Proud of this team

[njvols]

I agree. Great effort. Defense was awesome. BUT this team is taking on the usual look as the season goes along. Good to great defensive team. Not so good on offense. This team needs Chaz to score more.

Chaz has a beautiful "catch and shoot" 3 pt shot. We really need more low post threat to pull teams in so we can kick it out...or screens for Chaz or something. Mashack was amazing.

 

[vols 30]

1 final four says otherwise . He’s a circus clown with a clip board and it shows in how his team acts and the titles he hasn’t won.

 

[walkenvol]

I agree in parts of Chaz struggles… but I think we need to establish some “post” presence on the offensive end and we need to do it in a HURRY!!

Chaz, along with ZZ and Gainey, have been finding themselves playing “tight” in these type of matchups (moreso Chaz), but mainly because they are depended on producing ALL the offense….

If we had some type of “offensive identity” in the post, that will free up so much more for our guards to play and shoot more freely… and this has been an issue for Barnes for years now…

We have yet to establish offense in the post on a consistent basis since Grant… I do like that Felix has stepped it up and showing he can defend some of the best, but that 4 position is a weakness…

IMO, Igor could honestly provide the same production that players like Broome provide for Auburn, but he’s just not consistent and sometimes lack effort!! I honestly thought he would be the “breakout” star out of all the transfers.

Another game where we really missed Estrella. The refs allowed an alley fight in the paint. Broome wouldn’t have been able to back JP down under the basket nor push him out of the way for rebounds. Even Awaka would have been strong enough to help there. And, JP would be providing a post scoring option we are missing. So unfortunate he was lost for the season

 

[KTrain]

Playing devil's advocate, but we played great overall defense.

My pet peeve is, when will we ever stop the obvious and ridiculous 3 point shooter foul, especially
when there are less than 2 seconds on the shot clock? can be a game changer.

Yep, Baker was falling down on his own and just flinging it up as the shot clock buzzer went off while the ball just left his hands. That and the foul shot they missed so bad he banked it in was 4 points they should not have had 1st half. Difference in the game but it also came down to a lot of plays made and not made on both sides throughout the game.

 

[KTrain]

Yeah both teams must be exhausted. I expected to more than likely get routed. Ultimately, maybe they found key to playing better on the road, even if didn't win. Auburn is legit #1...they're a better team as a whole, and didn't realize they had such a good D also. We have to figure out how to get our offense going.

Speaking of routed, I watched UF at home vs UGA and they looked basically the same they did against us the other night everything was falling and UGA couldn't drop it in the ocean. They were up 34 when I quit watching.
A few nights before Gators had to comeback from 11 down to winless USCe on the road and led for the 1st time in the 2nd half in the last 30 seconds of the game to eek out a win. SEC is tough top to bottom.

 

[stillwater5]

Broome was the difference in this game - nobody kept him in check. 16 points, 14 boards, 4 blocks. Nobody on the court outplayed him.

Officials let Broome get by with murder, a Blanton holding call and over the back on a rebound and all he needed was a saddle, Auburn got away with more holding calls than Alabama did when Saban was coach. Even the announcers couldn't believe some of the no calls.

 

[stillwater5]

Yep, Baker was falling down on his own and just flinging it up as the shot clock buzzer went off while the ball just left his hands. That and the foul shot they missed so bad he banked it in was 4 points they should not have had 1st half. Difference in the game but it also came down to a lot of plays made and not made on both sides throughout the game.

Baker is the guy you love to hate he is another grab and holder who gets by with a lot.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

View attachment 717439

Except it’s not irony; do you understand why? Obviously you don’t. Because nobody has claimed Barnes is the best coach in college basketball.

So if some are going to claim Pearl is, then pointing out he has 1 FF is fair game just as it would be if someone claimed Barnes was the best coach. Especially after ignoring and even trying to hand wave the current coach who is the defending back to back national champion. It’s just idiotic.

 

[NighthawkVol]

This feels awful. But yeah we played incredibly hard. Still, I’m worried that Chaz and Igor are shrinking violets. Especially Igor. And that mihht end up putting a ceiling on us. If Barnes can get Igor to play his best we are as good as anyone. Big IF.

I tend to be on the optimistic side of things, but I think this is very fair. This is a very good team. They can beat anyone on a given night. It plays great defense and defense travels. The effort is phenomenal.

