Lady Vols Face Maryland In Sweet 16

[VN News]

No. 1 seed Tennessee will meet No. 4 seed Maryland at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky., on Sunday in the NCAA Women's Basketball Sweet 16.

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[zaqhhh]

We need to play better than we have. That said, Maryland was not impressive in their win.
I say Tennessee by 15

 

[Amb3096]

We need to play better than we have. That said, Maryland was not impressive in their win.
I say Tennessee by 15

15 is too much, but I think Tennessee will win. Thomas will go gang-busters in her final collegiate game, but she'll have little support from her teammates.

The danger from Maryland comes from all those 6'4 girls they have. Harrison will have her hands full, but she's better than any of them. Again, Tennessee will need to hit their outside shots. Graves needs to show up because I can't see Burdick having another big game if she's wasting ll her energy guarding Thomas.

 

[Vols4life]

Our posts run the floor...Maryland doesn't play defense....We will be fine

 

[clkou]

It would be nice to hold a star player to 10-15 or so.

 

[BruisedOrange]

Thomas will go gang-busters in her final collegiate game, but she'll have little support from her teammates.
I can't see Burdick having another big game if she's wasting all her energy guarding Thomas.

Has anyone heard a stat for "net point impact" for Burdick? Maybe there's another term for it. Net would be Burdick's ppg + points held below avg by the player she guarded most of the game.

BTW: Appears to me Simmons has upped her defensive intensity while going through this shooter's slump. Not sure how good her technique has been, but certainly demonstrates maturity and senior leadership.

 

[Orange Maniac]

Five of the teams in the Sweet 16 are from the SEC. Playing in the SEC helps you prepare for the post season or so it seems.

 

[armchair]

Can Burdick guard Thomas? I don't think so. I don't think we have anybody who can guard her except Jones--and we know how Jones is when we have the ball. I suspect that we'll be playing more than a little zone. Maryland will be a test. Burdick has to score--and should score because she's a good shooter, even though her shooting and overall play was borderline bad early in the season. She's come on strong--and thankfully so as with Massengale out our depth is shaky, especially when it comes to scoring. Opponents are going to double Harrison now--and we're talking teams with size and more athleticism than northwestern state.

 

[governmentmule]

Massengale being out is a double edged sword armchair,others have stepped up there play,Carter and Reynolds most noticeably,but her scoring is being missed,especially from the 3 point shot

I haven't seen Thomas play,but from her stats she is a good one,Burdick will have to have another good scoring night and play some damn good defense

i am like you about Jones,great defense,but scares the hell out of me with the ball in her hands,when she quits thinking and just plays on offense she can do well,but it is like Oh Damn i have the ball,what should I do next,she is a hard one to figure out

 

[clkou]

I haven't watched Thomas play much but she didn't exactly strike fear into me as I watched their last game. Neither Texas or Maryland seemed at their best to be honest. I guess we'll see. I feel like if we play 75% of what we are capable, we can smoke any ACC team except Notre Dame and I think we can beat them too if we're at our best.

 

[armchair]

Thomas didn't make a shot in the first half against texas but came on in the second half--started scoring. She is 6'2", solidly built and is mobile and can shoot. She's won player of the year in acc the last three years. She will take the ball outside and go to the basket and score down low. I didn't watch a lot of the game but I'm not sure how good the rest of the terps team is, quick freshman point guard, but they have a tough-minded coach and some athletes. We are better defensively without Massengale--except when Reynolds comes in for Simmons when MS is having foul or shooting problems. Offensively, our 3-point scoring has fallen (substantially, I think) without massengale. We don't take that many.

 

[clkou]

If the gameplan for Maryland (or any team for that matter) is to rely solely on one player, I generally like our chances.

 

[Amb3096]

Has anyone heard a stat for "net point impact" for Burdick? Maybe there's another term for it. Net would be Burdick's ppg + points held below avg by the player she guarded most of the game.

BTW: Appears to me Simmons has upped her defensive intensity while going through this shooter's slump. Not sure how good her technique has been, but certainly demonstrates maturity and senior leadership.

I don't see Burdick as a shut down defender. She's struggled against the better and more prolific scorers when she's had to guard them. Thomas will get hers. It seems Tennessee in general has not fared well in trying to keep their leading scorer down. More often than not, they'll give them their points and shut down the rest of the team. The Courtneys from TAMU went off in the last game, but it didn't matter because Tennessee kept everyone else in check. Even if Thomas has 30 pts 15 rbs, Tennessee can still win as long as Thomas isn't scoring through double teams with the luxury of her teammates making open shots. If she puts up a triple double, then that won't bode well for Tennessee.