BTO’s Texas A&M Postgame Report

[vol94]

It certainly depends on what others do. I think Purdue, UConn, and Houston are close to locks. Houston can still drop. Depends on what UNC and Zona do.

However, the committee has shown the conference tournaments don’t matter.

I jurist posted the same thing before reading your post.

 

[VolGee4]

This team simply can't shoot on the road. I can't count the times, only ten fingers, that they have come out on the road clanging the rims, 1-12, 0-15, 2-13 over the last 3 years, just horrendous shooting. They don't need to come out hot, just shoot a reasonable percentage and they are slightly down at the half. Now all we can do is tighten up the seat belt and get ready for a tough end of season ride. This team is totally unpredictable so talk of a high seed or winning out is ridiculous. A lot of big games left to play.

This specific team hasn’t really struggled much on the road. Shot well at Wisconsin, at UNC, at Vandy, at UGA, and at UK. Shot well from 2 at MSU. The theme on he road has been not being able to stop the opponent. Defensive struggles at UNC, at Vandy and UGA for a half, at MSU, and at A&M. Still have the 7th rated defensive efficiency, but it’s fallen the last couple of weeks.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

It feels like since the 18-19 team we're saying this almost every season, hoping the "switch" comes on. And I the "we haven't peaked" stuff.....yeah not buying it. That's something we tell ourselves to explain away why we got our ass kicked last night. We shouldn't be needing "wake up calls" or anything like that, that kind of stuff is WAY overplayed.

I want to remain optimistic but I'm getting familiar feelings creeping in.

I will say the one counter argument to the “we haven’t peaked yet” is the 2021-2022 team with Kennedy Chandler. That team fell to 14-6 on January 30th after losing 52-51 at Texas and has everyone questioning how good they were that year.

We then won 12 of our next 13 games before the NCAA Tournament. Granted, we’re 10 days later this year than we were that year when the run started. But it’s possible for this team to still peak in time. The thing is you need a lot more from Santi, JJJ, and Aidoo and we’re just not getting it consistently, so it’s hard to truly believe in this team right now until you see it with a few wins in a row. Go 4-0 in this next stretch of games against teams you have no business losing to and I’ll feel a lot better. But have to see it first.

 

[Orangeslide]

We will most likely end up a three seed when it’s all said and done. I see no way we beat SC at their place. Same for Alabama. We probably win 2/3 against Auburn, A&M, and Kentucky at home which puts us at 12-6 in league play, 22-9 overall. Barring an early round upset loss in the SEC Tournament, probably good enough for a three seed.

If this team finishes 12-6 in league play would be a major disappointment and a disastrous close to the regular season. I said 14-4 when the conference started and I still think 14-4 wins the conference. We have 8 games left, it’s time to rise up and meet the challenge. Carolina will most likely lose their 3rd game this week at Auburn. Tennessee can give them their 4th loss later.

 

[lefthander]

It's becoming abundantly clear what kind of team is going to give us fits. Sound, physical defenses and teams that both shoot well from outside and have guards who can get to the basket. We don't like to be bullied because we're used to doing the bullying. And we don't defend the perimeter well, at all.

Amen on perimeter defense. Dillingham was uncontested at UK and then last night we cannot keep them in front of us. Why doesn't Mashack get called to stop the one guy killing them. Certainly does not hurt the offense as any team that guards at all takes half of the rotation out of the game. I believe we are deluded as to this teams ceiling because the SEC across the board is simply not very good. Auburn can be good when they want to play which is not everyday.
Inside roster has been an obvious problem and has not been improved all year.
One poster on another thread said that our offense seems to rise and fall on the start and usually DK's start. If we hit a couple of shots then more people get somewhat aggressive and score the ball . If not you get last night's first half and not the first time this year.
I think it is sad when Buzz Williams outcoaches that badly and I did not see any attempt to disrupt their plan.
Very deep in the season and nothing is going to change.

 

[CAVPUT]

Amen on perimeter defense. Dillingham was uncontested at UK and then last night we cannot keep them in front of us. Why doesn't Mashack get called to stop the one guy killing them. Certainly does not hurt the offense as any team that guards at all takes half of the rotation out of the game. I believe we are deluded as to this teams ceiling because the SEC across the board is simply not very good. Auburn can be good when they want to play which is not everyday.
Inside roster has been an obvious problem and has not been improved all year.
One poster on another thread said that our offense seems to rise and fall on the start and usually DK's start. If we hit a couple of shots then more people get somewhat aggressive and score the ball . If not you get last night's first half and not the first time this year.
I think it is sad when Buzz Williams outcoaches that badly and I did not see any attempt to disrupt their plan.
Very deep in the season and nothing is going to change.

