The Official #4 Tennessee vs. #5 Duke NCAA Tournament Game Thread, 2:40 PM ET, CBS

[The Dog]

I was partial to Dumars, but Thomas was a very close second.

Dumars was pure class, great player and defender, gave MJ hell, with a little help, Jordan Rules

 

[hUTch2002]

I’m very damn happy Tennessee finished in a winnable game because a moral victory aka not closing in a winnable close game is a very disappointing defeat.
This is the most beatable Duke team Tennessee has played mainly because no Coach K an elite head coach, and because the Blue Devils are a young team while Tennessee has experienced players which proved to be a main advantage when Duke had to play a team in their weight class.

Oral Roberts was a Station Wagon racing a Ford GT aka Duke.

Why are you undermining the win by crapping on Duke? Duke was as hot as anyone in the country. They won the ACC. Yes the ACC isn’t as good as it once was but it’s still a good conference. Plus, we controlled the game for most of it. There have been far worse Duke teams than this one, even under Coach K.

 

[Redheads]

I’m not a Barnes hater at all. Hope he stays as long as he wants to. But he deserves criticism when he calls bad games. Which he has done. However today was not one of them. He deserves all the credit in the world for having this team focused and ready to play to their full potential. Now he has a great opportunity to get this team further than any before. I hope he does it because this might be the easiest path to get there in a long long time.

Love the game today. Bracket sets up well for us. i do remember the last time we had such a favorable bracket and we lost to a 100 year old nun.

 

[DuckInAPen]

Dumars was pure class, great player and defender, gave MJ hell, with a little help, Jordan Rules

He got bonus points later on for building the 2004 and 2005 teams (I'm afraid I'm a fair-weather and haven't closely followed NBA since).

 

[Hoggervol]

I hope Bilas and Clark Kelloge keep picking against us!

Don't worry. They will!

 

[firestorm]

That Ferrari is a beauty.

However, I counter with the M1A1 Abrams main battle tank.

It looked as if the BasketVols weren't necessarily faster than Duke but much more powerful physically and had more firepower.

Go Vols!

I’ll agree because of the reasons you stated.

A topnotch performance by the defense that exceeded what they did Vs Alabama, and the Volunteers offense outperformed the Blue Devils with a variety of scoring including dunks, second Chance points, making critical threes, etc.

 

[hUTch2002]

1. Only 4 second half turnovers
2. Refs were pretty fair
3. JJJ and Phillips had 8pts but ON more than picked up the slack!
Thank you Vols! GBO!!!

The fact they let Roach stay in that game was ridiculous though. We won’t talk about I as much since won but what a ridiculous overturn and a couple of the fouls on Uros definitely weren’t fouls. Oh and that foul on the 3 was a bad call, especially when it happened on the other end right after and no call. Id say it was about what I expected for playing Duke.

 

[HalfullVol]

Vegas did not lose a dime on this. They set to point spread not based on what the think the result will be but what it will take to get even money on both sides. It just so happens that those 2 often align.

Let me edit, they may have lost some money but they typically know how to cut losses with half time bets, teasers and other. The do not let their bets get that uneven come game time. Vegas is in the gambling business, which means they don't gamble.

Before you continue to correct and edit yourself let me spare you the anxiety.

I WON BIG because I saw all the betting $ on Duke.

Vegas WON BIG today because the majority of betting $ was on Duke winning.

Vols win, I win, we win and Vegas wins.

Go Vols!

 

[TNBV]

Before you continue to correct and edit yourself let me spare you the anxiety.

I WON BIG because I saw all the betting $ on Duke.

Vegas WON BIG today because the majority of betting $ was on Duke winning.

Vols win, I win, we win and Vegas wins.

Go Vols!

Good day all around. My point, although poorly made, was that Vegas does not let a large imbalance in betting go without adjustments, so win or lose they don't ever let the outcome of a game affect their bottom line too much. I am sure there was some passing off of bets with tweaked spreads right before tipoff

 

[TheMookieMonster]

 

[RavinDave]

He just passed

Gas?

