Also, we held the #3 team to 60 points tonight

#1
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lvocd

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#1
I’m guessing that most of the CT fans were probably expecting to score at least 80 against a team they considered to be no competition.

They only scored 60 points, and many of those were literally handed to them by Tennessee after they lost their composure and started giving the game away. CT fans really can’t be all that smug about this win. Yes, a win is a win is a WIN. But the fact that this particular Tennessee team held their vaunted “well-oiled-machine” of an offense to 60 points should make them think.
 
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#4
#4
Coach Jumper said:
Good enough?
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What are you implying? That I think this game was good enough for the Lady Vols in general and that I have no grander hopes for the team and program but to play a good half on offense and play decent defense?

Of COURSE I’m not satisfied with this loss. But I also went into it knowing full well that we Simply. Are. Not. Ready. For. Primetime....

YET.

We’ll get there, but this was not the night to put the future of the program up for collateral as if a loss to one of the top 3 teams in the country was a bad loss that could hurt the program. It wasn’t that kind of loss, and I find the fan overreaction to it to be more disappointing than the loss itself.

We will move on to LSU a bit more informed about what it takes to beat a really good team on the road. We have much work to do, but we have more experience to draw from now on what NOT to do than ever before.
 
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#5
#5
lvocd said:
What are you implying? That I think this game was good enough for the Lady Vols in general and that I have no grander hopes for the team and program but to play a good half on offense and play decent defense?

Of COURSE I’m not satisfied with this loss. But I also went into it knowing full well that we Simply. Are. Not. Ready. For. Primetime....

YET.

We’ll get there, but this was not the night to put the future of the program up for collateral as if a loss to one of the top 3 teams in the country was a bad loss that could hurt the program. It wasn’t that kind of loss, and I find the fan overreaction to it to be more disappointing than the loss itself.

We will move on to LSU a bit more informed about what it takes to beat a really good team on the road. We have much work to do, but we have more experience to draw from now on what NOT to do than ever before.
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'Coach' is still jockeying for a job. Good luck with that.
 
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#7
#7
VolsFan-TX said:
Holding UConn to 60 is great until you realize the Lady Vols only scored 45.
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I believe that for this team, in this transition season, we should be happy with any positives we can find in every loss. Yes, I still think it was phenomenal that Tennessee, who is coached by someone lots of people consider to be a genius at coaching offense, held his squad to one of the lowest point totals in decades. There are probably fewer than a handful of games in 20 years that they’ve scored only 60 points in. That, friends, is something to be proud of, and I’m not going to let the fact our oft-inconsistent offense and turnovers let them down take away from that feat. They played them pretty tough on D for the most part!
 
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#9
#9
lvocd said:
I’m guessing that most of the CT fans were probably expecting to score at least 80 against a team they considered to be no competition.

They only scored 60 points, and many of those were literally handed to them by Tennessee after they lost their composure and started giving the game away. CT fans really can’t be all that smug about this win. Yes, a win is a win is a WIN. But the fact that this particular Tennessee team held their vaunted “well-oiled-machine” of an offense to 60 points should make them think.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Lady Vols scored only 14 points in the second half, the worst in the entire history of the LV program. This LV team could easily be in the top 5 to 10 if they only had ball security.
 
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#10
#10
If we had not gotten shell-shocked on offense and turned into deers in headlights, we could have played four quarters of smothering defense. Instead, we let their pressure create transition baskets, quit bodying up and boxing out, got the contagious turnover/bad pass disease, and otherwise let C have its way.

The way the team responds will reveal their pride and character. The way the staff gets the team to respond will test their mettle and demonstrate their competence.

This team needs a Tebow/Al Wilson/Scofield locker room old-fashioned tent revival meeting with players taking responsibilty and holding each other accountable. The future is now.

I believe they have the will to use tonight's 2nd half as a catalyst to fix the turnover virus and to never wilt under pressure to the extent they did tonight. And Kellie and staff will have a Plan B the way A did, even if it means going small ball and leaving the bigs on the bench whem a quicker opponent is wreaking havoc.

The length of our guards can still disrupt a lot of team's offense, and our guards and wings are good rebounders and shot-blockers.

Would have been nice to see what would have happened if we could have used our size to build an 8-12 point halftime lead and then respond to their speed adjustment by retaliating with our own quicker lineup.
 
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#11
#11
You left off one important thing, creekdipper: It would also be nice if the UT equipment department would sit down with Rae Burrell and try to find a pair of shoes she likes that aren’t as slick on the bottom as the ones she’s currently wearing appear to be. o_O In all the decades I’ve been watching human beings playing basketball, I have never seen a player slip more often than Rae does, and it always looks like she has either always been unlucky enough to have been the one to find the slick place on the floor, or her shoe soles are awful. Someone needs to evaluate her footwear!
 
