The Official #6 Tennessee @ #1Auburn Game Thread, 8:30 PM ET, ESPN

[walkenvol]

Auburn has a deeper more talented roster than us. Our margin of error is much smaller as is our ceiling. CRB is doing a great job with this group this season.

Yes, the roster is his making so no excuses. The loss of JP continues to sting.

 

[NighthawkVol]

Welp. I think some questions were answered. Maybe those two will adjust to the challenges of this league as the season wears on. If they do find the answers, we can have a deep run in March. If not...well...we've seen this movie before. Overall a great effort last night. Far better than this old eeyore expected. Nothing to be ashamed of considering our very limited roster and the refs Jekyll and Hyde act.

Well said. Lanier has been (unfairly) compared to Knecht. But to this point, Lanier doesn’t rise to the occasion in big games/moments. Knecht took over in those moments. Maybe he gets better. Maybe Igor finds his stroke. I agree, though, if neither of those things happen, we should limit our expectations for this team.

That said, yes, the effort and defensive intensity are very much things to be proud of.

 

[cardvolfan]

no shame in that loss. the master puts on a coaching clinic again

Your master puts on a coaching clinic again? Auburn was favored across the board, and playing at home on a Saturday night. This implies implicitly that Barnes didn’t put on a coaching clinic. You people have no shame.

 

[NighthawkVol]

Your master puts on a coaching clinic again? Auburn was favored across the board, and playing at home on a Saturday night. This implies implicitly that Barnes didn’t Put on a coaching clinic. You people have no shame.

Auburn acted like they were the road underdog upsetting the #1 team on the road, rather than the #1 team at home that missed covering the spread by 6 points.

Some of our shamelessly negative fans bought it.

 

[CAVPUT]

We have 3 losses in the SEC and Auburn has 0. We’re probably out of it because it’s hard to find 3 losses on Auburn’s remaining schedule. I just hope Alabama doesn’t win it to break our 2nd place tie all-time. At this point, I’m fine with Auburn winning it. I’m more concerned about what we’re gonna do in March.

Unless Igor and Lanier find their "SEC level" games, you know how March is gonna go. Groundhog Day.

 

[CAVPUT]

Well said. Lanier has been (unfairly) compared to Knecht. But to this point, Lanier doesn’t rise to the occasion in big games/moments. Knecht took over in those moments. Maybe he gets better. Maybe Igor finds his stroke. I agree, though, if neither of those things happen, we should limit our expectations for this team.

That said, yes, the effort and defensive intensity are very much things to be proud of.

Your comparison to Knecht in how he rose to the occasion in those big moments is a key element. Some guys have the talent but not the drive/competitive instincts when the lights shine the brightest. It's what separates an NBA player from just a very talented college player. Teams that have those type players usually end up in the final 4. Not saying NBA talent but they have that drive and embrace being on the big stage. Not sure Lanier and Igor have that inside them. We've seen teasers who disappeared far too often over the years. Hoping these two aren't of the same ilk. Mashack and ZZ don't have NBA skills but they're driven. Maybe some of that rubs off on Lanier and Igor.

 

[Namorto1]

Auburn has a deeper more talented roster than us. Our margin of error is much smaller as is our ceiling. CRB is doing a great job with this group this season.

Yes, the roster is his making so no excuses. The loss of JP continues to sting.

The best and most concise post of where we are this year.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

Your master puts on a coaching clinic again? Auburn was favored across the board, and playing at home on a Saturday night. This implies implicitly that Barnes didn’t Put on a coaching clinic. You people have no shame.

He hadn’t been here since the Florida loss so this dude clealy is a drive by

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

no shame in that loss. the master puts on a coaching clinic again

For sure he mastered ref intimidation to get a huge majority of calls involving judgement. If replay had not been clear, we would have had an unearned goal tending call and an F1 when their friendly fire disappointed the refs fishing expedition.

HEEL ON THE LINE? Show it! Not where they spotted the ball. HUH!

No foul on the inbounds ? Show it or apology letter please.

Foul when their guy fell down. Flop or not? Show it. The world is open to facts.

Sometimes humans yield in a biased way. Not temptation, pressure in a hostile environment. Like when Bruce was firing up the crowd. Seemed to work.

Does not take many in a one possession game.

 

[VolGee4]

Your comparison to Knecht in how he rose to the occasion in those big moments is a key element. Some guys have the talent but not the drive/competitive instincts when the lights shine the brightest. It's what separates an NBA player from just a very talented college player. Teams that have those type players usually end up in the final 4. Not saying NBA talent but they have that drive and embrace being on the big stage. Not sure Lanier and Igor have that inside them. We've seen teasers who disappeared far too often over the years. Hoping these two aren't of the same ilk. Mashack and ZZ don't have NBA skills but they're driven. Maybe some of that rubs off on Lanier and Igor.