Because Gainey?

 

[BisonVol]

If this team finishes 12-6 in league play would be a major disappointment and a disastrous close to the regular season. I said 14-4 when the conference started and I still think 14-4 wins the conference. We have 8 games left, it’s time to rise up and meet the challenge. Carolina will mostly lose their 3rd game this week at Auburn. Tennessee can give them their 4th loss later.

It would be very disappointing, but I do think that’s where we’re heading. I don’t want to overreact to last night, but our inability to deal with physicality is a trend that seems unlikely to change this late in the season.

Imo, too much has to go right for us to get to the 14-4 number you mentioned. You have to take care of business in the next three (I think we’ll do that), sweep A&M, Auburn, and Kentucky at home, and also steal one on the road at SC or Alabama.

Even if we do manage to win all of our remaining home games, winning at SC or at Alabama seems like a long shot. Alabama scores nearly 100 in all its home games (and they’ll be foaming at the mouth for some payback), and SC is one of those physical teams that we’ve yet to show we are capable of beating.

If we finish 14-4 we will have played consistently phenomenal basketball down the stretch. Just don’t think this team is capable of doing that.

 

[vavolfan6]

Its a tough loss that does knock us off the 1 line and puts us behind in the SEC season race. Its also our first double digit loss and I think that part hurts more becuase we really didn't have an answer. Last thing you want is for a clear blueprint on how to beat you to surface. And up until yesterday, I never felt like we were ever fully exposed. Just competitive losses that didn't go our way. But not so much yesterday. We lost the first half and even with adjustments lost the 2nd half.

Even with the above average shooting night, Radford and Wade Taylor were unstoppable in ISO basketball. We had no answer. On the other end, we were locked down any time we tried to go inside.

Sure we didn't shoot well from 3 most of the game, and outside of DK we were 2/17 (11%). But also, alot of that felt like we were settling for less than optimum shots becuase we weren't getting anything inside. Our bigs not only couldn't create much offensively but got whooped on the glass too. Again, we had no answer. And that too me, long term, is mote comcerning than bracketology and current SEC standings

 

[Redheads]

I’m always a little surprised that when we play these guard oriented, no post presence teams we always seem to want to play that way too. Now we know that Aidoo doesn’t like to mix it up down there but those guys didn’t have a player that hardly even took a shot down there. Their plan was to eat clock, set a screen, get one of the guards switched (on to DK, if possible), and go to the basket. Worked over and over. We never changed anything we did, that I could see. Personally, I wonder why we don’t try to pound it inside on those teams, even if that means JP, Awaka, ect, because Aidoo doesn’t want any of that. Maybe even post up DK. Nobody can guard him down there. Get fouls on their interior guys and make them adjust to us. We have a great plan A but when it isn’t working sometimes we just beat our head on the wall.

 

[BisonVol]

It feels like since the 18-19 team we're saying this almost every season, hoping the "switch" comes on. And I the "we haven't peaked" stuff.....yeah not buying it. That's something we tell ourselves to explain away why we got our ass kicked last night. We shouldn't be needing "wake up calls" or anything like that, that kind of stuff is WAY overplayed.

I want to remain optimistic but I'm getting familiar feelings creeping in.

Yeah, I think this is a case of “we are what we are” not “we just haven’t peaked”. Physical teams have had their way with us all season long. It’s no longer a matter of us having a bad day at the office or not having peaked. Those kinds of teams have had
their way with us. Not likely to change at this point in the season. Best we can hope for is that we don’t run into one of those kinds of teams in March.

 

[orangemadam]

For the past few years, it's pretty much been JJJ and SV that determines how
far we go in March. Why would this year be different? I don't think DK is enough
to overcome our other deficiencies, so it looks like JJJ and SV will guide us to
another early March exit.

I hope they prove me wrong, I would love some crow on this.

 

[ColinS]

We will be every team's Super Bowl from here on out. We have to bring it every night. The one thing I noticed last night was the body language when things didn't go their way. Head down, slumped shoulders, looking defeated with lots of time left on the clock, this is when our seasoned veterans need to step up and lead, not hide behind DK.

