BTO’s North Carolina Postgame Report

[volbound1700]

Aidoo should be getting more than 4 rebounds a game and I think that the minutes that Estrella and Phillips played tonight will help them later on this season.

Tennessee will not play another offensive juggernaut like North Carolina again this season.

I don't think North Carolina is really all that big of a Juggernaut, I just think we caught them on a hot night in the gym they were comfortable with. It happens in Basketball.

Fan base needs to calm down though, good post by OP. This team isn't a top 5 team like some thought but it isn't going to be a 14-15 team like some are claiming either.

 

[KTrain]

Fwiw Alabama & Kentucky both have higher rated offenses than UNC

I haven't watched UNC play since last year but the Vols were bad on D especially first half but I do think UNC got in a groove 1st half and was beating our halfcourt D down the court and got comfortable shooting 1st half. So in my mind we played sloppy as Barnes said and UNC played their best ball 1st half maybe a little over their head. JMO

 

[MCScots4]

My thought was more he likely could’ve held position against Bacot much better than Aidoo, likely less fouls thus fewer UNC FTs, and also likely rebounds better than Aidoo so fewer ORBs and 2nd chance opportunities for UNC.

Hasn't Awaka been in foul trouble pretty much every game too? I feel like his minutes have been limited every game because he can't play without fouling.

 

[kckempf]

The defensive problems in the first half looked to be in part due to bad scouting, with our players abandoning the 3 point line to focus on Bacot. UNC (or anybody else) won’t shoot like that all the time, even unguarded, but when we focused more on perimeter defense in the second half we got stops (UNC shot 9/27 in the second half). It’s essential that we keep this lesson in mind going forward.

 

[KptVFL]

Below is the stat that jumps out. I really thought it would be 3 pointers when I went back and looked but that evened out pretty close by the end of the game. From 3- 1st half was TN 1-12 for 8.33% and NC 7-16 for 43.75%. In the end TN 9-28 for 32.1% and NC 12-28 for 42.9%.

From the free throw line is the real killer:

TN 13-16 for 81.3%
NC 32/38 for 84.2%

How many games do you win when outscored by 19 at the line?

 

[LeannaVol]

I recognize we have likely played 3 of the best bigs in college basketball the last three games, but Aidoo is a disappointment for me. I know he is limited offensively but expected more from him rebounding and defensively. I don't see the effort from him. Awaka would have likely helped. Losing 3 games in a row is no fun but has a UT basketball team ever played a 3 game stretch like this before? Hopefully they are prepared for the SEC.

 

[ndubvols]

Defensively it seem most of the struggles were the result of really poor transition defense. If we want to play faster than in years past, going to have to get that fixed. A lot of guys losing their man in transition, or getting beat off the dribble in the half court and giving way too much help defense leaving the kick out open. I’m confident barnes will get it fixed, but was alarming to see all 5 guys ball watching in the first half.

Other minor concern I have that I think will get fixed is the rotation. I’m hoping barnes was just sending a message to vescovi and mashack in the second half, but we also saw a shortened rotation in the 2nd half of the Purdue and Kansas games. I’m all for riding the hot hand game to game, but one of the strengths of this team is the depth at guard. That strength is neutralized when you don’t sub the entire half and think it’s one of the reasons we’ve struggled down the stretch in each of these losses. Imo, zz and Gainey weren’t bad, but don’t think their play warranted playing the entire 2nd half and keeping vescovi/mashack on the bench. Sub some fresh legs in and hopefully continue the comeback. Again, hopefully just sending a message, but rotation needs to continue in the 2nd half to keep guys fresh and flex one of the strengths of this team.

 

[volfeeva]

They missed lay up's , missed short inside shots, missed 3 pointers, threw the ball out of bounds/turnovers, looked scared to take a shot in the 1st half, looked confused on offense, left NC shooters all alone for wide open shots all night, got out rebounded ( in the 1st half anyway ) dug a hole that was too deep to crawl out of. Not a single facet of the game was good. Team needs to practice a lot to fix things.

 

[cardvolfan]

I don’t think anyone is excited about starting the season 4-3, even when you consider the level of competition. The loss is unfortunate, and we missed an opportunity to get a signature win. That said, I’m not actually concerned about the loss, nor the defense. I don’t know what happened in the first half, but I don’t expect that to happen again. Just don’t let it become a trend.

At this point, I am only concerned about Knecht’s health. He is clearly the cog in this engine that makes the machine run. I’m not sure how good this team can be without him. I can’t remember the last time I saw a player in Orange drive through traffic with 3 guys draped over him and lay it in with ease. His performance was one of the most impressive I think I have ever seen in a Vol uniform.

