A little perspective for those downplaying the Vols' opponents

#1
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Wise-Vol

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#1
I've seen, mostly on other sites, some people who call themselves Vol fans saying that the Vols got "lucky" to be in the Sweet 16. I know that these generally are people who know very little about basketball. I'm surprised they are willing to call attention to their ignorance in that way.

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at Florida's road to their first basketball National Championship.

Florida beat 14 seed South Alabama and 11 seed Milwaukee to advance to the Sweet 16 in 2006.

To make the Elite 8, Florida beat 7 seed Georgetown. To get to the Final Four, Florida beat 1 seed Villanova. To get to the Championship Game, Florida beat 11 seed George Mason.

So, the Gators played a 7, two 11s, a 14, and one number 1 seed, to get to the National Championship Game, where they beat 2 seeded UCLA. It probably isn't relevant to the point, but I'll note that the #1 seed they did face is year in and year out one of the most overrated and overseeded teams in the NCAA tournament.

I'm pretty sure there is no asterik beside their Sweet 16, Final Four, or Championship that year.
 
#3
#3
golfballs03 said:
it doesn't matter. you don't draw pictures on the scorecard
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+1000. It just doesn't matter at this point. Play who you have to play, take care of business, play another day. If you win this tournament, there are no asterisks.
 
#5
#5
I don't think we were lucky at all. If you look at the power ratings and RPI going in, the selection committee actually screwed us. We had to beat the No. 18 team in the RPI--typically a five seed--just to get out of the first round. Meanwhile, we win 25 games, beat the two best teams in the field, finish 15 in the RPI and only get a six.

Ohio beating Georgetown helped us, but I think we would have beaten Georgetown anyway. It should be rather obvious by now that the Big East was just a paper tiger. In any case, it doesn't matter. Ohio beat Georgetown and then we beat Ohio. Now we'll either take our shot at the Ohio state championship or Jawja Tech.
 
#6
#6
I don't care what "they" say. No. 1 seeds usually have the easiest road in the tourney, but nobody ever says anything about that. You have to win and move on with whoever you play.
 
#7
#7
Winning the NCAA tournament typically takes a little luck, IMO. What is wrong with saying that? It is only dumb if you think that means the team doesn't deserve to hang the banner.
 
#11
#11
Who is criticizing you for your draw? That's silly.

You play who they put in front of you.

Sure, some teams will have a somewhat tougher draw than you so far, but some will have it easier. You don't control it, not your fault - what are you supposed to do -- insist they find you a harder team to play?
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#12
#12
lawgator1 said:
Who is criticizing you for your draw? That's silly.

You play who they put in front of you.

Sure, some teams will have a somewhat tougher draw than you so far, but some will have it easier. You don't control it, not your fault - what are you supposed to do -- insist they find you a harder team to play?
Posted via VolNation Mobile
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Exactly, I hope every lower seed from here on wins, unless UT plays one
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#13
#13
The Midwest is the most difficult region in the tourney, period. This may be the reason lower seeds are advancing not that they are inferior teams.
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#15
#15
tripper said:
The Midwest is the most difficult region in the tourney, period. This may be the reason lower seeds are advancing not that they are inferior teams.
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I am one of those who feels the UT got screwed to the wall with the 6 seed. I've been thinking about this: even though it is a small sample, couldn't all of the upsets mean that the committee did a poor job? I realize that it is hard to compare conference to conference, esp. with some of the mid-majors, but a team that has beaten the 1, the 2, lost by the slimmest margins to the 4, is ranked 14th in the country, how do you get to a 6 seed? How does 'Nova deserve a 2? (lost already). Vandy gets beat by State (screwed as well, but lost in NIT), and they get a 4, where are they? Watching on TV. I just think the committee did a very poor job this year.
 
#17
#17
jw0595 said:
I am one of those who feels the UT got screwed to the wall with the 6 seed. I've been thinking about this: even though it is a small sample, couldn't all of the upsets mean that the committee did a poor job? I realize that it is hard to compare conference to conference, esp. with some of the mid-majors, but a team that has beaten the 1, the 2, lost by the slimmest margins to the 4, is ranked 14th in the country, how do you get to a 6 seed? How does 'Nova deserve a 2? (lost already). Vandy gets beat by State (screwed as well, but lost in NIT), and they get a 4, where are they? Watching on TV. I just think the committee did a very poor job this year.
Click to expand...

I agree, but I wonder if 51 weeks from now, we'll be talking about how we got screwed again as the Committee and the media still have their heads up the backsides of the Big East teams.
 
#19
#19
No one, not even CBP, felt we were dealt a winning hand at our 6 seed position,we all felt belittled. But as they have all year, the team is proving what they have and leaving no doubters along the way.This is the best way to put "egg on their face"...keep it going guys...I'll be there cheering in Louie....
 
#21
#21
heh - seriously though....if those higher seeds didn't get shocked by the lower seeds, we wouldn't be playing them anyway. Sooooo...no reason to cheapen wins against lower seeds, especially if they made it by upsetting the favorites.
 
#22
#22
I haven't followed the basketball Vols as much as the football variety, but I have always felt that we responded better as a "disrespected underdog" than as a "lauded favorite".

Therefore IMO - bring on the disrespect ! GO VOLS !
 
#23
#23
"Survive and advance" (the late Jim Valvano). When you get to the Dance, that's the modus operadi. GO VOLS!
 
#25
#25
jw0595 said:
I am one of those who feels the UT got screwed to the wall with the 6 seed. I've been thinking about this: even though it is a small sample, couldn't all of the upsets mean that the committee did a poor job? I realize that it is hard to compare conference to conference, esp. with some of the mid-majors, but a team that has beaten the 1, the 2, lost by the slimmest margins to the 4, is ranked 14th in the country, how do you get to a 6 seed? How does 'Nova deserve a 2? (lost already). Vandy gets beat by State (screwed as well, but lost in NIT), and they get a 4, where are they? Watching on TV. I just think the committee did a very poor job this year.
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Absolutely. The committee did a dreadful job this year. I thought it was bad 2 years ago when UT had a 2 seed and had to face the #10 team in the country Butler in the 2nd round. But this year was even worse.

First of all, SDSU should've been a 5 or 6 seed, so UT did not have an easy first game. Having them at 11 is atrocious. So people who say UT had an easy road to the sweet 16 are dumb. But Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Pitt, Temple, Wisconsin, and even New Mexico had no business being ahead of Tennessee. And the results in the tournament are proving it.
 
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