BTO’s Tarleton State Postgame Report

#1
bleedingTNorange

bleedingTNorange

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#1
1. Probably a tougher win than many folks expected, especially those unfamiliar with Gillespie or that team, even though the final spread ended up right about as expected. They play a physical brand of ball, they ugly things up and don’t back down…kudos to them for sticking around, pairing that with a team that’s not 100% healthy and is looking forward to a 10 day holiday break, and not a shock that it was close for awhile, but also kudos to Tennessee for executing and pulling away late when they could have made it a bit nerve racking.


2. Not tons of positives, feel like by far the biggest was Zeigler again looking more and more like himself, that’s been a continued road map that he’s been following and continues to look like an upward trajectory. He’s started finding his outside shot, now finishing around the rim and we saw a lot of stop and go change of pace from him that was very effective last night, have to think he continues getting better and better.

3. Knecht is going through a rough patch, not a huge shock given he’s never faced competition like this night in and night out and that he’s also banged up. There’s some things he can do better and also the staff can do better to help him out and I think this break will be good for both parties on that front, not overly worried about him and think he will respond well.

4. I get people want to see Tennessee play flawless every time out, and dominate every inferior opponent, but this isn’t college football, college basketball is a much different animal. Look around the college basketball slate on any given night and you’ll see Top 25 teams struggling against unranked teams, you’ll see upsets that are happening, Tennessee has avoided any of those and that’s why you’ve got a team that’s pushing Top 5 territory come Monday when the new rankings are released. Again, I get the football fan that’s a causal basketball fan doesn’t get this, but they are 2 very different sports.

5. Vols move to 9-3 and another 20pt favorite game awaits them for the finale of the OOC slate, as we’ve said it looks like Tennessee should finish 10-3 OOC which given the teams they’ve faced is a very nice accomplishment and great start to the resume for the NCAAT. I still think we’ve not seen close to the best Tennessee can look, now do we ever, I’m not sure, I hope so, but it’s pretty clear to me that I don’t think we’ve seen really even close to the ceiling yet. This is a March sport as we all know and it’s about playing your best at that time, continue stacking wins and building your resume while also finding and improving as a team, that’s the goal.




GBO!!!
 
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#7
#7
I didn’t get to watch last night due to some holiday family stuff, but a win is a win. Obviously, struggling with Georgia Southern and Tarleton State isn’t fun, but our KenPom numbers actually didn’t move at all last night despite the struggles, which is typically an indicator we didn’t play as poorly as people think.

I’m still a bit concerned with the 3-point shot though. Shot 32% again. So many talented shooters on this team and we’re at 33.6% through 12 games and 176th in the country.

Got to find a way to shot the ball a bit better or SEC play won’t be kind to us.

Still, a win is all that matters. Need to get healthy over this 10-day break and then play well in our final warm-up game before Ole Miss comes to town.
 
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#9
#9
bleedingTNorange said:
3. Knecht … and also the staff can do better to help him out
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Great take as always BTO.

I have been thinking that the staff needs to help him look for alternatives when he is double (or triple!) teamed. He doesn’t look to pass the ball. Many times somebody is open underneath the rim and instead of passing he forces a drive or a bad shot. Once he starts making them pay for double teaming him the floor will open up for his offense,
 
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#10
#10
Finishing 10-3 is a great record for how tough our schedule is. I think we go 13-5 in the SEC and go into the SECT 23-8.

Was really hoping that we'd be able to get a #1 seed but I believe we'd have to go like 15-3 in SEC play and be 25-6 to get it. A 2/3 seed would be in grabs with my 23-8 prediction though.
 
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#12
#12
Great write up and yes that team played extremely hard on D and slow pace on O. Middle parts of both halves offensively sluggish but we ended both halves as really good teams do. In CHRIST Alone
 
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#14
#14
Stoked said:
Finishing 10-3 is a great record for how tough our schedule is. I think we go 13-5 in the SEC and go into the SECT 23-8.

Was really hoping that we'd be able to get a #1 seed but I believe we'd have to go like 15-3 in SEC play and be 25-6 to get it. A 2/3 seed would be in grabs with my 23-8 prediction though.
Click to expand...
Fwiw Barttorvik projects Tennessee as the Top 2 seed with a projection of 22-9(12-6)…obviously tons of moving parts involved in that but thought I’d share.
 
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#15
#15
jmva1 said:
No matter how much Barnes insists we’re a good shooting team we just flat out aren’t, at least not with Santi shooting it the way he has so far this season
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The funny thing is if Zeigler and Vescovi were just shooting their career averages then we’d be a Top 30 3pt% team in the country…maybe that’s what Barnes is looking at?
 
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#17
#17
bleedingTNorange said:
1. Probably a tougher win than many folks expected, especially those unfamiliar with Gillespie or that team, even though the final spread ended up right about as expected. They play a physical brand of ball, they ugly things up and don’t back down…kudos to them for sticking around, pairing that with a team that’s not 100% healthy and is looking forward to a 10 day holiday break, and not a shock that it was close for awhile, but also kudos to Tennessee for executing and pulling away late when they could have made it a bit nerve racking.


2. Not tons of positives, feel like by far the biggest was Zeigler again looking more and more like himself, that’s been a continued road map that he’s been following and continues to look like an upward trajectory. He’s started finding his outside shot, now finishing around the rim and we saw a lot of stop and go change of pace from him that was very effective last night, have to think he continues getting better and better.

3. Knecht is going through a rough patch, not a huge shock given he’s never faced competition like this night in and night out and that he’s also banged up. There’s some things he can do better and also the staff can do better to help him out and I think this break will be good for both parties on that front, not overly worried about him and think he will respond well.

