Marvin on our March Madness futility

#27
#27
CAVPUT said:
Excellent summary of our "futility" which this old Vol fan calls a "curse". Folks in my generation lived it all. Youngsters should read it and then they might just understand the outlook(nega) that some of us possess. It's been ingrained in us over decades of heartbreak and disappointment.. It's something of a coping mechanism as well as a defense mechanism. In short, BVS is very real for us senior Vol fans. We expect the worst and guard against it....all while we pray that we're wrong and relish being so. Personally, the absolute worst were the Ernie/Bernie exits. Younger fans can't appreciate the kind of talent they had as well as the rosters they were a part of. To this day, I still cannot accept that that duo didn't come away with more post season success. The other that really made me a believer in a curse was that '99 debacle. How in hades does Black, Yarbrough and TONY FREAKING WHITE, go 4-24 against SW Missouri State?? Only one answer....the curse is real!

edit: Marvin West is a treasure. They really, REALLY don't make 'em like him anymore. Compared to today's "contributors", he's like 2" bone in rib eye compared to tofu.
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I think you mean Tony Harris
 
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#28
#28
CAVPUT said:
Excellent summary of our "futility" which this old Vol fan calls a "curse". Folks in my generation lived it all. Youngsters should read it and then they might just understand the outlook(nega) that some of us possess. It's been ingrained in us over decades of heartbreak and disappointment.. It's something of a coping mechanism as well as a defense mechanism. In short, BVS is very real for us senior Vol fans. We expect the worst and guard against it....all while we pray that we're wrong and relish being so. Personally, the absolute worst were the Ernie/Bernie exits. Younger fans can't appreciate the kind of talent they had as well as the rosters they were a part of. To this day, I still cannot accept that that duo didn't come away with more post season success. The other that really made me a believer in a curse was that '99 debacle. How in hades does Black, Yarbrough and TONY FREAKING WHITE, go 4-24 against SW Missouri State?? Only one answer....the curse is real!

edit: Marvin West is a treasure. They really, REALLY don't make 'em like him anymore. Compared to today's "contributors", he's like 2" bone in rib eye compared to tofu.
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I believe you mean TONY HARRIS…
 
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#29
#29
Thunder Good-Oil said:
Syracuse in 1977? That wasn’t a home game. It was in Baton Rouge.
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Yep and i had 2 great seats in Rupp Arena for the Mideast Regionals and saw UNCC beat Michigan after they beat the Cuse by 22 to make the FF. Last time i ever bought a ticket that was based on the Vols winning a game.
 
#31
#31
CAVPUT said:
Wouldn't we have to face Creighton? If it's those guys, you might have just been prophetic. You never say never, but that's a bunch I can't see us beat with the way we're playing. I think it would be pretty ugly.
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Lol. We will mop the floor with those Creighton Bluejays. Literally destroy them, like a cat that catches a bluejay and rips its wings off and bounces it around in the air toying with it. That’s a beautiful matchup for an elite 8 berth.
 
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#32
#32
A very true yet depressing read from Marvin. Green’s squad who gave up a lead against North Carolina in 2000 always comes to mind. Up by 9 and if I recall correctly UT didn’t score a FG the remaining 7 minutes.
 
#33
#33
EasternVol said:
We wet the bed against MSU but we'd probably beat Creighton with how we played against UK, and moreso how we played the previous three games. So far our bad games have been a few one ofs. We haven't followed one bad effort with another.
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Creighton would school us if we get bt Texas.
 
#35
#35
Volstylexx said:
Lol. We will mop the floor with those Creighton Bluejays. Literally destroy them, like a cat that catches a bluejay and rips its wings off and bounces it around in the air toying with it. That’s a beautiful matchup for an elite 8 berth.
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Careful. Sometimes the battle doesn't go as expected.
 
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#36
#36
KTrain said:
Most embarrassing loss in NCAA IMO, was Pearls last team 2011 getting blown out by Michigan 75 to 45 and to hear the announcers ad nauseam degrade the Vols over all of Pearls misdeeds was a low time.
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I agree. And it's another prime example of the unpredictability of the tournament. Pearl has had multiple horribly embarrassing exits, and multiple deep runs. So, is he a good tournament coach? It's a crapshoot.
 