I haven’t seen anything to suggest that CL shys away from the moment. But unlike DK, he needs help from his team mates to get his shot. He isn’t a creator of his own shot and wasn’t when he was being recruited.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

For sure he mastered ref intimidation to get a huge majority of calls involving judgement. If replay had not been clear, we would have had an unearned goal tending call and an F1 when their friendly fire disappointed the refs fishing expedition.

HEEL ON THE LINE? Show it! Not where they spotted the ball. HUH!

No foul on the inbounds ? Show it or apology letter please.

Foul when their guy fell down. Flop or not? Show it. The world is open to facts.

Sometimes humans yield in a biased way. Not temptation, pressure in a hostile environment. Like when Bruce was firing up the crowd. Seemed to work.

Does not take many in a one possession game.

He should have gotten at least one T for how far he was coming out on the court.

 

[walkenvol]

Your master puts on a coaching clinic again? Auburn was favored across the board, and playing at home on a Saturday night. This implies implicitly that Barnes didn’t Put on a coaching clinic. You people have no shame.

Don’t think Pearl could swap rosters with Barnes and produce similar results. Pearl has assembled a more talented deeper roster for this season so he gets the nod there.

 

[VolGee4]

For sure he mastered ref intimidation to get a huge majority of calls involving judgement. If replay had not been clear, we would have had an unearned goal tending call and an F1 when their friendly fire disappointed the refs fishing expedition.

HEEL ON THE LINE? Show it! Not where they spotted the ball. HUH!

No foul on the inbounds ? Show it or apology letter please.

Foul when their guy fell down. Flop or not? Show it. The world is open to facts.

Sometimes humans yield in a biased way. Not temptation, pressure in a hostile environment. Like when Bruce was firing up the crowd. Seemed to work.

Does not take many in a one possession game.

“Upon further review, the Auburn player was hit by his teammate, so there was no foul.” Not sure I have seen that expressed before. Haha.

 

[Sudden Impact]

Refs 1.0, Auburn 0.5 Vols 0.49.
Either let them play or don't.
At the end, the Refs were trying to put the worms back in the Can.
These are the type of Refs that will get good teams beat come tournament time.
I don't care that we lost easily could have won, but calls both ways were awful.

 

[walkenvol]

I haven’t seen anything to suggest that CL shys away from the moment. But unlike DK, he needs help from his team mates to get his shot. He isn’t a creator of his own shot and wasn’t when he was being recruited.

“Shys away from the moment” is not a good description as Chaz keeps on shooting. “Unable to deliver like DK in big moments” is a closer description IMO

 

[Namorto1]

Well said. Lanier has been (unfairly) compared to Knecht. But to this point, Lanier doesn’t rise to the occasion in big games/moments. Knecht took over in those moments. Maybe he gets better. Maybe Igor finds his stroke. I agree, though, if neither of those things happen, we should limit our expectations for this team.

That said, yes, the effort and defensive intensity are very much things to be proud of.

With space and time, Lanier is a phenomenal shooter. But his handle and quickness are just average which limits his ability to get separation. That isn't going to change the rest of the year unfortunately. Glad that we have him, but he isn't an NBA talent. At his best he is a catch and shoot weapon but as the competition has increased during league play it just is apparent. 14.9 ppg on 34.3% FG / 35.1% 3 pt FG in SEC play. He doesn't rebound much and doesn't create for others. His defense is decent and think he tries but in order to get open he is going to have to be in constant motion. and use his screens wisely. DK could carry a team with offensive deficiencies, but Lanier can't. We will struggle on offense the rest of the year and it will be our undoing in the tournament.

 

[cardvolfan]

Refs 1.0, Auburn 0.5 Vols 0.49.
Either let them play or don't.
At the end, the Refs were trying to put the worms back in the Can.
These are the type of Refs that will get good teams beat come tournament time.
I don't care that we lost easily could have won, but calls both ways were awful.

There was no way refs were going to call a foul on Broome harassing Okpara, especially not with Pearl standing 4 feet away.

 

[sami]

TN wasn’t going to win in overtime. Gainey had fouled out and nobody else was stepping up. You take your shot and go for the win on a 3-pointer there.

In a defensive struggle you don’t worry about shooting too early and giving Auburn the last possession.