4. I get people want to see Tennessee play flawless every time out, and dominate every inferior opponent, but this isn’t college football, college basketball is a much different animal. Look around the college basketball slate on any given night and you’ll see Top 25 teams struggling against unranked teams, you’ll see upsets that are happening, Tennessee has avoided any of those and that’s why you’ve got a team that’s pushing Top 5 territory come Monday when the new rankings are released. Again, I get the football fan that’s a causal basketball fan doesn’t get this, but they are 2 very different sports.

5. Vols move to 9-3 and another 20pt favorite game awaits them for the finale of the OOC slate, as we’ve said it looks like Tennessee should finish 10-3 OOC which given the teams they’ve faced is a very nice accomplishment and great start to the resume for the NCAAT. I still think we’ve not seen close to the best Tennessee can look, now do we ever, I’m not sure, I hope so, but it’s pretty clear to me that I don’t think we’ve seen really even close to the ceiling yet. This is a March sport as we all know and it’s about playing your best at that time, continue stacking wins and building your resume while also finding and improving as a team, that’s the goal.




GBO!!!
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Maybe your best write-up to date, and it has nothing to do with the play on the court. It has everything to do with fan expectation.

That Tarleton State team is not a bad team. I don't care if the majority of our fans have heard of them or not. Playing without their head coach, on the road, they held their own for a long time in that game despite shooting 30% for the game and 2-22 from 3. They were 8-3 coming in and a top-200 KenPom team. That isn't overly impressive on the surface, but it's as good or better than most buy-game teams that come in to TBA to collect a check and a butt-whipping.

And you're right, this isn't football, and upsets are far more likely to happen, especially in a lull game like this ahead of a long holiday break. On the football field, it's 22 vs 22 and you can withstand a couple guys not showing up. On the court, it's 5 vs 5, and if one guy doesn't show up, that's 20% you're looking to compensate for. That is why you see upsets.

Playing flawlessly in December and beating teams by 30 or 40 points has done nothing for us in years past. And those same fans complaining now that we aren't clobbering these teams don't seem to care what happened in December when we lose in March. Now, all of a sudden, those games matter despite the fact that we are winning them.

If those fans are going to judge our success in our March, then they can't make any determination about anything based on how we win in December. The hypocrisy is unreal.
 
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#18
#18
bleedingTNorange said:
The funny thing is if Zeigler and Vescovi were just shooting their career averages then we’d be a Top 30 3pt% team in the country…maybe that’s what Barnes is looking at?
Click to expand...
I honestly wouldn’t mind santi’s 3pt % dip a little until he breaks out of his slump. He’s proven to be a good enough shooter for us to let him shoot his way out of it if that’s what it takes. The more he pump fakes or turns down open shots the more congested the defense gets, and they’re fine with giving up drives to the hoop to him. Can feel teams respecting his shot less and less each game. I have faith he’ll snap out of it though. And the only time I’ve seen it affect his defense is in the unc game
 
#19
#19
It'd be nice to see everyone on the team firing on all cylinders so we can see what the ceiling looks like. One thing our fans can't seem to get is these aren't professional athletes. Against Georgia Southern, it was finals week and they were up by like 26 and tried to coast second half. This game they had really great opportunities and a lot of open shots that just didn't go in second half.

I think my only real concern was Aidoo getting pushed around and our physicalled. That's something that shouldn't happen against lesser opponents.
 
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#20
#20
A win is a win and I’ll take it as it beats the alternative. Ask UVA how they felt when they fell victim to an upset over the past week.

This team will take a while to gel. The good news, “there is time.” Our defense will keep us in most SEC games allowing the offense to gel.

My concern is our offense continues to go through three-six minute droughts. While that is part of the game, the number must reduce to make a final four run.

It’s early and we haven’t reached our ceiling, imo. I think we saw the floor last night and hopefully won’t see again.
 
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#21
#21
I’d expect as the season develops, Santi and Knecht will complement each other more seamlessly on offense. Santi isn’t used to watching while DK has been the 1st (and sometimes only) option and Knecht hasn’t necessary had capable teammates to share the ball with. Plus Santi was pulled away from basketball for a week or two during the early games. I’m sure that it’s being worked on all the time in practice.
 
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#22
#22
A definite lock for a 2 seed right now.

To point 3, as ZZ and Santi have found their groove, it has taken away some opportunities (and maybe confidence) from DK. Still can’t believe how easily he dropped 37 in chapel hill, now struggling to find 5 or 6. Hope we can keep them all engaged and keep everyone in rhythm.
 
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#23
#23
Johnnyreb#VFL said:
A definite lock for a 2 seed right now.

To point 3, as ZZ and Santi have found their groove, it has taken away some opportunities (and maybe confidence) from DK. Still can’t believe how easily he dropped 37 in chapel hill, now struggling to find 5 or 6. Hope we can keep them all engaged and keep everyone in rhythm.
Click to expand...

The UNC game was an anomaly. Everybody clearing out and having one player take over isn’t a typical attack. UNC wasn’t prepared for it. Plus he was on fahr.
 
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#24
#24
Thunder Good-Oil said:
The UNC game was an anomaly. Everybody clearing out and having one player take over isn’t a typical attack. UNC wasn’t prepared for it. Plus he was on fahr.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but he did it in spurts against the teams in Maui too. He’d score 15+ in the first half and then kinda disappear.

Personally, I think the ankle is still bothering him some. I know he didn’t miss any time, but it really hasn’t been very long.
 
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#25
#25
That was as wild a defense as I can remember in forever. Guys flying all over the court haphazardly flinging themselves around in the most disorganized way possible. It was true chaos, and you never knew what was coming at any point in time. It caused a ton of confusion because it was hard to adjust to and they were unpredictable.

Kudos to that team. Tough, hard-nosed, and respectful guys. I saw them help a Vol up at least 3-4 times. These obstacles will help down the road.
 
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