#38
#38
67 losers every year. 1 winner.

Back in Ernie Bernie days only 1 team from the SEC was eligible for the 32 team tournament. UCLA and Kentucky bought every good player in sight. Different days.
 
#39
#39
OrangeInKy said:
And that 00 loss to UNC in the sweet 16 was horrid. Wasn’t a good UNC team at all. They made final 4 that year in a year. Julius Peppers was on that team.
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I still remember that well. That Gutheridge team of UNC wasn't good at all that entire season. I thought they were an NIT team,but got in due to name. Tennessee blowing that in Knoxville was surprising. That UNC team overachieved that year.
 
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#42
#42
Pennheel said:
I still remember that well. That Gutheridge team of UNC wasn't good at all that entire season. I thought they were an NIT team,but got in due to name. Tennessee blowing that in Knoxville was surprising. That UNC team overachieved that year.
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Not good at all. We had just smacked around UConn, I didn’t expect to lose to those clowns.
 
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#43
#43
CAVPUT said:
Wouldn't we have to face Creighton? If it's those guys, you might have just been prophetic. You never say never, but that's a bunch I can't see us beat with the way we're playing. I think it would be pretty ugly.
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We have one bad game, and "it's the way we're playing."
 
#44
#44
cardvolfan said:
Good response, Cavput. Reading Marvin’s article makes me re-live some of the terrible outcomes from Mears and Devoe, then leading to Pearl and Barnes. Also, it does feel like a curse on Tennessee basketball, specifically, rather than shortcomings against any one coach. It’s like we all have a hex upon us….coaches, players, fans, etc.
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…gonna need to sacrifice a yard bird?
 
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#45
#45
KTrain said:
Most embarrassing loss in NCAA IMO, was Pearls last team 2011 getting blown out by Michigan 75 to 45 and to hear the announcers ad nauseam degrade the Vols over all of Pearls misdeeds was a low time.
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The “timeline” was strong in that one..
 
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#46
#46
VOLtaism said:
67 losers every year. 1 winner.

Back in Ernie Bernie days only 1 team from the SEC was eligible for the 32 team tournament. UCLA and Kentucky bought every good player in sight. Different days.
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Not true. In 76 the Vols and Alabama were in the tourney and 77 the Vols and UK. They changed from only 1 team after the 74 NC State-Maryland ACC championship game.
 
#47
#47
Voltopia said:
Marvin mentions both the Michigan and Ohio State tournament losses games - for my money, that 2007 Ohio State game was the worse of the two. To be up 20, and then to see the officials hunker down and award Greg Oden and friends 35 - yes, THIRTY FIVE - free throws, which helped them win by one point at the end. The first time in ages I'd gotten to see a Tennessee NCAA basketball tournament game in person, and it had to be that one.
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Funny, I was at that game too. We were on fire in the first half. Was feeling it at halftime but then that 17 point lead disappeared in a flash. One of the worst hangovers I ever had next day.
 
#49
#49
Savannahbayvol said:
Not true. In 76 the Vols and Alabama were in the tourney and 77 the Vols and UK. They changed from only 1 team after the 74 NC State-Maryland ACC championship game.
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You are correct it was 1 team when the field was only 16 up to 51. In 74 they had 25 teams and 7 byes then they increased to 32 teams in 75. Ernie/Bernie tied for 1st place with UK in 77 then promptly lost to Syracuse in OT.
 
#50
#50
UT basketball = The Braves of the Cox era
Barnes = Bobby Cox

All that success won them what, one World Series? They were built to win games over a long season. They were built to always beat the teams they should beat. They just weren't built for playoffs.

Barnes does much the same with UT. He has a "great" team this year... that can be counted on to have an offensive drought and drop a game once every 5-8 matches. Knecht helped a lot. But if he's cold there's really no one else who can consistently step in and score. UT also needed a dominant, physical big man on the post... or two or three. Awake is that type of play but just 6'8". The Vols needed a couple of guys like him but bigger.
 
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