A quick shot greatly increases the odds of a put back. Running down the clock takes away a possible second attempt.

The odds of getting an offensive rebound after a 3 attempt are better than after a 2 attempt.

100% agree. As soon as UT called time I said "go for the win". In a tough spot on the road you always go for the win if the opportunity is there, and as you said, taking the shot early if it's there is smart because of follow up chances.

They got an open look on one one of the high % shots in the sport, the corner 3. Waiting to work the ball to Chaz when he was certainly going to be blanketed was much easier said than done, and aside from Chaz there's no one on the floor I'd rather have take that shot than ZZ.

 

[Sudden Impact]

There was no way refs were going to call a foul on Broome harassing Okpara, especially not with Pearl standing 4 feet away.

Why focus on one call. The Refs were equally bad for both teams.
In that case, you seemed to miss the grab and roll or chose not to do so.
He fouled him because he moved him by force.
Ref chose to call no foul and instead called a walk to bail himself out of a whistle blown.

 

[sami]

Auburn has a deeper more talented roster than us. Our margin of error is much smaller as is our ceiling. CRB is doing a great job with this group this season.

Yes, the roster is his making so no excuses. The loss of JP continues to sting.

And the loss of Carr as well. Think about those two losses, both in critical areas where we are razor thin, at the wing and the post.

With JP and Carr, CRB could have gone 10-deep if he wanted to in the regular season, and I believe that was the plan. It would have relieved some of the pressure on Igor and allowed Cade to play at his more normal spot at the 4 and for CRB to go double-big at times. Damn shame.

 

[sami]

Your comparison to Knecht in how he rose to the occasion in those big moments is a key element. Some guys have the talent but not the drive/competitive instincts when the lights shine the brightest. It's what separates an NBA player from just a very talented college player. Teams that have those type players usually end up in the final 4. Not saying NBA talent but they have that drive and embrace being on the big stage. Not sure Lanier and Igor have that inside them. We've seen teasers who disappeared far too often over the years. Hoping these two aren't of the same ilk. Mashack and ZZ don't have NBA skills but they're driven. Maybe some of that rubs off on Lanier and Igor.

I'm sorry, but I have a major problem with fans questioning what's inside a player without having a clue other than watching games on TV. Lanier isn't Knecht, but neither are thousands of other players - he was a unicorn, a rare talent, not one where you just plug someone in and expect the same results. It was the expectation of Lanier to be another Knecht that was ridiculous in the first place when we all knew we had seen a shooting star last season, a once in a generation type player.

Igor and Chaz have had issues stepping up in competition to this level so far, but to question their heart because the performance hasn't been what we hoped? C'mon, man. Igor played the last several minutes with cotton in his nose to keep it from bleeding, and you're going to question his competitiveness?

I don't see how anyone who knows the game even a little could watch that game and come away questioning the heart or competitiveness of anyone on the floor last night.

 

[GBO18]

I'm sorry, but I have a major problem with fans questioning what's inside a player without having a clue other than watching games on TV. Lanier isn't Knecht, but neither are thousands of other players - he was a unicorn, a rare talent, not one where you just plug someone in and expect the same results. It was the expectation of Lanier to be another Knecht that was ridiculous in the first place when we all knew we had seen a shooting star last season, a once in a generation type player.

Igor and Chaz have had issues stepping up in competition to this level so far, but to question their heart because the performance hasn't been what we hoped? C'mon, man. Igor played the last several minutes with cotton in his nose to keep it from bleeding, and you're going to question his competitiveness?

I don't see how anyone who knows the game even a little could watch that game and come away questioning the heart or competitiveness of anyone on the floor last night.

The person you quoted is right very little of the time so I wouldn’t put too much stock in his opinion. I agree with you anybody questioning Igor’s and Lanier’s toughness or competitiveness is not very smart.

 

[hUTch2002]

I’m gonna say 27-5. Sweep at home, lose at Rupp and at Ole Miss.

We do that are we are absolutely a 1 seed.

 

[AllVols3]

Yes I was there. While Duke came out of that game worn down, it was more to do with the fact we had 22/23 year olds going against 18/19 year olds that really showed the difference on the court. Cry baby from Duke got pushed around, but we simply wore them down due to sheer body maturity.

The point is they let them play in the tournament

 

[sami]

The person you quoted is right very little of the time so I wouldn’t put too much stock in his opinion. I agree with you anybody questioning Igor’s and Lanier’s toughness or competitiveness is not very smart.

I know his stock in trade is to be the "negative guy", but questioning if someone cares or competes hard with no basis of fact is just too much.