But there will be a game or two in the NCAAT where the chips are down and we need buckets. Will Chaz be that guy by March? Will Igor? They have the ability. But it’s a definite concern.

 

[VolGee4]

we saw it here, and it is still the same. on the floor, bruce pearl is the best coach in college basketball. the hurley guy can yap all he wants, but pearl is on a level of his own. i still think the problem here is what it usually is with barnes, he is always one scorer away from having a team that can win it all. when a couple guys get hot, we can beat anyone, but when that dont happen, they can lose to anyone

Bruce got outcoached last night. Some people just can’t admit it.

I still like Bruce, but anyone suggesting he’s better than Hurley?..well, I won’t say it.

 

[walkenvol]

I tend to be on the optimistic side of things, but I think this is very fair. This is a very good team. They can beat anyone on a given night. It plays great defense and defense travels. The effort is phenomenal.

But there will be a game or two in the NCAAT where the chips are down and we need buckets. Will Chaz be that guy by March? Will Igor? They have the ability. But it’s a definite concern.

Chaz maybe. Igor isn’t the scorer at this level we were hoping him to be. Gainey may be that guy at a critical time in the tourney but not Igor and for sure not Dubar.

 

[KTrain]

Baker is the guy you love to hate he is another grab and holder who gets by with a lot.

Yep, and you thought he would be out the rest of the year when he faked that drama moment. Camera scans the arena finding his dad looking like he's leaving going to the hospital. Then 5 minutes later baker is back checking into the game no concussion protocol on a drama moment that stopped the game for 5 minutes. Then he comes back on court laughing and smiling and yuking it up.

 

[Namorto1]

I agree in parts of Chaz struggles… but I think we need to establish some “post” presence on the offensive end and we need to do it in a HURRY!!

Chaz, along with ZZ and Gainey, have been finding themselves playing “tight” in these type of matchups (moreso Chaz), but mainly because they are depended on producing ALL the offense….

If we had some type of “offensive identity” in the post, that will free up so much more for our guards to play and shoot more freely… and this has been an issue for Barnes for years now…

We have yet to establish offense in the post on a consistent basis since Grant… I do like that Felix has stepped it up and showing he can defend some of the best, but that 4 position is a weakness…

IMO, Igor could honestly provide the same production that players like Broome provide for Auburn, but he’s just not consistent and sometimes lack effort!! I honestly thought he would be the “breakout” star out of all the transfers.

You are correct but unfortunately, we don't have anyone who can score in the post. The only interior scoring we have is on lobs to Okpara or Phillips or on offensive rebounds. That won't change the rest of the year.

 

[first time caller]

Officials let Broome get by with murder, a Blanton holding call and over the back on a rebound and all he needed was a saddle, Auburn got away with more holding calls than Alabama did when Saban was coach. Even the announcers couldn't believe some of the no calls.

ZZ got his shirt pulled out of his britches, should have been an "an1".

 

[KTrain]

Broome was the difference in this game - nobody kept him in check. 16 points, 14 boards, 4 blocks. Nobody on the court outplayed him.

IMO, Broome's best play is his missed follow up, he knows when it leaves his hand where the miss will land. He has great instincts and using them, as announcer said he cant get up that high but his timing is impeccable. He knows to start his nuanced push right after he goes up and seems to always get the ball and always hits basically uncontested follow-up. I think he got 8 points like that.
A 5th year smart player who has became a SEC money name where refs will give a little more lead way to IMO. PPL pay to watch him play and part of their job is to keep the SEC marquee players on the court or lose your gig.

 

[vols 30]

Except it’s not irony; do you understand why? Obviously you don’t. Because nobody has claimed Barnes is the best coach in college basketball.

So if some are going to claim Pearl is, then pointing out he has 1 FF is fair game just as it would be if someone claimed Barnes was the best coach. Especially after ignoring and even trying to hand wave the current coach who is the defending back to back national champion. It’s just idiotic.

Not sure you know the definition. The dude is calling out Pearl for making 1 final 4nd no titles.


Pearl is the best IMO. "O" means opinion. My opinion. Not yours

 

[Mikevol1964]

Remind me of the last time he hit a three in the corner off a side inbounds pass at any point in a game? I promise you Pearl would have taken Ziegler taking that shot 100 times out of 100. Ziegler is a tough SOB on the defensive end and a great shot creator on the offensive end, he is also good at getting to the rim, but he is not the guy you want taking deep shots when you have to have them. He’s not a good shooter.

