The Official Tennessee vs. Florida Game Thread, 2:00 PM ET, ESPN2

[MoCo_Vol]

Great win! Woooo

 

[Jax_Vol]

You can't spell Florida Gators without s-o-f-t

 

[GoBigOrangeUT]

Remember when Florida was a top 10 preseason team? Lol

 

[Jax_Vol]

Remember when Florida was a top 10 preseason team? Lol

I was thinking that they were top 5 pre-season.

Coach Whitey done run them off into a ditch...

 

[Dallasbowlin]

It was Bowden and uros lol

 

[wmcovol]

I love Fulky but missing the front end of 2 1-1s is in the recipe for blowing a game. NTL, great win, Vols

 

[i2amavol]

He more than made up for it, IMO.

 

[BigOrangeAl 1979]

Always great to beat the slimy lizards

 

[i2amavol]

This is a young team that’s learning to win. They’ve got the talent to compete as evidenced by many games before, they just couldn’t close out games.

This quote is similar to others, from Coach Barnes' second season here. I hope the similarities continue into the next 2 seasons.

 

[TerryO]

Great game! Glad we beat the Gators! Looking forward to beating Kentucky and Auburn!

 

[lostsheep]

He more than made up for it, IMO.

Id say busting a 3 as the shot clock expired qualifies as making up for it.

 

[chuckb1448]

Great game, was busy today so watched it when I came home. Having a huge lead then falling apart is a nerve wracking experience..... glad we had the points at the end. JJJ showed up today, glad for him

 

[Namorto1]

Great win. Fulkerson was a stud and hit a couple perimeter jumpers, which we needs to do more of to expand his game. This group has a lot of fight in them. Let’s shock Kentucky next.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Split AU/KU win 2 in Nashville and I think this team has a chance. As hard as I've been on this team. They have a chance slim but there is one

If we beat Barn, get the opening round SECT bye and win on Thursday/Friday I think we're very close to getting an NCAAT bid. Getting a win on Friday as opposed to Wednesday could be the difference. Don't want the 8/9 seed though and have to face Kentucky on Friday.

 

[feathersax]

Id say busting a 3 as the shot clock expired qualifies as making up for it.

What a shot by the big guy! Maybe a bit lucky, but what isn't? Confidence builder.

 

[1985Vols]

Yea, but he is a 5 star with worse stats than JJJ. Kind of ironic.

Skewed numbers. Mann plays 18 minutes a game and averages 5.5 ppg. JJJ players 30 minutes a game and averages 7.5 ppg

 

[CAVPUT]

If we beat Barn, get the opening round SECT bye and win on Thursday/Friday I think we're very close to getting an NCAAT bid. Getting a win on Friday as opposed to Wednesday could be the difference. Don't want the 8/9 seed though and have to face Kentucky on Friday.

It's starting to resemble the football teams resurrection. They were written off and left for dead. Ended with a win streak, bowl victory and 8 wins. No one saw that coming. Might be wishful thinking, but this bunch could pull it off. If, as they say, the committee weighs how well you're playing at the end of the season, a streak vs UF, UK and AU would surely be a very nice feather in our cap. Honestly, getting 2 of 3 and a win in the SECT might do it.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

So maybe this blown lead issues is a Barnes thing. Anyone remember the Iowa game in the tournament last year. How about Colgate where we couldn't pull away. I'm sure there have been others in his tenure but maybe Barnes needs to figure out how to coach with a big lead

 

[Orange DNA]

So maybe this blown lead issues is a Barnes thing. Anyone remember the Iowa game in the tournament last year. How about Colgate where we couldn't pull away. I'm sure there have been others in his tenure but maybe Barnes needs to figure out how to coach with a big lead

That’s a good point. I was at the game yesterday and the crowd was awesome. Those comebacks by other teams are all pretty much road games. If we’d only hit our free throws we would’ve put em away earlier yesterday.

 

[VolGee4]

Skewed numbers. Mann plays 18 minutes a game and averages 5.5 ppg. JJJ players 30 minutes a game and averages 7.5 ppg

In the last 11 games, he is averaging more minutes at 22 per game. He’s averaging 6 points and 36% from the field.

Considering that it’s been known that JJJ has had an injury and what’s been said about him, I will stand by my statement that it’s very ironic. Kind of what you get from fans.

Plus, we weren’t getting both players. It was one or the other.

 

[mr.checkerboards]

That’s a good point. I was at the game yesterday and the crowd was awesome. Those comebacks by other teams are all pretty much road games. If we’d only hit our free throws we would’ve put em away earlier yesterday.

Right. I just think its something to look at through Barnes tenure and not just this year because he has a young team. It's been an issue with his more talented teams as well

 

[VolGee4]

Right. I just think its something to look at through Barnes tenure and not just this year because he has a young team. It's been an issue with his more talented teams as well

They also won 23 games by double digits last year. 12 in the SEC. 14 by 15+ points. Good teams make runs, and the only teams we’ve lost to with big leads were good teams.

Not saying it should totally be dismissed, but he has coached many games where they kept or extended a big lead.

 

[PulaskiVolFan]

Skewed numbers. Mann plays 18 minutes a game and averages 5.5 ppg. JJJ players 30 minutes a game and averages 7.5 ppg

You act as though scoring is the only thing that matters. Mann stinks defensively and probably gives up more points in those limited minutes. It's a simple minded take to only look at points scored as reference for how good a basketball player is.

 

[Lankykong]

You act as though scoring is the only thing that matters. Mann stinks defensively and probably gives up more points in those limited minutes. It's a simple minded take to only look at points scored as reference for how good a basketball player is.

I’m sure Mann gets a ton of rebounds and assists too. That 1.9 RB per game and 0.7 assists are really impressive compared to JJJ’s 5.6 and 2.9.

 

[Godfatha]

This quote is similar to others, from Coach Barnes' second season here. I hope the similarities continue into the next 2 seasons.

We can see this team coming together and can expect good things next year. Most knew this would be a down year with what we lost. We’ve been a lot more competitive than what I expected.