Once UNC had to double Knecht in the 2nd half, he was finding guys wide open for shots and creating for this team when we don’t have a ton of guys that can create on their own. It was a thing of beauty.

By no means am I saying I am giving up on the other guys on the floor shooting the ball, but if Knecht misses times, I do have some slight concerns about where the offense comes from. We scored 92 but 37 came from Knecht. 20 from JJJ. The rest of the offense struggled.

We have a chance to rebound and build some momentum going into conference play. It’s not going to be easy necessarily, but I don’t see any excuse to not go 6-0 and head into SEC play 10-3. We have the talent even if Knecht isn’t back for awhile. But it is going to be gut check time for some of the guys on the floor trying to find their identity. We need Santi desperately.

Carolina spreads the floor extremely well. When you have drivers and those that are good from 3, there’s just no way to defend a team hitting like they were in the first half. You can only defend so much space. Credit UNC last night.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Carolina spreads the floor extremely well. When you have drivers and those that are good from 3, there’s just no way to defend a team hitting like they were in the first half. You can only defend so much space. Credit UNC last night.

I thought we helped off too much, if you get beat Aidoo should be there to alter a shot, stop digging down so hard and getting out of position off shooters.

 

[calban]

Almost all teams coming back from Maui struggle coming back in their first game. It’s called jet lag.

So those coming from the Bahamas don't suffer jet lag? Interesting world we live in.

 

[PandamoniumReigns]

So those coming from the Bahamas don't suffer jet lag? Interesting world we live in.

Flying back from a 5 hour time difference is way different than flying back from the same time zone

 

[cncchris33]

Not sure what the deal is with Vescovi and even Mashack, but I kept wondering how we might have looked with Dillione paired with Knecht. The free throw numbers might not look so bad if we had guys trying to finish at the rim more often. I have to wonder if there's some petty jealousy at play with Vescovi and maybe Mashack. Barnes has preached defense from the jump, but let's be honest, both Knecht and Gainey aren't much in the way of defenders, but Knecht is pretty much the offensive spark plug. Gainey is the coach's son. Those guys aren't going to see the end of Barne's bench. Maybe Vescovi sees a double standard? Maybe he's jealous of the attention Knecht is getting? Quite the quandry Barnes might be facing if he has to accept the lack of defense from the portal guys in favor of their offense while demanding it from everyone else. We just need Dillione, Awaka and now Knecht healthy. With the upcoming schedule, it might be best to continue resting those guys and letting some of these freshmen get valuable court time. Again, I know Barnes will use his bench to get their attention and rightfully so, but now he's going to have to watch how quick he is on that trigger with the youngsters. He has to give them a little more leeway going forward.

I just can't imagine Dilione trying to defend Cadeau, right now. He'd have gotten eat up out there. Maybe they'd try and play him on RJ Davis, instead.

 

[cncchris33]

I thought we helped off too much, if you get beat Aidoo should be there to alter a shot, stop digging down so hard and getting out of position off shooters.

Thiiiiiiiiissssss

We allow waaaay too many open perimeter looks because we try and play help defense way too deep into the paint with our guards (who are prone to foul on that help) and leave wide-open uncontested 3s all game long. We've done it for two straight years, now, at least.

If you're going to play man-to-man defense, at some point you have to rely on your guys to defend 1v1. We don't have an Yves Pons coming to help alter shots, anymore. D up and guard your ground, but we can't let those shooters have uncontested looks like we've been doing.

 

[CAVPUT]

I just can't imagine Dilione trying to defend Cadeau, right now. He'd have gotten eat up out there. Maybe they'd try and play him on RJ Davis, instead.

I'd hope that being the athlete he is that the defense would come. Just wondering how his athleticism and ability to attack the rim would pair with Knecht's game. No one will look at Vescovi and call him super athletic, but he's decent on defense. With all the injuries so early in this season, I'm hoping the youngsters will step up. I think we've got some nice players in the wings. Just need to avoid the football teams mistakes and get those kids on the floor. Seems like an ideal time/situation for Barnes to do just that.

 

[Frozevol]

1. I think if you had told anyone that we’d score 92 points in regulation you’d have had a really hard time finding anyone thinking we lost that game, never saw that coming. That’s as bad of a half defensively as we’ve ever seen from a Rick Barnes team and according to him the worst he’s ever seen. To the guys credit they played a much better 2nd half and actually Outscored UNC 53-39, a much more respectable defensive showing, but still not great by any stretch of the imagination.
We will struggle to beat decent teams until Knecht returns. If this is a serious sprain he may be out for 4-6 weeks.
2. Maybe I should join the mislabels and be more down, but I’m not (other than the Knecht injury). Had the 2nd half not happened then ok, but offensively (even 1st half) we were really damn good and more than good enough to win the game. Leaving Maui folks questioned the ability of this team to score, going for 90 against UNC should help ease those concerns a bit. Now obviously it’s a L, but if we lose that game 68-60 we have many of the same questions still and are worried about things offensively still. Instead I’m feeling much better about us offensively and knowing Barnes I really don’t think you’re going to be seeing many showings like that from this defense.