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#13
#13
lvocd said:
You left off one important thing, creekdipper: It would also be nice if the UT equipment department would sit down with Rae Burrell and try to find a pair of shoes she likes that aren’t as slick on the bottom as the ones she’s currently wearing appear to be. o_O In all the decades I’ve been watching human beings playing basketball, I have never seen a player slip more often than Rae does, and it always looks like she has either always been unlucky enough to have been the one to find the slick place on the floor, or her shoe soles are awful. Someone needs to evaluate her footwear!
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Baby giraffe.
 
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#16
#16
Did not post much on this game because I was not that optimistic about the outcome, particularly on hostile court.

Honestly, the defensive effort was first rate but when a team makes 27 TOs (and maybe half unforced), that is just too many possessions to lose.

Again, we saw that this team has some deficiencies. Our post players got outplayed. Key, in particular, does not work hard enough (or strong enough to get post position). She is good when the game is not too physical; KK does better in the scrum, in terms of holding position but her inability to jump, slow reflexes, and no quality post moves, make her a non-factor.

When Horston is struggling (and this was not her night), there is just not enough offensive punch beyond Rennia and some occassional bursts from Rae.

On the whole, I think this game is reasonable step in the right direction, particularly in terms of the first half. The LVs shot themselves in the foot with TOs or they could have a double digit lead at the end of the first half.

In the second half, they unfortunately looked like the team that lost to KY and melted under pressure.

We are still in January and I think they can get much better against pressing teams.

Obviously, the next stretch of conference games are where it will matter.

This game was just a media spectacle.
 
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#17
#17
The offensive befuddlement in the second half seemed to carry over to the defensive end. Not suggesting that we quit, just that we let up after being intimidated on offense. Meanwhile, they amped up their intensity.

A vicious circle. And our turnover plague just led to a feeding frenzy while we turned into guppies.

I love Kellie but agree that we need to see some tough love...and some more strategic uses of time outs to stop momentum or, in this case, to snap the team out of their funk. Whether by calming them down or rattling tbeir cages with challenges the way Pat would do, something has to be tried, even if it doesn't work immediarely. That will also benefit Kellie, as she's under a microscope this year to both current players, recruits, and impatient fans. Most elite players respond to challenges, and psychology of knowing when and how to push the right buttons is essential to successful coaching.

Better to burn time outs to keep wthin striking distance and have a chance with no time outs left at the end than to end up with useless ones in a game out of reach. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
 
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#19
#19
lvocd said:
I believe that for this team, in this transition season, we should be happy with any positives we can find in every loss. Yes, I still think it was phenomenal that Tennessee, who is coached by someone lots of people consider to be a genius at coaching offense, held his squad to one of the lowest point totals in decades. There are probably fewer than a handful of games in 20 years that they’ve scored only 60 points in. That, friends, is something to be proud of, and I’m not going to let the fact our oft-inconsistent offense and turnovers let them down take away from that feat. They played them pretty tough on D for the most part!
Click to expand...

I agree it was a good defensive effort. However, the offense had more turnovers (27) than made FGs (19), made 3-pointers (5) and made FTs (2) combined. It is hard to beat many teams when that happens.

I guess if we are looking for positives, then the overall defense and defensive rebounding (35) was good.
 
#20
#20
lvocd said:
I’m guessing that most of the CT fans were probably expecting to score at least 80 against a team they considered to be no competition.

They only scored 60 points, and many of those were literally handed to them by Tennessee after they lost their composure and started giving the game away. CT fans really can’t be all that smug about this win. Yes, a win is a win is a WIN. But the fact that this particular Tennessee team held their vaunted “well-oiled-machine” of an offense to 60 points should make them think.
Click to expand...
This game was over at the half! Also, I guarantee you that Kellie doesn't think this was anything else but a loss!
 
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#21
#21
99 percent of the problem in this game came down to turnovers. In this game 73 shots to 56 for us. Rebounding was about even but we lost the turnover battle 27 to their 11 no way to win when you can't take care of the ball.
 
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#23
#23
UCONN lulled the LV into a false sense of security in the first half by playing a less aggressive defense. In the 2nd half UCONN attacked the LV and they crumbled. This LV does not value the ball and for the most part are weak in the paint. Only bright spot was Massengill.
Kellie better light a fire or this next stretch of games is going to be tough to watch. Good news: this can be fixed
 
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#24
#24
As has been said often the past few days, this year's iteration of the Evil Empire is not as good as most recent versions. They depend on two freshmen and a couple of sophomores. Their bench is short.

They have struggled against some less than stellar competition. And last night their two best scorers missed a load of open shots.

Yes, our defense was pretty good, for the first half at least.

But they have a coach who preaches, "If the shots aren't falling, play better defense." So they did. They embarassed us (we embarassed ourselves, if you prefer) in the third quarter, then coasted to the end.

Are we making progress? Yes.
Are we better coached than last year? Certainly.
Should we get a consolation prize for something we did last night? If that's what it takes to get you through your day...

But consider this. A weaker than usual (for their team) opponent had an off night offensively. We lost. It wasn't close. Kellie has her work cut out for her. The postgame pressers by both coaches were honest and articulate and mutually respectful. That is an improvement.
 
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