 

[Volfan1000]

“Tennessee pummels Duke into submission” would be pretty apt description for what took place today.

That could be the headline in the News Sentinel tomorrow.

 

[TheFlash1971]

Duke is soft, they couldn’t handle playing grown men. I picked duke to win the game thrilled I was wrong

Pretty tough when 18-19 yr olds playing 24-25 year olds

 

[RavinDave]

Vols put up their dukes, blue devils go down!

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I love this. Leadership. It’s important. Hope we can get at least 2 more wins for ZZ. He was a huge part of why we’re here.

 

[hUTch2002]

I’m tough on Barnes, but today might have been one of, if not the, best coaching performance of his career. That was masterful from beginning to end, no gaps or holes, just execution.

The only thing he did differently today that I noticed was the quick timeout early on. Barnes isn’t someone who changes who they are game to game. We just executed better today. I’d say no more than 20% credit would be to Barnes while the rest is on the players simply playing better. But, as with all things, the head man gets most of the credit and most of the blame.

 

[JCP201]

Shout out to VOLS fans. They were loud and strong. I felt like we outnumbered the Dukies.

 

[djohnnyg]

We were ranked #2 in the country at one point so getting to the sweet 16 isn't a great accomplishment based on that...but they surprised everyone based on where they were at gametime. Beating Duke is a big deal ANY YEAR. Plus they were on big winning streak and got back to being the Duke everyone is used to. I thought the ZZ injury was a death knell so I'm pleasantly surprised.

 

[OrangeVolMan]

Pretty tough when 18-19 yr olds playing 24-25 year olds

Who on Tennessee’s team is 24-25?

 

[Orange931]

Who on Tennessee’s team is 24-25?

Uros and Key are the only ones that are 24, so he’s definitely exaggerating

 

[Butch s]

Who on Tennessee’s team is 24-25?

Some believe you never let the facts get in the way of a good story

 

[Pennheel]

Psycho T throwing shade on Duke...Love it. If Carolina can't make it to the tournament then Duke isn't going to the Final Four.

 

[DownTheField]

If we get the officiating crew doing this Kansas-Arky game, we're screwed

 

[Johnnyreb#VFL]

I’m not a Barnes hater at all. Hope he stays as long as he wants to. But he deserves criticism when he calls bad games. Which he has done. However today was not one of them. He deserves all the credit in the world for having this team focused and ready to play to their full potential. Now he has a great opportunity to get this team further than any before. I hope he does it because this might be the easiest path to get there in a long long time.

Respect . But it’s never easy to get to a final 4. Ever.

 

[dukdukgoose]

What a great day to be a Vol! My girlfriend isn't interested in sports, but we have a deal where I get all fall Saturdays that the Vols are playing, Jan. 1 games, and March Madness. In return I have to go to things with her other times of the year and occasionally watch some trash TV during the other times of the year. We live in Orlando so I booked me a ticket and and scheduled an uber. All was good until I walked down to my seats, and they weren't there. I was let in the door so they couldn't be fake? This morning the NCAA had decided to remove my seat to put a camera their. Thanks for the heads up. Ended up the NCAA was great and put me 7 rows up in the Furman Parents section that I believe turned out being better seats. Many of the Furman players came out and watched the first but overhearing them, they just wanted to go eat. Sat about 3 seats away from the kid Mike Holwood(sp?) for a while and he was a great guy. Take aways from the game:
They weren't used to a defense or a game that physical.
Their perimeter defense impressed me.
Their offense impressed me until our tough defense took a toll on them. They didn't want anymore w/ 10 min left in the second half.
Barnes coached well. Great game plan. Out coached Schryer.
Really special watching Olivier NKamhoua second half performance. One of the coolest Tennessee moments in my 40 years.
Vol fans traveled well. Probably 55-45 in favor of duke but still impressive. Tennessee fans were just as loud when it was time as the Duke fans.
Duke fans have the Kentucky/ Alabama fan complex. No explanation needed.

Over all a great day. I'll post a few pictures. I've tried to keep my phone in my pocket more the older I get so most are before the game. My post game video was to long to try and send.