BTO’s UT-Martin Postgame Report

[bleedingTNorange]

1. Workman like performance from the Vols, lead wire to wire and just gradually continued to expand the lead and hold total control all game long. The offense was a bit cold from 3 or it would’ve gotten uglier quicker, but the defense was elite and set a new record for fewest points allowed in TBA at 35, impressive stuff.

2. Lanier & Milicic continue to show they are offensive forces, Lanier is not hesitant about letting it fly and that’s a good thing, he’s efficient enough that that’s what you want, he was a little cold tonight but still gets you 18pts on 16 shots, Igor has a near double double with 9pts and 13rbds, he continues to impress me.

3. Speaking of double doubles, Okpara reached that mark with 10pts 11rbds and threw in 4 blocks in just 21 minutes, thought that was arguably his best showing to date which is a nice trajectory to see. Zeigler almost had himself one also as he finished with 11pt and 9 assists and just 2 turnovers, continuing to put that possible anomaly in the rearview mirror as he takes great care of the ball while still continuing to learn his new teammates.

4. With their performance mixed in with other results around CBB the Vols moved up to #2 nationally on KenPom which is obviously a great feat. They have a Top 10 offense (#9 currently), while not sacrificing on the defensive end as they overtake the top spot and are now the #1 defensive team in the country per KenPom. The balance this team has shown on both ends of the court has really been impressive, the only time Tennessee has had a Top 25 offense under Barnes was the last year of Admiral/Williams/Bone, their offense ranked #3 but their defense that year ranked 42nd, last year with Knecht our offense ranked 28th to end the year and we had the elite defense at #3. All that to say that this team up to this point is showing a balance on both ends that I’m not sure we’ve ever seen from a Barnes team at Tennessee, I’m sure at various times it has been there, I think last year it might’ve sneaked in for a few days, but never have they finished Top 25 on both ends of the court, never mind Top 20, or Top 10 like they currently are. Truly impressive stuff we are seeing as well as unprecedented up to this point.

7. Game deservedly didn’t have much concern, but you move to 7-0 on the year and in convincing fashion, and avoid any potential horrible resume lost, always a good thing. Vols should move up to probably 3 or 4 in the next update to the AP poll and as already addressed currently sit at #2 nationally on KenPom, as good of a start to the year as anyone could’ve hoped for. Your 3 toughest remaining OOC games are all up ahead in order, starting with Syracuse here in Knoxville, they haven’t appeared to be very good and we should be a heavy favorite, but gotta come ready to play, still a P5 team with talent. After that is a neutral site game against Illinois and then the toughest test as we travel to play Illinois, then followed by 3 buy games. Going 2-1 in this 3 game stretch would absolutely be acceptable and still a W to go 12-1 OOC, but definitely feels like if this team continues to play at this level they’ll have a very real shot to go undefeated in OOC and enter SEC play as potentially the #1 team in the country, at worst Top 3.


GBO!!!

 

[JacketVol]

Great write up as usual. Thank you.

 

[KTrain]

Great write up. This team has really gone beyond my expectations and its early. Great point of ZZ getting used to all the players is spot on and IMO will not only help trim TOs and add assist but will make him more comfortable in his shot selection.

 

[Voljayton]

Good write up. One thing I've noticed this season so far is everyone knows their roles well and are playing to their strengths rather than trying make up for a lacking area somewhere. Feels like pieces of a puzzle fitting in. Hope everything continues like this. GBO

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Solid performance tonight. Offense didn’t look that sharp, but I’ll attribute some of that to the bland opponent the day before Thanksgiving. My only concern is while we rebounded exceptionally well, we didn’t really do much scoring damage in the paint. I’m hoping this isn’t a trend. I’d like to see us be balanced on offense and not have to be a 3-point specialist team.

Still a lot of room for this team to improve, which is a good thing this early.

 

[Dr H Lecter]

Having watched the games, either every team we play suck offensively or our defense is spectacular. I suspect it’s a lot of both!

 

[Orangeslide]

There will be nights where we struggle to score, especially on the road against physical teams. The officials are really letting games get out of control and I fear that will play against us especially with ZZ and how he will be guarded. I hope Igor is up for the task because teams are really going to start getting up in him and really being physical. Same goes for Lanier. Okpara brings much needed energy, rebounding, and shot blocking for us. If the officials reward physical play and swallow their whistle, we may wear down by the end of February with our lack of depth. We handled Louisville and Baylor physical play very nicely, but it’s a long season. If Barnes gets this team to a Sweet 16 I say a job well done. Chaz and Igor are our 2 best offensive players with both having the potential of getting 20 a night. We will see how they respond as teams start to game plan for them and try to take away their strengths. I hope we run Syracuse by 15+ at home, never have like that team. Go Vols!

