The Official #5 Tennessee @ Mississippi State Game Thread, 7:00 PM ET, SEC Network

[joevols89]

Freddie has better size and more upside I think. I’m not sure what Gainey really offers when he’s not scoring.

Hell I’d be interested in seeing Carr too, his length is going to make him a very good defender.

I’d like to see Carr get those minutes.

 

[VolGee4]

Barnes was completely outcoached. Thank goodness they went “playground” in the 2nd half or they’d not scored 50. Barnes “offense” is offensive. It happens every year.

No way. Barnes made great adjustments in the second half. Went to press. Put the ball in Knecht’s hands at the top of the key. That’s ridiculous.

 

[Creeker]

Road games are tough no doubt. State is just not that good. Not a good loss if you want to win an SEC title.

Think some of y’all are selling State really short. They are near top 25 in KenPom. Idc what AP polls says, they are much better than Ole Miss. That’s a quad 1 loss at the end of the year. They’re a pretty solid team.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Freddie has better size and more upside I think. I’m not sure what Gainey really offers when he’s not scoring.

Hell I’d be interested in seeing Carr too, his length is going to make him a very good defender.

Exactly. I’m not trying to harp on Gainey. It’s not his fault the coaches continue to play him. My ire is more aimed at Barnes than Gainey. You’ve given him a chance to snap out of his basically two month long slump. His last really good game was Wisconsin. It’s time for they experiment to end and to give Dillione/Carr some minutes and time to grow chemistry with this team.

They cannot play any worse and they both have a lot of athleticism and potential.

 

[LibertyVol]

They’re a tournament team barring injury. Probably a top 5 team in the conference and a top 25 caliber team. Nothing about that MSU team says they’re a bad loss.

They are not that good. I don’t think Auburn and Kentucky will have any trouble with them at all. Bad loss for a team that I thought would contend for an SEC title.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Scoring 50 in the second half and losing feels almost impossible. But we did.

 

[hUTch2002]

I’m not sure if I can attribute it to coaching or if it is a lack of player leadership (or both), but what got Tennessee tonight is the same thing that got it in Chapel Hill: a no show first half. Inexplicable for that to happen twice in a season with such a veteran group.

I actually give Barnes a lot of credit for the switch to full court press. Methinks that person is fishing with that comment.

 

[VolGee4]

Road games are tough no doubt. State is just not that good. Not a good loss if you want to win an SEC title.

Tolu Smith just came back. They will be just like last year- tournament bubble and a good chance to get in.

 

[chuckiepoo]

No way that a 12-4 team ranks 8

Top ten. Don’t get a massive hard on over this…

 

[vol94]

Something happened to Vescovi. He is not the player he was, when he should be even better. I think He has some underlying health issues.

Agree.

Something is going on beyond mental, imo. Hope he’s ok but the costly turnovers, poor shooting …. He also seems a bit slower.


I noticed it tonight. Next game, take a look at his first few steps on both sides of the ball.

 

[tennrich1]

Barnes was completely outcoached. Thank goodness they went “playground” in the 2nd half or they’d not scored 50. Barnes “offense” is offensive. It happens every year.

I think I’d highly disagree with this. The adjustments at half were clear. We just got to get more from JJJ and Santi.

 

[TNVOLFN]

No way. Barnes made great adjustments in the second half. Went to press. Put the ball in Knecht’s hands at the top of the key. That’s ridiculous.

My only complaint about Coach Barnes decisions is we had previously scored on back to back in bounds through designed plays. Why not call a timeout and scheme something up at the end?

 

[aWhiteLoftonChism]

I know it will never happen, but I am done with Gainey. He’s giving you nothing on offense and his defense isn’t anything special.

0-5 from the field 0-4 from 3. He air balled a shot. I don’t care if you’re trying to send a message to your freshmen about preparation during the week, moving forward we should be giving either Carr or Dillione some run and those minutes. Gainey has been awful since Maui. I keep hearing “He’s a streak shooter, he’ll streak in the other direction soon.” Well, we’re close to halfway through the season if not right at the half way point and he’s been bad for close to 2 months.

Time for the freshmen to get in and see if they can provide a spark.

I hate to give up on a kid but I have to agree. He’s killing us with any of his minutes. Mashack or Freddie should get them until he proves in practice he can produce.

 

[chuckiepoo]

We can't have no-show games from both Vescovi and JJJ and except to beat a decent opponent. And we didn't get much offensively from
our bigs either. Gainey has to sit--he just can't make a shot. We brought him in as a scorer, and he can't throw it in the ocean.

JJJ is a big body--and he CANNOT disappear in games against physical opponents. He's got to be physical, get to the rim, get his shots, and give us some points.

…dammit @turbovol you nailed it!

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

I actually give Barnes a lot of credit for the switch to full court press. Methinks that person is fishing with that comment.

Think you may be correct. I loved the full court press adjustment as well. Thought we also spaced the floor better in the second half.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I thought Barnes coached a good game. His adjustments at halftime changed everything. But I will say that I don’t like how he handled the final possession. We had two timeouts and 15 second. He should have tried to draw something up.

 

[vol94]

It was an extremely bad pass, but it didn’t help Tolu smith literally laying on top of Awaka

It was a horrible pass as Santi forced it and thee it at Awaka’s knees. Both teams played physical so I’m fine with the no (foul) call.

It was a poor decision that cost us down the stretch.

 

[LibertyVol]

Agree.

Something is going on beyond mental, imo. Hope he’s ok but the costly turnovers, poor shooting …. He also seems a bit slower.


I noticed it tonight. Next game, take a look at his first few steps on both sides of the ball.

Not disagreeing with you. If he is hurt, play someone else.

 

[Stoked]

No way. Barnes made great adjustments in the second half. Went to press. Put the ball in Knecht’s hands at the top of the key. That’s ridiculous.

Dude’s a casual. You’re absolutely right Barnes’ adjustments got us back in the game.

 

[SGMVols]

Don’t understand the clamoring for more Carr. Last time Barnes tried to play him he missed 4 layups in 2 minutes and got bodied defensively. He’s nowhere near ready for a bigger role.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

On to the next, have to show up for a full 40 or Georgia will beat us too.

Not many teams in the SEC we can beat when we sleep walk.

 

[chuckiepoo]

Can not win when they play the minutes they played tonight.

Agreed. May as well bring up the yoots. /s

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Didn’t see the game. Glad they fought back. Man, it’s going to be hard to win road SEC games with such a streaky inconsistent team. Puts a lot of pressure on winning every home game.

 

[LibertyVol]

Don’t understand the clamoring for more Carr. Last time Barnes tried to play him he missed 4 layups in 2 minutes and got bodied defensively. He’s nowhere near ready for a bigger role.

Agree . Carr may not be ready. Play Dillion and Estrella. They are not going to hurt you. That is my only gripe with Barnes. He does not like playing freshman.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Don’t understand the clamoring for more Carr. Last time Barnes tried to play him he missed 4 layups in 2 minutes and got bodied defensively. He’s nowhere near ready for a bigger role.

Then play Dillione. That is my preference anyway.

Carr has a higher ceiling than Gainey is all I’m saying and if you give him minutes now maybe he is prepared for March. My first choice would be Dillione though.