The Official #4 Tennessee vs. #13 Louisiana NCAA Tournament Game Thread, 9:40 PM ET, CBS

[VOLINVONORE]

Wait, which situation? When ULL was eliminating an 18 point lead in a heartbreak? Respectfully disagree. You have 3 timeouts left with only 12 minutes to go. Rick never uses all his timeouts. I know he isn’t going to change, but call a timeout after the back to back threes. We let ULL get way too comfortable.

Good coaches save their timeout for the last 2-3 minutes of the game. with 12 minutes to go, a good coach, leading by 18, should not call a timeout even if the other team is making a run. I can fault Barns for not taking Uros out of the game when he was giving away the 18 point lead. He should never be in the game late in a game because he shoots less than 40% of his free throws and fouls a lot with his uncontrollable desire to play the big tough gayt instead of rebounding. I know he had 7 points early in the game, but they changed their defense and he was a burden the rest of the game. Aidoo and Awaka are adequate, but we. need a skilled big guy in the middle.

 

[hUTch2002]

You realize this is incorrect, right?
JJJ is shooting .853 from the line. Phillips is at .822. Vescovi = .768.

Maybe you should consider expanding your sample size a bit. Knee jerk reactions seem to be the standard around here, but it doesn't have to be.

Knee jerk? We’ve been missing clutch FTs all year. Those percentages mean jack when it’s late in the game. In fact, I know James missed one late yesterday and we all know V’s struggles. Do you really want Phillips at the line late? I sure don’t. You may use percentages over the course of a year to make a claim they can shoot FTs well overall but late in the game, ZZ was our best. Any of those 3 you mentioned go to the line late in a close game and they will miss at least one. We’ve seen it repeatedly.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Knee jerk? We’ve been missing clutch FTs all year. Those percentages mean jack when it’s late in the game. In fact, I know James missed one late yesterday and we all know V’s struggles. Do you really want Phillips at the line late? I sure don’t. You may use percentages over the course of a year to make a claim they can shoot FTs well overall but late in the game, ZZ was our best. Any of those 3 you mentioned go to the line late in a close game and they will miss at least one. We’ve seen it repeatedly.

Didn’t Vescovi have a crazy good, late in the game free throw percentage last year? Something like 95%?

 

[tennesseeduke]

When did we beat Missouri? Last I checked we were 0-2 against them this year.

You missed the point!

 

[gainesvol82]

I don’t have a problem with Barnes as I enjoy TN basketball being relative every yr. I have so many memories watching the games w my son, who is now at UT, over the yrs. We saw Grant in person will the Vols to victory over Vandy in Nashville.


I get caught in the moment, yell at the TV, and post throughout the game. It’s easy to be critical when we go on six min scoring droughts but at the end of the day, we won. But it’s important to post the good things the players and Barnes do throughout the game. Barnes did a good job subbing his big men, imo. The problem is Uros can’t see the court often in the second half b/c of poor foul shooting.

Great post. Uros has his limitations but he is the type of enforcer that every good team needs. Our bracket just got a lot easier....would love to beat Dook and play Tiger High in the Sweet 16.

 

[hUTch2002]

Didn’t Vescovi have a crazy good, late in the game free throw percentage last year? Something like 95%?

I don’t know but I wouldn’t trust him this year. You can’t just go by time though. It has to be time and score. Like 6 points or closer under a minute but it doesn’t matter. We all know how that’s gone this year. I think he’s just dead by the end of games and has no legs. Add the pressure of the situation and those are extremely tough FTs. That’s my guess.

 

[LibertyVol]

I don't mind valid criticism but the over reacting and constant bashing at every opportunity get to me. Barnes, more than anyone, has made Tennessee a destination that people genuinely believe you can win at and that will pay dividends long after he is gone. He may not win a championship at UT but he has laid a lot of the groundwork for someone to win one in the near future. I appreciate not regularly being hot garbage or having to rely on a cheating, shameless self-promoting, scumbag of a snitch in order to win.

I think Barnes is an outstanding coach. I dread the day Tennessee has to replace him. I believe Barnes has a run or two left in him. We shall see.

 

[tombowalker]

Knee jerk? We’ve been missing clutch FTs all year. Those percentages mean jack when it’s late in the game. In fact, I know James missed one late yesterday and we all know V’s struggles. Do you really want Phillips at the line late? I sure don’t. You may use percentages over the course of a year to make a claim they can shoot FTs well overall but late in the game, ZZ was our best. Any of those 3 you mentioned go to the line late in a close game and they will miss at least one. We’ve seen it repeatedly.

Again, your Vescovi anecdote is based on a grand total of two trips to the line against Vandi and Mizzou.

Can you show me any stat that shows these players with a dramatic drop-off in percentage at the end of the game?

I'll gladly retract if you can.

 

[hUTch2002]

Again, your Vescovi anecdote is based on a grand total of two trips to the line against Vandi and Mizzou.

Can you show me any stat that shows these players with a dramatic drop-off in percentage at the end of the game?

I'll gladly retract if you can.

I’m not going to do digging for some obscure stat that doesn’t exist. We all see it. This year we are not good at the line when it matters.

 

[hUTch2002]

Again, your Vescovi anecdote is based on a grand total of two trips to the line against Vandi and Mizzou.