3. As for why the defensive showing? No clue, but that can’t happen. Seems like there was some lack of leadership from some guys and Barnes was definitely not pleased with some of his veterans, neither Vescovi or Mashack played a bunch and definitely some harsh words for Vescovi postgame. Not sure if he’s struggling with the family situation he was dealing with back home, his new role on this team, or something else, but he’s really not playing like the guy we’ve come to know and that’s not something anyone saw coming and is really throwing a wrench into things imo.

4. I thought Zeigler looked better tonight than he has which was nice to see, also nice to see JJJ bounce back with as strong game, I know Gainey is catching some heat from folks but he’s doing what’s asked of him. He’s a streak shooter and unless you take those shots the streaks never start, he has the full on green light and he’s doing what is asked of him. With Santi struggling, ZZ not much offensively, Mashack still no perimeter game etc etc this team will continue to give Gainey the green light, and he’s still along the best 3pt shooters on the team, would like to see the 18 footer knocked off but he’s been better than he has bad for this offense.

5. Dalton Knecht was having an absolute moment tonight, don’t think we were coming back but he was putting folks on notice and going to be a household name after tonight, instead in typical Vol luck fashion he rolls an ankle and likely will be missing some time. Absolutely hate that for him and us, he seemed to be finding some footing and a next gear and was looking forward to continuing to watch him gel and this team gel, this squad is having some bad injury luck. Dilione and Awaka (feels like he could’ve helped tonight) both out, and now Knecht too, this rosters depth is getting tested early on.

6. With that said this is the time to do it if you’re going to have it happen, the schedule now finally lightens up and we get quite a few home games upcoming now as well. There’s no shame in the 3 losses we have, we are still a Top 10 teams by most every account, but that means you’ve gotta now go rattle off some wins against lesser competition coming up. Illinois at home and NCST at a neutral site aren’t gimmies, but they very winnable and they turn this resume into looking very good and that of a Top 10 team. Again, no shame in the 3 losses we have, teams aren’t going 31-0, learn from it and take the positives you had offensively and find the consistent approach defensively and things will be fine.




GBO!!!!

If Knecht’s ankle is serious we will struggle with any decent team. If he’s out for 6 weeks we can no longer be expected to be the league favorite. Very Battered Vol at this point. We find a pearl and dropped it on a stone floor.

 

[ndubvols]

I thought we helped off too much, if you get beat Aidoo should be there to alter a shot, stop digging down so hard and getting out of position off shooters.

100% this. It was usually all 4 guys helping off too, instead of just one guy being left open.

 

[wtmvol]

If Knecht’s ankle is serious we will struggle with any decent team. If he’s out for 6 weeks we can no longer be expected to be the league favorite. Very Battered Vol at this point. We find a pearl and dropped it on a stone floor.

Not sure we should be considered the league favorite anyway, but on the bright side, even if he's out 6 weeks that would put him back in the lineup by the 3rd game of the SEC schedule.

 

[rdk4121]

The guy that stood out to me (outside of Knecht) was Phillips. He's asked to go guard a all- America candidate in his 7 college game. I thought he did pretty darn well, particularly in comparison to Aidoo, who is just unplayable in these big games. We need Awaka to get healthy as he could have made the difference tonight on the glass. Aidoo just kills us over and over again.

 

[Jdw2920]

Too many open 3s and then if they did miss they snatched up the ball and fought to get it more than we did especially first half. They had wide open 3s bad defensive rotation and players out of position all night leading to wide open looks. We dropped and kicked balls off our legs and feet a lot last night.

 

[CINCYVOL]

Aidoo should be getting more than 4 rebounds a game and I think that the minutes that Estrella and Phillips played tonight will help them later on this season.

Tennessee will not play another offensive juggernaut like North Carolina again this season.

UK says hello

 

[SonOfGodVolforlife]

Not many teams play zone my man

Especially in college, 2-3, 3-2, or 1-3-1 are stuff ya just don’t rlly see anymore.To many good shooters!

 

[TMvol10]

K

Awaka would've helped tonight, but he's an average post player and very limited on offense. Not the kind of player who will get you deep into the tournament. Good enough for the first couple of rounds if the offense is clicking but not much further.