Why would you say we are every team's Superbowl? That's what you say about a number one team, a clear leader in the conference standings, or a blueblood. We are none of those things. A quad 1 win and that's it.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

69-85. It was the only double digit loss of the season.

 

[Volfan1000]

1. Another tough L, not because it’s a season ender or anything like that but because it’s seemingly another missed opportunity. You win that one and you’re likely on the 1 seed line and probably the #4 team in the country in new polls, instead you stick on the 2 line most likely and probably drop a spot or 2 in the new poll. Again not a season ender, but with the season winding down the opportunities get fewer and fewer and the fashion in which we took that L just makes it feel that much worse.

2. I’ve mentioned it before, but feels even more glaring the further we get into the season, in large part this team is going to rely on Santi , Aidoo & JJJ. I say that meaning for the most part you know what you’re going to get from ZZ & DK, and they’re going to bring it most nights, but it can’t just be them. 3-13 combined from SV & JJJ just isn’t going to get it done, when JJJ scores 8+ we are 12-1, less than that we are 4-5, there’s similar correlation with Santi as well although not quite as drastic. I get that nobody wants to have to rely on those 2, they can’t be trusted to bring it consistently as 5th year seniors and it’s frustrating, unfortunately it is what it is at this point, to reach our ceiling we have to rely on them showing up.

3. I also know nobody wants to hear this but it’s college basketball, we are at the point in the season where teams seasons are reaching a point of going 1 of 2 ways. A&M was on the bubble and in need of a signature win, at their house on a weekend night game, they came out ready to play and the team clearly wanting it more. Now that’s an issue and we needed to be ready, but it’s also not a total shock to see a hornets nest like that, Auburn who’s coached by so manys favorite coach got similarly whacked by Florida at their place yesterday. Again that’s not an excuse, but it’s also not a total shock, is what it is.

4. Big picture again it’s not a season ender, it’s more so a missed opportunity than anything. We talked about a real chance of a 6 game winning streak before entering the final 4 games, obviously that’s out the window. 1-1 now with 4 winnable games left, really need to win as many of those as possible obviously. Arkansas, Vandy & Missouri don’t have much of anything to play for, win those 3 and then A&M returns to Knoxville for what is now and intriguing rematch, and then on to the final 4 game stretch.




GBO!!!

We need Awaka or Aidoo to give us an Anderson type game on the glass which would be 10 to 12 rebounds per game and we can repay South Carolina and Texas A&M for bad losses later on this season.

I am not concerned about a potential 1 seed at this point and I would like to see this team get better as the month rolls along and then play their best basketball in March.

A&M just shot the lights out last night and that probably will not happen again in Knoxville on the 24th.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Not that it mattered in a 16 point beat down, but what was up with the goal tending review?

TXAM called for a goal tend. TN is awarded 2 points.

AM gets the ball out of bounds.

Over the halftime break, the play is reviewed and the goal tending call is reversed and TN’s 2 points are taken away.

Didn’t TN get screwed out of a possession?

Maybe they got the ball to start the 2nd half, but didn’t they then lose the possession arrow?

Pat Adams games have been very odd.

 

[njvols]

I don’t have much else to add about the game that hasn’t been said ad nauseam the past 12-16 hours. I’m mostly just disappointed. This feels like the window. I’m not sure when you’ll see a player like Dalton Knecht play at Tennessee again. I’m not sure when you’ll have the wealth of experience and veteran leadership needed to win championships like we do now.

I thought 14-4 was where we’d land pre-season. I did not think this team with the likely SEC POTY would be sitting at 7-3 and in 4th place right now. Feels like we have had so many missed opportunities the past few years. A realistic chance at a 1-seed and that is basically gone now.

Still a lot of season left, but also not that much if you know what I mean. This team needs to start finding some consistency now. You can’t just expect to flip a switch in March. You have an extremely manageable 4 game stretch coming up. Now is where we need to start building that consistency. Some are trying to sell it as “at least this means we haven’t peaked yet” but there is a part of me that is worried maybe this team won’t peak at all. For every game where the offense looks unstoppable, there is a game with all of the troubling warning signs that cost us the last few years.

It’s just going to be disappointing if this team manages to go another entire season without accomplishing any of our goals. I hope we turn it on soon.

Definitely all of above. We need to pile up the W’s now because that late season run is tough and going to be really hard to run thru without a loss.

 

[Orangeslide]

For the past few years, it's pretty much been JJJ and SV that determines how
far we go in March. Why would this year be different? I don't think DK is enough
to overcome our other deficiencies, so it looks like JJJ and SV will guide us to
another early March exit.

