively in it, we get much better spacing offensively and we tend to get out and run a bit more in it as well…maybe it’s for fear of foul trouble that Barnes doesn’t want to start out in it but imo he should make that move.

5. For anyone who has said Vescovi wouldn’t start on half the SEC teams, or that he isn’t athletic enough to play in SEC or that a good team wouldn’t have him playing etc etc. all of you were wrong. He’s really finding his shooting stroke and he’s now turned into a really damn good defender as well, add in the improved conditioning and driving ability and he’s playing like a potential 1st or 2nd team All-SEC player. After tonight he’s now shooting 45% from deep and averaging 16+PPG, his release has gotten quicker and Tennessee needs to be finding him 10 attempts a game at this point.

6. The post play is frustrating and I’m not sure there’s an answer, which is why I further say go small…Plav was a no show tonight other than some fouls and a T, BHH didn’t look like he could play in this one, ON had a play or two but continually got beat defensively, Fulk was probably the best defender of the bigs and made some key plays down the stretch offensively…but next game he will likely disappear. I can’t imagine how frustrating this is for Barnes, it’s frustrating to me…at this point you gotta make a call and kinda ride with it, like I’ve said repeatedly I would go small and just try and find a hot hand in the post game by game and ride it.

7. 3 games ago entering this 4 game stretch I said that 2-2 would need to be the floor to keep the feeling of a Top 25 team, I said 3-1 would obviously feel better and that would be the result more of a Top 15 team, well we are 3-0 and head to Austin for a kind of nothing to lose resume building type game. Regardless of that outcome Tennessee has gone on a nice little SEC run and will have a chance to continue that, they find themselves in the thick of the SEC race and in a good position to get a Top 4 seed. Vols sit at 14-5(5-3), I said 21-9 was a good goal a couple weeks ago, would mean going 7-4 down the stretch, with the way they’ve taken care of business the last few weeks now 22-8 is becoming more likely a goal, hopefully the Vols can continue the momentum.



GBO!!!
 
#3
#3
Some thoughts:

1) Vescovi is just so impressive. He has really sparked this team, and I can’t wait to see just how much better he can get if he does return next year rather than head overseas.

2) I’m not sure if it will happen, but if Zeiglar continues to improve year over year like some of Barnes other under the radar prospects, he has a shot to be really, really special. His size will keep him from ever playing in the NBA, but I see no reason why he can’t be the next Grant or Admiral as he progresses with his grit, attitude, and play making ability. His back-to-back threes and then block and assist to Chandler for another 3 when we were down 13 and things looked bleak pretty much saved the game. Impressive stuff for a true freshmen.

3) Olivia continues to bother me. He has soft hands, contributes little on offense, and now is becoming a defensive liability. Might be time to start Fulky in his place.

4) Uros needs to find a way to straddle the line between playing tough and being dumb. One of these days his new edgy attitude is going to cost us a game with a poorly timed technical.
 
#5
#5
Uros was a little too amped up at the start and it showed. It was like he was in full-on "come at me bro" mode from the first tip until Barnes permanently pulled his plug and sat him for the rest of the game. Hopefully, he will learn the right balance between aggression and finesse going forward (I can't believe I just used the word "finesse" in a post about Uros Plavsik).
 
#6
#6
I would bench ON for Zeigler or Powell and go small

Me, too. But, I’m pretty convinced Barnes is determined to play a traditional 4 or 5 at least to start so if that’s the case the lineup should be:

Chandler
Vescovi
James
Fulky
Plavsic

Barnes needs to do what he did with Fulky and bench Olivia until he gets his head on straight. He’s hurting us too much.
 
#8
#8
1. I said it repeatedly yesterday and today, this league is so damn tough, you take any win you can get no matter that fashion…that was a Florida team that came in short handed, really needed a marquee win, and they let it fly from deep with zero conscious, fighting back and winning that game isn’t to be taken for granted. I’m sure there will be plenty of folks saying we should’ve won by 50, blah blah blah, again, conference game against a team really needing a W, sometimes you’re going to get their best shot and when that happens you find a way to win, and Tennessee did just that.





Here is what I didn't understand - can someone enlighten me. On the reviewed foul on Vescovi - how did it go from Fla about to shoot free throws to Vescovi making to free throws and we get the ball. I can't find any logical explanation short of a flagrant foul where we get both the free throws and the ball. Thoughts ?
 
#9
#9
Some thoughts:

3) Olivia continues to bother me. He has soft hands, contributes little on offense, and now is becoming a defensive liability. Might be time to start Fulky in his place.

He's such a frustrating player. At times, he looks like a solid SEC post player. Even tonight he made a handful of really nice plays in the second half. Still way too many mental mistakes along with some moments where the intensity just isn't there.
 