Can you show me any stat that shows these players with a dramatic drop-off in percentage at the end of the game?

I'll gladly retract if you can.

We were good from the line today. Man what a game! I hope you enjoyed it my Vol brother!

 

[CajunGreat]

Anyone ready to give credit to Louisiana for being better than y’all thought? Or is Duke just as “bad” as Louisiana? Nice win!

 

[tombowalker]

I’m not going to do digging for some obscure stat that doesn’t exist. We all see it. This year we are not good at the line when it matters.

ahhh...

Who cares about facts, amirite?

Especially when you've got the 'ol eye test.

Who am I to get in the way of your reactionary, knee-jerk nonsense. Proceed.

 

[hUTch2002]

ahhh...

Who cares about facts, amirite?

Especially when you've got the 'ol eye test.

Who am I to get in the way of your reactionary, knee-jerk nonsense. Proceed.

You’re still holding onto it huh? It’s not knee-jerk or nonsense given it’s been all year but if you want to dig up the stats to prove me wrong I’m open to it. Your call. FT percentage by player under 1-minute where the team is within 6 points of the opponent. I’m still in a good mood from the game yesterday and it really doesn’t matter to me either way as it’s not a big deal so I’m moving on and if you come up with those stats then we will revisit. Happy hunting!

 

[ChattownVFL]

go wildcats

 

[VolGee4]

This is false. Often times better games are earlier Saturday to get better ratings. People usually have plans Saturday night, so ratings aren't always as high as people think they would be.
For example B10 football has their best game of the week at noon. SEC on CBS is at 330. TN/Duke getting a stand alone afternoon tip time is The prime time spot on a Saturday.

All true. In fact, who gets the prime slot every second round? Duke did yesterday. UK is getting it today. Kansas got it last year. All blue bloods.

I just had a problem with UT playing a 9:40 eastern game to turn around and get the 2:40 game. It’s never going to be perfect, but Duke got it because they were the blue blood. All about the Benjamin’s.

Also, they play one stand alone session to start the day. Only one game from 12:00-4:30. Then, the Bama game started at almost 10:00 eastern…all about the student athlete, right?

 

[OrngeJuiceJones]

I see Oscar Tsheibwe already with about four fouls but none called

 

[VOLINVONORE]

I see Oscar Tsheibwe already with about four fouls but none called

He has become a disgusting player because of his dirty play. He is always going for someone’s head, neck, and face try to injure players. Last year, I thought he was a pretty good player and would have liked to have him on my team. However, what I seen late this year has convinced me he is much worse than Uros has ever been and I am concerned about the play of Uros.

 

[tombowalker]

You’re still holding onto it huh? It’s not knee-jerk or nonsense given it’s been all year but if you want to dig up the stats to prove me wrong I’m open to it. Your call. FT percentage by player under 1-minute where the team is within 6 points of the opponent. I’m still in a good mood from the game yesterday and it really doesn’t matter to me either way as it’s not a big deal so I’m moving on and if you come up with those stats then we will revisit. Happy hunting!

I'm not holding on to anything.

Just waiting on you to back up the claims you're making.

 

[RockyTop140]

Anyone ready to give credit to Louisiana for being better than y’all thought? Or is Duke just as “bad” as Louisiana? Nice win!

They played a good game against us and are certainly better than I thought. However, Tennessee tends to play to their competition this year. We’ve beaten lots of good teams and lost to a lot of bad/mediocre teams

 

[walkenvol]

They played a good game against us and are certainly better than I thought. However, Tennessee tends to play to their competition this year. We’ve beaten lots of good teams and lost to a lot of bad/mediocre teams

Please name the “lot of bad teams we’ve lost to”.

 

[RockyTop140]

Please name the “lot of bad teams we’ve lost to”.

Florida and Colorado are the two bad teams we’ve lost to. There’s your clarification. Seems you just conveniently ignored the /mediocre.

 

[walkenvol]

Florida and Colorado are the two bad teams we’ve lost to. There’s your clarification. Seems you just conveniently ignored the /mediocre.

IMO Florida was not a bad team during conference play until Castleton got injured. I ignored mediocre because it’s such a relative term meaning different things to different people much more so than “bad”

 

[hUTch2002]

I'm not holding on to anything.

Just waiting on you to back up the claims you're making.

Good for you. Hold your breath. I’ll be right back, I promise.

 

[RockyTop140]

IMO Florida was not a bad team during conference play until Castleton got injured. I ignored mediocre because it’s such a relative term meaning different things to different people much more so than “bad”

Yeah that’s a good point. I guess a more accurate statement would be we play to our competition often

 

[walkenvol]

Yeah that’s a good point. I guess a more accurate statement would be we play to our competition often

We were ranked #2 nationally then endured a rough patch where we lost 3 of our starters to injuries and lost 2 conference games on last second 3’s after failing to secure the win at the free throw line. Make those free throws and avoid the injuries and we’re likely a 1 seed. Public perception is we are on a big slide but closer review could say we are overcoming these setbacks are are rounding back into top form. I choose to believe the second option and believe we are simply better than FAU. Doesn’t mean we will win but there’s a reason the computer models show us as a heavy favorite to win. Barnes is due some good tournament luck also so we’ve got that going for us too!