Advantage or Disadvantage Matchup with OSU?

[Oldblood]

yes it's well known flop is a lock down defender... and a 5 star one and done.

hopefully by the time he's a SR he'll be draftable.

Your sarcasm and hyperbole doesn't change the fact that Hopson shut down a very good guard yesterday. I understand you're frustrated that he's not all world, but don't let that taint your basketball observations. I'm more worried about JP leaving his man free (pun intended) than Hopson.

 

[zjcvols]

yes it's well known flop is a lock down defender... and a 5 star one and done.

hopefully by the time he's a SR he'll be draftable.

That same "flopson" put up 17 yesterday and played excellent defense. While I have ripped Hopson before, the fact you start calling him "flopson" after one of his better overall performance is astounding.

 

[GATechVOL]

I'm not in any way discounting what you just wrote, but shooting under 30% and heavy turnovers in the first half didn't help GT's cause any.

No, Georgia Tech was definitely their own worst enemy...but the game was a GAME in the first half because Georgia Tech had three starters in foul trouble the first 10 minutes of the game.

OSU beat down Tech in the second half for about 10 minutes and that was it. Tech can't inbound the ball either...

Tough game today for Tech, but Tennessee can win this one easily..

 

[BasketVolKid]

And I respect that idea, because it seems like it ought to work. That said, we've tried starting four guards twice this year and it failed miserably both times. I think Chism is quick enough to guard a perimeter player without picking up fouls, just as long as the perimeter player isn't particularly quick. Thus, Diebler seems like an easier assignment than Lighty. We lose a little bit of our advantage on the defensive boards, but we keep our size advantage on offense, which is where we need it. I'm confident in our D.

yeah could be. dieb is not gonna drive to the hole much. chism out on the perimeter defending a guard just seems so out of his comfort zone. aside from picking up early fouls... i can see him running back on D down into the paint just out of habit and leaving dieb wide open for a quick 3.

and dieb won't guard chism. lauderdale will. and bwill isn't exactly a scoring threat in the post even if he has a big size advantage.

i dunno... it's an interesting match up... do we stay big or go small.

 

[CardsNVols]

No, Georgia Tech was definitely their own worst enemy...but the game was a GAME in the first half because Georgia Tech had three starters in foul trouble the first 10 minutes of the game.

OSU beat down Tech in the second half for about 10 minutes and that was it. Tech can't inbound the ball either...

Tough game today for Tech, but Tennessee can win this one easily..

That's exactly how i feel about this game. I think if we play up to our potential, we win by double digits with no problem.

 

[CardsNVols]

yeah could be. dieb is not gonna drive to the hole much. chism out on the perimeter defending a guard just seems so out of his comfort zone. aside from picking up early fouls... i can see him running back on D down into the paint just out of habit and leaving dieb wide open for a quick 3.

and dieb won't guard chism. lauderdale will. and bwill isn't exactly a scoring threat in the post even if he has a big size advantage.

i dunno... it's an interesting match up... do we stay big or go small.

I think we'll start off with a small lineup. And ease into our bigs later in the game.

 

[Oldblood]

yeah could be. dieb is not gonna drive to the hole much. chism out on the perimeter defending a guard just seems so out of his comfort zone. aside from picking up early fouls... i can see him running back on D down into the paint just out of habit and leaving dieb wide open for a quick 3.

and dieb won't guard chism. lauderdale will. and bwill isn't exactly a scoring threat in the post even if he has a big size advantage.

i dunno... it's an interesting match up... do we stay big or go small.

If we didn't go small against Ohio, what makes you think we will against Ohio St?

 

[tvolsfan]

That's exactly how i feel about this game. I think if we play up to our potential, we win by double digits with no problem.

That's a bit of a strong statement, don't you think? I'm enjoying this run and all, but OSU has the best player in the country and was almost a one seed.

 

[BasketVolKid]

If we didn't go small against Ohio, what makes you think we will against Ohio St?

i don't know if we will.

OSU has 4 guys who play strictly on the perimeter... OU did not. just look at the match ups dude. its really quite awkward for us. i'm not saying we can't do it. but chism would have to be out on the perimeter on defense for most of the game. he's not used to that.

 

[SMU Vol]

I think we'll start off with a small lineup. And ease into our bigs later in the game.

I agree, I think we may be better suited going with Chism, Tatum, Prince, Hopson, and Maze. Hopefully we can wear down their starters and get them in foul trouble, since they apparently avoid their bench players like the plague. Why is this, btw? I havent watched much of OSU this year. Do they have injury problems, or have they not relied on their bench all year? Seems like a glaring weakness to me.