You need to go back and watch it. Not a perfect shot by any means but you had 9 secs and wanted an opportunity to get a rebound. The shot rimmed out and we mis timed the rebound but had not 1 but 2 guys open for the put back. Hell Pearl even admitted in his press conference that ZZ got bumped on the shot. ZZ has been shooting pretty damn well the last few games. I’ll take him shooting the final shot anytime. And btw no one and I mean no one shot well last night.

 

[Namorto1]

I tend to be on the optimistic side of things, but I think this is very fair. This is a very good team. They can beat anyone on a given night. It plays great defense and defense travels. The effort is phenomenal.

But there will be a game or two in the NCAAT where the chips are down and we need buckets. Will Chaz be that guy by March? Will Igor? They have the ability. But it’s a definite concern.

Our NCAA run will depend on seeding. We could end up the 2nd best team in the SEC or the 9th. If we stay top tier of the league, we will be seeded high. There is no certainty that we are top tier team in the SEC yet with this brutal league play. The league is just loaded and there are alot of possible losses on our schedule.

These next 3 at home against ranked teams is just huge. We sweep those and I will continue to think we can maintain a high seed with more favorable matchups. Due to lack of depth, if we start to struggle and end up 9-9 in league play or 10-8, I could see us in a brutal 5/12 matchup which has produced alot of 1st round upsets over the years. We are 33 in kenpom on offensive efficiency this year and I'm afraid that will continue to drop into the 40's before the season ends. Our defense alone can only get us so far. We were relentless on defense against Auburn yesterday, holding them to 31% FG and 15% from 3-pt FG and 21 pts less than what Houston (# 2 in kenpom on defense currently) held them to earlier in the year and still lost. We make scoring points look difficult on offense and defense. Just how it is. Defense will keep us in any game against any opponent, but we are very beatable and too easy to guard.

 

[Voluntarius]

Auburn's not used to being physically dominated and pushed around like rag dolls. Their vaginas were obviously hurting on a couple of those overly dramatic flops and trips to the locker room to get their boo boos kissed. I do admire Broome's effort on a bum ankle, though. We would have beat them up and boat raced them without his gritty presence.

 

[hound dog hillbil]

I thought Kiffin was helping coach Auburn,them boys flopping like fish. Bring them to knoxville ,see a whoopin.

 

[bigorangepoppa]

I agree. Great effort. Defense was awesome. BUT this team is taking on the usual look as the season goes along. Good to great defensive team. Not so good on offense. This team needs Chaz to score more.

With a short bench, making Tennessee run the floor hard on every possession is what I would do on every possession.

 

[driscokid]

I would never count on Z hitting that shot. That isn’t his game. He never hits that shot. He shouldn’t be asked to hit that shot.

Who’s gonna take it? They are not going let Lanier get open and Gainey fouled out which leaves Mashack or Z. I’ll take Z

 

[VolsSportsFan]

Not sure you know the definition. The dude is calling out Pearl for making 1 final 4nd no titles.


Pearl is the best IMO. "O" means opinion. My opinion. Not yours

Rofl...I literally just explained the context and you conveniently ignored all that because if you didn't you'd have no comeback. Nobody has said Barnes is the best coach in the NCAA, yet at least 2 of you have said Pearl is. So pointing out that saying he's the best coach in the NCAA while he's made only 1 FF 6 years ago and meanwhile Hurley has back to back defending NCs is idiotic.

Yes, you are free to have an opinion; just as I'm free to have the opinion that your opinion is quite stupid. Kind of how opinions work.

 

[hUTch2002]

This feels awful. But yeah we played incredibly hard. Still, I’m worried that Chaz and Igor are shrinking violets. Especially Igor. And that mihht end up putting a ceiling on us. If Barnes can get Igor to play his best we are as good as anyone. Big IF.

Not true though. Igor had one of his worst games and we still almost beat the best team on their own floor. No one has come close to pushing Auburn on their own floor.

 

[hUTch2002]

we saw it here, and it is still the same. on the floor, bruce pearl is the best coach in college basketball. the hurley guy can yap all he wants, but pearl is on a level of his own. i still think the problem here is what it usually is with barnes, he is always one scorer away from having a team that can win it all. when a couple guys get hot, we can beat anyone, but when that dont happen, they can lose to anyone

Auburn lost in the first round last year. I love Bruce and he’s one of the best coaches but to say he is THE best is a stretch.