The Official #7 Tennessee vs. #2 Purdue Game Thread, 8:00 PM ET, ESPN

[Shaun1985]

still can't win. the big game and we take a loss next game too. just facts.

Lol wow

 

[Chris4Vols22]

typical of the vols. close but no cigar. tsk tsk tsk

Hey, I agree with your sentiment, but November is not the time to make that argument.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

That’s a game where having Freddie healthy & playing Mashack more in the second half would have been big.

They were in the bonus with around 10 minutes left, we should have been driving and forcing the issue more.

Love Santi, but he’s not a driver.

ZZ doesn’t have good enough size and still isn’t back to pre injury form.

Having DK, JJJ, Gainey, Mashack, & Freddie all rotating & attack the rim would have been big instead of shooting so many deep shots, I know we had some clean looks. But hard to try and shoot out of slumps against the #2 team that’s only in the game because of FTs

 

[vols 30]

Feels like some of y’all are so pissed off about the last 2 weeks of football that you just want to take out some frustration and shat on the basketball team.

We lost a close game to the #2 team in the country!!! We were never going undefeated!!

 

[Orange.]

Bilas needs to lay off the damn sauce and tanning bed. His skin is falling off his face.

So at least we have that going for us.

 

[JCP201]

Pretty sure he did point it out numerous times but refs were not listening. They just were not going to call it tonight.

They want that one and two playing each other. I am sure we'll be playing Marquette.

 

[Ernest T. Vol]

Cant hear Barnes comments for the commercials running on the Vol Network at the time. Dang.

 

[Delmar]

Aloha from Honolulu. Don’t have time to read all the comments. Just watched these two games up close and personal. Let me tell you it was an extremely rough, physical game on both sides. Our guys held their own against Edey and he really didn’t beat us. Hoyer did. And he was pitiful yesterday so go figure.

Knecht was off today but he is some kind of player. Not sure how the big schools missed him and he ended up at No, Colorado. Overall we didn’t shoot well especially in the second half. Vescovi is I’m a slump and Ziegler is rusty. Hopefully both get back to form soon.

Bottom line- We just went toe to toe with the #2 team in the country and easily could have won with a little better shooting in the second half.) Give Purdue credit. They are tough and nobody can handle Edey down low. (He does camp in the lane for 5 to 7 seconds every play and the refs just won’t call it.) If Hoyer is on, they are tough to deal with. This UT team is a top 10 team though.

 

[Shaun1985]

They want that one and two playing each other. I am sure we'll be playing Marquette.

I think Kansas is super overrated and gets worked tonight. Might be wrong but they haven't impressed me yet. I like bill self though

 

[Chris4Vols22]

Just being honest, don’t expect much tomorrow. We are gonna be dead after that slugfest.

Idk, seems like the kind of setup for us to cruise to like a 15 point win. Conceivably anyway. Even if we lose, I doubt it will be due to poor effort or fatigue.

 

[Caz]

Z may not be back on offense all the way, but his defense was incredible. I am glad to see that with that horrible injury last year.

He played his ass off defensively. Still has rust, but never doubt his return and his moxy and what he brings to this team and our fans

 

[pasadenavol]

Bet we get Kansas tomorrow...book it. I like getting to face the #1 and #2 teams in the country in Nov. Win tomorrow and this is a successful trip!

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

Feels like some of y’all are so pissed off about the last 2 weeks of football that you just want to take out some frustration and shat on the basketball team.

We lost a close game to the #2 team in the country!!! We were never going undefeated!!

That last sentence is something a portion of the Tennessee fan base struggles to grasp. You can lose 10~ games in basketball and still end up with a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Basketball is a marathon, not a sprint. Even the best teams in the country lose a few games.

 

[LibertyVol]

Possibly one of the worst takes tonight….and that’s saying something.

I hope I am wrong. Believe me. I hope you are right.

 

[RockyTopJA]

Since every armchair coach is giving their opinion, I think that what cost us the game is the fact that we were in the double bonus with 12+ mins left, but did not attack the basket. You have to draw up screens that allow our guards to take it to the hoop and draw fouls. Use the refs to your advantage by forcing them to call fouls.
Love the technical on Barnes...showed he was bought in for his team. Wish Heupel would learn to do the same...