 

[Oldblood]

honestly, i didn't see flop playing much great D yesterday... i mostly watched guys blow right by him. i would say OU's guards had bad games due to our overall good team defense. flop is generally a huge liability on defense. he mopes... doesn't hussle back on D.

he had 17 yesterday. wheee heeee! 'bout freekin time.

The guy he was guarding was 2 for 10 from the field with 7 points. In the five previous games, Bassett had 25, 38, 28, 25, and 32 points. I guess you and I weren't watching the same game.

 

[zjcvols]

honestly, i didn't see flop playing much great D yesterday... i mostly watched guys blow right by him. i would say OU's guards had bad games due to our overall good team defense. flop is generally a huge liability on defense. he mopes... doesn't hussle back on D.

he had 17 yesterday. wheee heeee! 'bout freekin time.

Then you were watching a different game than I was. Hopson played solid D. Great? No, but solid. And you are right, he has before. The last two games he hasn't on D. I don't understand calling him flop after he played one of his better overall games yesterday.

And hey, better late than never that he scored 17 right? In a huge game, he played well. I've ripped him before, but after yesterday's performance, I don't understand the point of destroying him.

 

[Buckeye Fan 19]

I agree, I think we may be better suited going with Chism, Tatum, Prince, Hopson, and Maze. Hopefully we can wear down their starters and get them in foul trouble, since they apparently avoid their bench players like the plague. Why is this, btw? I havent watched much of OSU this year. Do they have injury problems, or have they not relied on their bench all year? Seems like a glaring weakness to me.

No injuries. More guys played toward the beginning, but near the end of the year, we've pretty much stuck with 6 guys. We really don't get that fatigued, so it's not a huge issue.

 

[sbfinley]

agreed. Is there anyone besides OSU fans that actually like/respect OSU? I think not. And I blame that on their douchebag, overly arrogant fans.

No different than what I've seen here at times.

 

[bornbleedinorange]

I think Bobby should be on Evan Turner, He plays good D and Turner was having troubles with someone guarding him as he brought the ball up court. Hopson needs to play aggressively and play up against Diebler. He doesn't drive to the basket so much so take away his three and we should be good on him. Should be a great game. GO VOLSSS Oh and screw there fans If they will just go off on the one vol fan on there.

 

[Brewerw]

agreed. Is there anyone besides OSU fans that actually like/respect OSU? I think not. And I blame that on their douchebag, overly arrogant fans.

Even OSU fans don't like their team. They consistently disappoint on every level possible. They are just the only ones stupid enough to buy into the hype every year.

 

[CINCYVOL]

How about a triangle two defense?

 

[iuvol2012]

Ohio State is not a good team. Their fans and entire coaching staff (not to mention Turner--flopping on every play) lobby for calls more than anyone I've ever seen in my life.

The referees took two top 15 NBA first rounders out of the game, and that's how OSU had any chance.

Take away Turner (or limit him) and get out on Diebler (who is in his own right a douche) and the Vols will win this...

Make sure you don't hand check, or try to post up aggressively (the referees will call a foul).

Yes, I'm bitter about today.

Cheer up. This weekend could be your revenge.

 

[fergie]

It is really amazing how this mid west bracket has come through the first weekend. One thing Tennessee seems to do well is shut down a team that relies heavily on one player...Downey...Collins and several others. If we can play solid defense on Turner and play well on the other end we will advance to the Elite 8. Our assistant coaches are doing a fine job scouting and preparing our team. Go Vols!

 

[Smokeybluetick]

That's a bit of a strong statement, don't you think? I'm enjoying this run and all, but OSU has the best player in the country and was almost a one seed.

We beat the overall #1 & #2 teams, so OSU almost being a one is not that scary!!!!!!

 

[knowthevols]

Calling Hopson names is detrimental to overall morale. We need to remember that we are all on the same team. we sink or swim together. GBO

 

[bamacheats]

I think OSU has a huge advantage because they are a Nike school.

 

[Oldblood]

Actually, it was mentioned that the NCAA uses Wilson basketballs in the tourney games, and that UT is one of the few schools out there that uses Wilson basketballs instead of Nike balls at their home games.

 

[SGMVols]

We beat the overall #1 & #2 teams, so OSU almost being a one is not that scary!!!!!!

The difference here is that we aren't playing at TBA.

 

[Lizzard28]

It is really amazing how this mid west bracket has come through the first weekend. One thing Tennessee seems to do well is shut down a team that relies heavily on one player...Downey...Collins and several others. If we can play solid defense on Turner and play well on the other end we will advance to the Elite 8. Our assistant coaches are doing a fine job scouting and preparing our team. Go Vols!

I do like the fact that the Vols won on Saturday, so the coaches could focus all of their efforts into scouting the GaTech OSU game Sunday, gives us an extra day to prepare, and see how OSU attackes a team with 3 guards and 2 big men.