#11
#11
@Fullfillmer :
It was originally a foul on SV going for the rebound. Barnes challenged he call based on the hook and hold executed by the UF player. H & H is a reviewable foul and point of emphasize. Two shots and ball out.
That was a huge swing in a close game - wonder how the Barnes haters can spin that move
 
#12
#12
Me, too. But, I’m pretty convinced Barnes is determined to play a traditional 4 or 5 at least to start so if that’s the case the lineup should be:

Chandler
Vescovi
James
Fulky
Plavsic

Barnes needs to do what he did with Fulky and bench Olivia until he gets his head on straight. He’s hurting us too much.
Can’t do that, the Fulk/Plav lineup is statically our worst and it’s not close
 
#13
#13
Some thoughts:

1) Vescovi is just so impressive. He has really sparked this team, and I can’t wait to see just how much better he can get if he does return next year rather than head overseas.

2) I’m not sure if it will happen, but if Zeiglar continues to improve year over year like some of Barnes other under the radar prospects, he has a shot to be really, really special. His size will keep him from ever playing in the NBA, but I see no reason why he can’t be the next Grant or Admiral as he progresses with his grit, attitude, and play making ability. His back-to-back threes and then block and assist to Chandler for another 3 when we were down 13 and things looked bleak pretty much saved the game. Impressive stuff for a true freshmen.

3) Olivia continues to bother me. He has soft hands, contributes little on offense, and now is becoming a defensive liability. Might be time to start Fulky in his place.

4) Uros needs to find a way to straddle the line between playing tough and being dumb. One of these days his new edgy attitude is going to cost us a game with a poorly timed technical.
I think you mean stone hands. Soft hands are a good thing. Nkahmoua just has a low basketball IQ, too. He rarely feels the opportunity to receive a pass. Everything that isn't just a traditional post up and feed seems to catch him by surprise. The alley-oop offering from JJJ tonight from the middle of the paint; Olivia had no idea it was coming. No anticipation. They must not run those kinds of plays in practice. That is the kind of play you see the elite, athletic teams make a couple times a game. We've had a couple all season.

Also, there isn't a team in the country who misses more shots at the rim than Tennessee. We have so many missed point-blank opportunities.
 
#17
#17
I agree on the small lineup, esp offensively. The thing that worries me is when we go against a team with larger physical guards, like Texas Tech. Our guards are all have smaller bodies (except JJJ and he’s the 4 in this lineup) and our guys have struggled against those type guards offensively and defensively.
 
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#19
#19
Going small is certainly a good option, but it is all matchup dependent. Going big against LSU worked well enough, as our 4 posts played 72 out of 80 minutes for the 4 and 5 positions. Florida was forced to play small without Castleton and then without Jitobah for a large portion of the game. That forced us to pivot, and it worked out well for us. We certainly can't go small all the time, as we only have essentially 1 player that can play small ball 4 and that's Jo. They try it with Powell some as well, but he isn't the same defender or rebounder that Jo is.
 
#21
#21
Florida was just crapping 4 leaf clovers in the 1st half. They made a 35 footer and a 30 foot bank shot. I never felt like we were going to lose even when they went on the 15-0 run. It's tough to win on the road in the SEC and we're tough as nails at home. Hats off to ZZZ, probably won't see many 5'6 college freshmen basketball players with 6 rebounds and a block.

Our "bigs" only played 31 total minutes and we still smashed them on the glass.
 
#22
#22
That was a huge swing in a close game - wonder how the Barnes haters can spin that move

If he'd called a timeout earlier and settled his team down, they'd have had a commanding lead at that point and wouldn't have been at the mercy of the refs to begin with. He thinks he can hoard his timeouts in the bank like he does his unearned millions, but timeouts don't work that way. Y'all can enjoy your participation trophies -- I'm not gonna celebrate a narrow victory at home over a mediocre team.
 
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#23
#23
Some thoughts:

1) Vescovi is just so impressive. He has really sparked this team, and I can’t wait to see just how much better he can get if he does return next year rather than head overseas.

2) I’m not sure if it will happen, but if Zeiglar continues to improve year over year like some of Barnes other under the radar prospects, he has a shot to be really, really special. His size will keep him from ever playing in the NBA, but I see no reason why he can’t be the next Grant or Admiral as he progresses with his grit, attitude, and play making ability. His back-to-back threes and then block and assist to Chandler for another 3 when we were down 13 and things looked bleak pretty much saved the game. Impressive stuff for a true freshmen.

3) Olivia continues to bother me. He has soft hands, contributes little on offense, and now is becoming a defensive liability. Might be time to start Fulky in his place.

4) Uros needs to find a way to straddle the line between playing tough and being dumb. One of these days his new edgy attitude is going to cost us a game with a poorly timed technical.

#4 100% Fact!
 
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#24
#24
I have a feeling the team will want it more for Rick on Saturday, and Texas is beatable. You’re right though there’s not much to lose anyway


Barnes will want to win the game Saturday night very badly and it should be the best SEC/Big 12 match up of this year's series.
 
#25
#25
If he'd called a timeout earlier and settled his team down, they'd have had a commanding lead at that point and wouldn't have been at the mercy of the refs to begin with. He thinks he can hoard his timeouts in the bank like he does his unearned millions, but timeouts don't work that way. Y'all can enjoy your participation trophies -- I'm not gonna celebrate a narrow victory at home over a mediocre team.

you must be a blast at parties...
 

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