Wasn’t that also a 4 point swing? Not saying I agree or disagree with the choice (refs were rotting July fish factory dumpster bad), but I think he’d like to save the bitching for half rather than take a tech and get worthless “make up” calls early in the second.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

I hope I am wrong. Believe me. I hope you are right.

You’re definitely wrong.

No need to hope.

 

[LibertyVol]

Lmaooooooo WHAT

Started off great in the first few games like Key. Missed a lot of open looks tonight. Hope I am wrong.

 

[Shaun1985]

Aloha from Honolulu. Don’t have time to read all the comments. Just watched these two games up close and personal. Let me tell you it was an extremely rough, physical game on both sides. Our guys held their own against Edey and he really didn’t beat us. Hoyer did. And he was pitiful yesterday so go figure.

Knecht was off today but he is some kind of player. Not sure how the big schools missed him and he ended up at No, Colorado. Overall we didn’t shoot well especially in the second half. Vescovi is I’m a slump and Ziegler is rusty. Hopefully both get back to form soon.

Bottom line- We just went toe to toe with the #2 team in the country and easily could have won with a little better shooting in the second half.) Give Purdue credit. They are tough and nobody can handle Edey down low. (He does camp in the lane for 5 to 7 seconds every play and the refs just won’t call it.) If Hoyer is on, they are tough to deal with. This UT team is a top 10 team though.

Knecht struggles with physical guards and going in the gaps. He has to get better. Edey is a beast and Purdue is elite. A healthy Santi and Zeigler and I haven't seen a team better than Tennessee. If we stay healthy, we make our first final four

 

[LibertyVol]

You’re definitely wrong.

No need to hope.

lol. I like your confidence.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

This is where not having Dillione hurt us I think. Zeiglar is really struggling on offense and it would have been nice to see if a healthy Dillione could have given that spark tonight with ZZ struggling.

 

[therealitytheory]

A question: probably as good a defensive effort from a UT team as you'll ever see.
Also a frustratingly bad shooting game.

Does the grinding on defense set us up for uneven offensive performances?

 

[pasadenavol]

iIRC, they got a couple of make up calls with fouls on Edey shortly thereafter. He snuck in some criticism of the refs in his halftime interview too.

 

[berryvol]

Started off great in the first few games like Key. Missed a lot of open looks tonight. Hope I am wrong.

This is one of the worst takes I’ve seen in the basketball forum this season. Stop being meek about how dumb this is.

 

[Namorto1]

I'm not even upset. UT is one tough team and we could have wilted when Purdue went up by 8 but we came back and tied the game. Given how we played I'm actually encouraged, assuming that our perimeter shooting won't remain this bad. Late we somewhat forgot to go to the rim on offense and settled for 3's. Going to get another big challenge tomorrow.

We shoot 26% from 3-pt and get killed on offensive glass and only lose by 4 to a highly ranked opponent. We need to defensive rebound well in order to push the ball down the court. Our half-court offense was not good and even despite that we must have had at least 6 wide open three's that were missed. I have no idea what happened to Vescovi but he needs to find his game, and it isn't just his shot. He committed some silly fouls which put Purdue on the line and gave Purdue some freebies.

Good & bad:
Aidoo - only had 1 rebound. He has to be tougher than that. Figured he would get alot more looks facing up on pick and pops against Edey, but Barnes didn't run it.
Knecht - 3 turnovers while driving into traffic. He will learn from this. Because our offense was so putrid, he was pressing IMO. Led us in rebounding with 7.
Mashack - missed FTs early in 2nd half were unfortunate but overall he played very well. Probably deserved more minutes than he got.
Vescovi - if he can't hit open perimeter shots, he is going to lose more minutes to Gainey and Mashack. The worst patch of games he has played in his career.
James - disappeared on offensive end. Only took shots from 3 pt land. Could have used his mid-range today.
Zeigler - was a defensive menace but also had 3 TOs. He took 11 shots. When Knecht only shot 13, that is a problem with the PG. He needed to penetrate and kick out more than he did.
Awaka - his hustle made a difference. The last foul called on him was a joke. Still, only had 1 rebound and Purdue won this game on glass.
Gainey - woke up in 2nd half but took a few quick shots late which weren't good looks.
Estrella / Phillips - tried hard and this will be good learning experience for both of them.

 

[tennrich1]

This is a Tennessee board isn’t it? our defense played so hard and we choked and rolled with the #2 team .. not at home. Young guns played a lot. Lots of positives from this loss.