I hope they prove me wrong, I would love some crow on this.

Their numbers in conference say an early exit in March. SV is averaging 7.1 ppg and 2.9 rebounds ppg in conference play. He is 15-40 from 3 point land and 10-15 from the free throw land. JJJ numbers are more bleak, he is averaging 5.9 ppg and 5.6 rebounds ppg in conference play. He is 7-31 from 3 and 6-8 from the free throw line in conference play. You take out the Kentucky game, he is 3-22 from 3 and 2-4 from the free throw line. Between the 2 from the free throw line, the total attempts are 23 in conference play. It’s really hard to understand how JJJ has only attempted 8 free throws in conference play and he is our starting 4 and is 6’6 and weighs 220. In theory, we have 2 starters who anytime they drive in the lane rarely ever look to score. Mashack could give you better numbers in my opinion. Now if the JJJ shows up that played against Kentucky it’s a different story. Kentucky is so soft and bad on defense to let JJJ put the numbers he did. On the bright side, I think we get A@M at home and Carolina on the road for one reason, ZZ will not put the same numbers the second time we face them. Against Carolina he only had 2 points and 3 assists and was 0-4 from 3 and 2-4 from free throw line. Against A@M he did score 15 with 6 assists but he shot bad from 3 only going 1-8 and 4-7 from the free throw line.

 

[cbrown]

I don’t have much else to add about the game that hasn’t been said ad nauseam the past 12-16 hours. I’m mostly just disappointed. This feels like the window. I’m not sure when you’ll see a player like Dalton Knecht play at Tennessee again. I’m not sure when you’ll have the wealth of experience and veteran leadership needed to win championships like we do now.

I thought 14-4 was where we’d land pre-season. I did not think this team with the likely SEC POTY would be sitting at 7-3 and in 4th place right now. Feels like we have had so many missed opportunities the past few years. A realistic chance at a 1-seed and that is basically gone now.

Still a lot of season left, but also not that much if you know what I mean. This team needs to start finding some consistency now. You can’t just expect to flip a switch in March. You have an extremely manageable 4 game stretch coming up. Now is where we need to start building that consistency. Some are trying to sell it as “at least this means we haven’t peaked yet” but there is a part of me that is worried maybe this team won’t peak at all. For every game where the offense looks unstoppable, there is a game with all of the troubling warning signs that cost us the last few years.

It’s just going to be disappointing if this team manages to go another entire season without accomplishing any of our goals. I hope we turn it on soon.

I think “window” is accurate, because I think this is Barnes’ last chance to win anything significant - an SEC regular season title, SECT title, or deep tourney run. If he doesn’t do it this year, I doubt he’ll have another team to do it. I don’t have high expectations for next year . . . I think JJJ returning my have delayed the development of players we’ll need to be major contributors.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Why would you say we are every team's Superbowl? That's what you say about a number one team, a clear leader in the conference standings, or a blueblood. We are none of those things. A quad 1 win and that's it.

It's more than that. It might not be "Super Bowl" level, but your reasoning why it's not is pure BS. We've been in the top ten all season, with the exception of a couple of weeks. We've got a contender for national POY, and easily the best player in the SEC. We've been the best team in the conference over the past few seasons. Not surprising you would try to diminish a certain factor we deal with every time we play

 

[VolGee4]

I think “window” is accurate, because I think this is Barnes’ last chance to win anything significant - an SEC regular season title, SECT title, or deep tourney run. If he doesn’t do it this year, I doubt he’ll have another team to do it. I don’t have high expectations for next year . . . I think JJJ returning my have delayed the development of players we’ll need to be major contributors.

If Knecht gets drafted in the lottery, high level transfers should be lining up to play for him. It’s really unbelievable how it has vaulted him up draft boards. We have a good core for next year if he can add a couple of pieces.

 

[Orangeslide]

WAe need Awaka or Aidoo to give us an Anderson type game on the glass which would be 10 to 12 rebounds per game and we can repay South Carolina and Texas A&M for bad losses later on this season.

I am not concerned about a potential 1 seed at this point and I would like to see this team get better as the month rolls along and then play their best basketball in March.

A&M just shot the lights out last night and that probably will not happen again in Knoxville on the 24th.