I agree he’s limited offensively. But that’s not what we needed him for in a game like tonight’s. His strength and aggression would have been huge in the lane.

 

[pimo1]

1. I think if you had told anyone that we’d score 92 points in regulation you’d have had a really hard time finding anyone thinking we lost that game, never saw that coming. That’s as bad of a half defensively as we’ve ever seen from a Rick Barnes team and according to him the worst he’s ever seen. To the guys credit they played a much better 2nd half and actually Outscored UNC 53-39, a much more respectable defensive showing, but still not great by any stretch of the imagination.

2. Maybe I should join the mislabels and be more down, but I’m not (other than the Knecht injury). Had the 2nd half not happened then ok, but offensively (even 1st half) we were really damn good and more than good enough to win the game. Leaving Maui folks questioned the ability of this team to score, going for 90 against UNC should help ease those concerns a bit. Now obviously it’s a L, but if we lose that game 68-60 we have many of the same questions still and are worried about things offensively still. Instead I’m feeling much better about us offensively and knowing Barnes I really don’t think you’re going to be seeing many showings like that from this defense.

3. As for why the defensive showing? No clue, but that can’t happen. Seems like there was some lack of leadership from some guys and Barnes was definitely not pleased with some of his veterans, neither Vescovi or Mashack played a bunch and definitely some harsh words for Vescovi postgame. Not sure if he’s struggling with the family situation he was dealing with back home, his new role on this team, or something else, but he’s really not playing like the guy we’ve come to know and that’s not something anyone saw coming and is really throwing a wrench into things imo.

4. I thought Zeigler looked better tonight than he has which was nice to see, also nice to see JJJ bounce back with as strong game, I know Gainey is catching some heat from folks but he’s doing what’s asked of him. He’s a streak shooter and unless you take those shots the streaks never start, he has the full on green light and he’s doing what is asked of him. With Santi struggling, ZZ not much offensively, Mashack still no perimeter game etc etc this team will continue to give Gainey the green light, and he’s still along the best 3pt shooters on the team, would like to see the 18 footer knocked off but he’s been better than he has bad for this offense.

5. Dalton Knecht was having an absolute moment tonight, don’t think we were coming back but he was putting folks on notice and going to be a household name after tonight, instead in typical Vol luck fashion he rolls an ankle and likely will be missing some time. Absolutely hate that for him and us, he seemed to be finding some footing and a next gear and was looking forward to continuing to watch him gel and this team gel, this squad is having some bad injury luck. Dilione and Awaka (feels like he could’ve helped tonight) both out, and now Knecht too, this rosters depth is getting tested early on.

6. With that said this is the time to do it if you’re going to have it happen, the schedule now finally lightens up and we get quite a few home games upcoming now as well. There’s no shame in the 3 losses we have, we are still a Top 10 teams by most every account, but that means you’ve gotta now go rattle off some wins against lesser competition coming up. Illinois at home and NCST at a neutral site aren’t gimmies, but they very winnable and they turn this resume into looking very good and that of a Top 10 team. Again, no shame in the 3 losses we have, teams aren’t going 31-0, learn from it and take the positives you had offensively and find the consistent approach defensively and things will be fine.




GBO!!!!

I agree fully and especially with basketball its easier. Its not about how you start its about how you finish. this is not football where lose 2-3 games its pretty much over for you. All of our losses have been quality ones. They suck but getting them early gives coach ammo and also end of the season gives the selection committee something to talk about if those teams keep winning. We should all be rooting for Purdue, Kansas and NC to play well up till the playoffs. If that happens and we finish up strong from this it gives us better seeding in the tourney. That we did this without Awaka is a big deal...We only lost 35-30 in rebounding a game where we were outsized down low. Right now the big thing we keep doing is letting other teams get to the free throw line while we do not.

A fully healthy Awaka, Knecht and ZZ change the whole complexion of this team and if Estrella can figure it out and contribute 5-10 decent minutes a game we are set.

 

[TMvol10]

I thought we helped off too much, if you get beat Aidoo should be there to alter a shot, stop digging down so hard and getting out of position off shooters.

We have always over helped and I do not understand it. If a team is shooting poorly, or you want to test a teams outside shooting early on, it’s fine. But when a teams hot, or you’re trying to get back in the game , you gotta make the change in your strategy and stop helping. First half we were giving up wide open 3s to guys on the ball side. The UNC player with the ball wasn’t even a threat to score and we’d dig down leaving the guy wide open. Very frustrating. Then again, in the second half l, I think we say how UNC would shoot on an average night. They threw up some major bricks on wide open 3s. Still, I would alter my strategy on helping if a team starts out as hot as they did.