 

[The Dog]

There will be nights where we struggle to score, especially on the road against physical teams. The officials are really letting games get out of control and I fear that will play against us especially with ZZ and how he will be guarded. I hope Igor is up for the task because teams are really going to start getting up in him and really being physical. Same goes for Lanier. Okpara brings much needed energy, rebounding, and shot blocking for us. If the officials reward physical play and swallow their whistle, we may wear down by the end of February with our lack of depth. We handled Louisville and Baylor physical play very nicely, but it’s a long season. If Barnes gets this team to a Sweet 16 I say a job well done. Chaz and Igor are our 2 best offensive players with both having the potential of getting 20 a night. We will see how they respond as teams start to game plan for them and try to take away their strengths. I hope we run Syracuse by 15+ at home, never have like that team. Go Vols!

I disagree about the refs swallowing their whistle, I think it favors the Vols with the way we play physical defense. Jmo

 

[EZE]

Trifecta coming…baseball football and basketball…

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Solid performance tonight. Offense didn’t look that sharp, but I’ll attribute some of that to the bland opponent the day before Thanksgiving. My only concern is while we rebounded exceptionally well, we didn’t really do much scoring damage in the paint. I’m hoping this isn’t a trend. I’d like to see us be balanced on offense and not have to be a 3-point specialist team.

Still a lot of room for this team to improve, which is a good thing this early.

The funny part about the offense is it actually improved on KP with todays performance.

Felt like they really packed it in and helped off drives and left the perimeter shot open by design and tried to take away the 2, which was an interesting strategy given how well were been shooting from 3.

 

[Volfan1000]

1. Workman like performance from the Vols, lead wire to wire and just gradually continued to expand the lead and hold total control all game long. The offense was a bit cold from 3 or it would’ve gotten uglier quicker, but the defense was elite and set a new record for fewest points allowed in TBA at 35, impressive stuff.

2. Lanier & Milicic continue to show they are offensive forces, Lanier is not hesitant about letting it fly and that’s a good thing, he’s efficient enough that that’s what you want, he was a little cold tonight but still gets you 18pts on 16 shots, Igor has a near double double with 9pts and 13rbds, he continues to impress me.

3. Speaking of double doubles, Okpara reached that mark with 10pts 11rbds and threw in 4 blocks in just 21 minutes, thought that was arguably his best showing to date which is a nice trajectory to see. Zeigler almost had himself one also as he finished with 11pt and 9 assists and just 2 turnovers, continuing to put that possible anomaly in the rearview mirror as he takes great care of the ball while still continuing to learn his new teammates.

4. With their performance mixed in with other results around CBB the Vols moved up to #2 nationally on KenPom which is obviously a great feat. They have a Top 10 offense (#9 currently), while not sacrificing on the defensive end as they overtake the top spot and are now the #1 defensive team in the country per KenPom. The balance this team has shown on both ends of the court has really been impressive, the only time Tennessee has had a Top 25 offense under Barnes was the last year of Admiral/Williams/Bone, their offense ranked #3 but their defense that year ranked 42nd, last year with Knecht our offense ranked 28th to end the year and we had the elite defense at #3. All that to say that this team up to this point is showing a balance on both ends that I’m not sure we’ve ever seen from a Barnes team at Tennessee, I’m sure at various times it has been there, I think last year it might’ve sneaked in for a few days, but never have they finished Top 25 on both ends of the court, never mind Top 20, or Top 10 like they currently are. Truly impressive stuff we are seeing as well as unprecedented up to this point.

7. Game deservedly didn’t have much concern, but you move to 7-0 on the year and in convincing fashion, and avoid any potential horrible resume lost, always a good thing. Vols should move up to probably 3 or 4 in the next update to the AP poll and as already addressed currently sit at #2 nationally on KenPom, as good of a start to the year as anyone could’ve hoped for. Your 3 toughest remaining OOC games are all up ahead in order, starting with Syracuse here in Knoxville, they haven’t appeared to be very good and we should be a heavy favorite, but gotta come ready to play, still a P5 team with talent. After that is a neutral site game against Illinois and then the toughest test as we travel to play Illinois, then followed by 3 buy games. Going 2-1 in this 3 game stretch would absolutely be acceptable and still a W to go 12-1 OOC, but definitely feels like if this team continues to play at this level they’ll have a very real shot to go undefeated in OOC and enter SEC play as potentially the #1 team in the country, at worst Top 3.


GBO!!!

On point 7, Miami and Larranga will be an interesting matchup before Tennessee heads to Champaign to play Illinois.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

The funny part about the offense is it actually improved on KP with todays performance.

Felt like they really packed it in and helped off drives and left the perimeter shot open by design and tried to take away the 2, which was an interesting strategy given how well were been shooting from 3.

Yeah, I found it weird that they decided to play zone against us. I think that definitely impacted our ability to break down the defense and use our size advantage to score inside. I’m just hopeful that we’ll have a balanced perimeter/post game throughout the year, because even though this team has a ton of perimeter shooters we can rely on we’re going to run into nights where we struggle from 3.

I think that’s what makes Auburn arguably the best team in the country right now. They can fill it up from outside, but Cardwell and Brhome are a nice safety net when they can’t.

 

[Golfprovol]

Great start! Might not miss DK that much

 

[first time caller]

So good to be a Volunteer fan right now!

 

[VOLtaism]

My goodness this is going to be a tough SEC field this year. UT, UK, Auburn, Bama, possibly Arkansas all top 10 teams. May beat each other up similar to the football season.