Yes, they shot really well. They were 28-60 for 46.7% from the field, 11-28 from 3 for 39% (they average 6 makes per game), and 18-25 from the free throw line for 72%. Conversely, we shot bad. 23-62 from the field for 37%, 8-29 from 3 for 27.6%, and 15-25 from the charity stripe for 60 %. No way they shoot that well in Knoxville and no way we shoot that bad at home. We will get them in the return game. Also, just a note when we go to Carolina, no way ZZ plays as bad in the first game. 2 points, 3 assists, 0-4 from 3, and 2-4 from the free throw line. He will be ready and I think we get them on their home floor. Win the next four, which we should and we will be in mix for a regular season title going into the last 4 games. I personally think we get Auburn and Kentucky at home and Carolina on the road. Who knows, we might outscore Bama at their place. Their D is not exactly that good. Even if we drop 1 of the last 4 that still only gives us 4 conference losses which I think will win the conference. We may have to share it with someone though. Go Vols!

 

[TartanTurff]

Team looks tired, shots were coming up short last night and A & M guards were flying by their defenders all night long, hope the full week practices are letting up in intensity to avoid draining this team down the stretch, as we've seen those episodes many times before with a quick tournament exits,

This is undoubtedly Barnes' most talented team with a deep bench, but the younger players have not had the opportunity to grow a lot over the season and the bench rotations have gotten shorter not deeper, perhaps contributing to the fatigue and lack of stamina this week.

Despite the talent levels, this team nor the bench coaching staff are complete and fully assembled for a deep tournament run this year either, as there are significant gaps in play and overall consistency that you would like to see minimized at this point in the season, scoring woes, lack of productivity from 5 and 6 year players, mysteries and vanishing acts on the front line and at the 5, but still a lot to play for this season, the schedule gets significantly harder, not easier, going into the last 4 weeks of the season, we could easily end up a high 4 seed, thrown into the Memphis first round games and the committee would think they are doing us a favor.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Team looks tired, shots were coming up short last night and A & M guards were flying by their defenders all night long, hope the full week practices are letting up in intensity to avoid draining this team down the stretch, as we've seen those episodes many times before with a quick tournament exits,

This is undoubtedly Barnes' most talented team with a deep bench, but the younger players have not had the opportunity to grow a lot over the season and the bench rotations have gotten shorter not deeper, perhaps contributing to the fatigue and lack of stamina this week.

Despite the talent levels, this team nor the bench coaching staff are complete and fully assembled for a deep tournament run this year either, as there are significant gaps in play and overall consistency that you would like to see minimized at this point in the season, scoring woes, lack of productivity from 5 and 6 year players, mysteries and vanishing acts on the front line and at the 5, but still a lot to play for this season, the schedule gets significantly harder, not easier, going into the last 4 weeks of the season, we could easily end up a high 4 seed, thrown into the Memphis first round games and the committee would think they are doing us a favor.

There aren’t any 6 year players on the roster.

 

[CAVPUT]

Team looks tired, shots were coming up short last night and A & M guards were flying by their defenders all night long, hope the full week practices are letting up in intensity to avoid draining this team down the stretch, as we've seen those episodes many times before with a quick tournament exits,

This is undoubtedly Barnes' most talented team with a deep bench, but the younger players have not had the opportunity to grow a lot over the season and the bench rotations have gotten shorter not deeper, perhaps contributing to the fatigue and lack of stamina this week.

Despite the talent levels, this team nor the bench coaching staff are complete and fully assembled for a deep tournament run this year either, as there are significant gaps in play and overall consistency that you would like to see minimized at this point in the season, scoring woes, lack of productivity from 5 and 6 year players, mysteries and vanishing acts on the front line and at the 5, but still a lot to play for this season, the schedule gets significantly harder, not easier, going into the last 4 weeks of the season, we could easily end up a high 4 seed, thrown into the Memphis first round games and the committee would think they are doing us a favor.

Holy run on sentence Batman! You beat that comma key like a rented mule!

 

[kckempf]

We need Awaka or Aidoo to give us an Anderson type game on the glass which would be 10 to 12 rebounds per game and we can repay South Carolina and Texas A&M for bad losses later on this season.

I am not concerned about a potential 1 seed at this point and I would like to see this team get better as the month rolls along and then play their best basketball in March.

A&M just shot the lights out last night and that probably will not happen again in Knoxville on the 24th.

We spent a fair amount of the game with neither Awaka nor Aidoo in the game. Coach was trying new things with lineups and putting in combinations that we haven't seen before. These kinds of games I wonder if the game plan gets cooked early so they use the rest of the game to experiment with lineups