The Official #7 Tennessee vs. #1 Kansas Game Thread, 2:30 PM ET, ESPN

[IndianapolisVol]

Vescovi is not greedy enough it's seems he had some looks at open shots but deferred to others.....

He knows his shot is off

 

[sportsnut624]

Bottom line is this game is a seed line game. Win it and you probably bump yourself up a seed line come March. Not the end of the world if we lose but it would be a fantastic resume win.

 

[87&91ALUM]

Is JJJ gonna play? We really missed him last night.

I'm sure he was in the game....34 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds according to stats.

 

[87&91ALUM]

He knows his shot is off

That is coaching...need to put a coach on him and Zakaii and work the missing shots out of them. Put live game speed and defense on them.

 

[87&91ALUM]

A few calls here or that made a difference. Lousy offense was probably a function of playing a really good team...not #2 for nothing. Our defense was good as reflected in Purdue's 71 but, we can't let one big man and one shoot (Loyar?) beat us.

 

[Lukusw]

I have no idea what to expect. Did we empty the tank last night? Do we suddenly remember how to shoot? No idea.

 

[87&91ALUM]

Does Kansas have a big man in the middle or not? We gotta figure that out and find our shooting range again. Points made yesterday were few and far between. CRB needs to send film of the officiating to NCAA/SEC and make it clear in pre-game that "throwing games with lousy officiating is not acceptable and we are watching you". The time allowed Purdue to live in the offensive paint yesterday was a Christmas gift for sure.

 

[Lankykong]

A few calls here or that made a difference. Lousy offense was probably a function of playing a really good team...not #2 for nothing. Our defense was good as reflected in Purdue's 71 but, we can't let one big man and one shoot (Loyar?) beat us.

People keep on talking about how well he played but I feel like Loyer flopped a lot on weak contact for this game and got like half his points on free throws. Obviously played well in general but he was the only player all game who got consistent officiating so it made it easier

 

[Shaun1985]

Kansas is very unselfish with the ball but also very overrated. Unless our three guards,minus Mashack just say F it today, we should win. Knecht will have a big day. Hoping Vescovi shows up big today and hits some shots. If UT plays an all around game, we run Kansas out the gym.

 

[Shaun1985]

Need Aidoo, Awaka, and the frosh when they get in to frustrate Dickinson to no end. They did a good job last night with Edey, but need to tighten it up today.

If Aidoo would just attack the rim the way Awaka does, he'd be scary good. Instead, he does too much in the paint. It's frustrating. I know he wants to hit that mid / long range shot but we got enough shooters it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I can't wait until frosh get more minutes and get comfortable. We are going to be really good in the post

 

[walkenvol]

People keep on talking about how well he played but I feel like Loyer flopped a lot on weak contact for this game and got like half his points on free throws. Obviously played well in general but he was the only player all game who got consistent officiating so it made it easier

He did flop a couple times, but he also hit a majority of his open jumpers and grabbed 6 rebounds which is more than anyone on our team.

 

[Lankykong]

He did flop a couple times, but he also hit a majority of his open jumpers and grabbed 6 rebounds which is more than anyone on our team.

Yeah, wasn’t saying he played bad. He just went 10-11 on FT and shot 30% from 3.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

We need to pay back that goon Dickinson for the Michigan NCAAT fiasco.

 

[TrumpedUpVol]

Anyone have any stats or facts about teams playing #2 and #1 in the rankings in consecutive days?

 

[All Vol!]

Can we all say a collective prayer that we don’t get the same officiating crew today?

 

[cardvolfan]

Just curious, but I doubt if Tennessee has ever played #1 and #2 on consecutive days? I wonder if any college team has?

 

[TheMookieMonster]

When you think about it, it’s pretty crazy that in 3 days we have faced a 7’1” and 2 different 7’4” monsters. I will be happy to get a reprieve from that after this tournament is over.

 

[brubaker]

Vols by 8..

 

[brubaker]

Only bad thing is we have to listen to " Bias Bilas" as he loves Kansas, Purdue, etc

 

[SlyStone]

There might be a time when Barnes may need to have Aidoo & Awaka in at the same time.

 

[Volfan1000]

Doing some traveling today for the holiday, so not sure I’ll be able to watch the game, but this is one we really need to win. Obviously a loss wouldn’t be the end of the world, but leaving Maui 1-2 and then heading straight on the road to North Carolina wouldn’t feel great.

Plus watching Kansas last night they just don’t look that great…..

Dickinson is the third 7 footer that Tennessee has faced in this tournament.

Tennessee 76, Kansas 69 is my prediction.

 

[RAVOL]

3rd game in 3 days both teams really good should favor the deeper team which watching Kansas is Big Orange Also I could see the score being lower say TN 68-65 . In CHRIST Alone

 

[vavolfan6]

Kind of surprised Kansas is a 1.5 pt favorite considering Barnes has had the best of Self the last two years and that Kansas is on short turnaround with guys who played alot of minutes

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Play hard & smart, we have a week before we have to go play UNC.

Talk about playing a tough schedule to open the season!

 

[Delmar]

Kansas starters played over 30 minutes each last night. Might be something to watch in the 2nd half with a quick turnaround.