The Official Tennessee vs. Presbyterian Game Thread, 7:00 pm ET, Sports South

[Spartacavolus]

we have been finishing games strong all year! i was just saying he had a point.

I thought we finished off top 25 wichita state like a lycan.

 

[zjcvols]

I thought we finished off top 25 wichita state like a lycan.

And when Oakland got to 16, UT took it another step and ended it.

It's one half. I'm not worried. 30 point lead in the first half? I expected a let down, especially with our grind it out style.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

And when Oakland got to 16, UT took it another step and ended it.

It's one half. I'm not worried. 30 point lead in the first half? I expected a let down, especially with our grind it out style.

If we were having trouble scoring in the second half I'd be somewhat concerned, but it was defensively where the problem was.

I'm not worried about Martin's defense at all.

 

[calban]

Well stop it. There are enough Debbie Downers on this board. At least fake it until SEC play.

j/k... Kinda

I should probably just stop posting for a while.
I was really high on Martin when he came.
Seemed to be a guy that got more from less when it came to his players.
Don't see that this season at all.
Most talent he's ever had and getting less.
We're not talking losing focus in the 2nd half.
We're talking terrible defense.
Really disappointed.
Hope he can pull them together but I doubt it seriously.
I'm done for a while.
Sorry for the DD attitude.

 

[zjcvols]

I should probably just stop posting for a while.
I was really high on Martin when he came.
Seemed to be a guy that got more from less when it came to his players.
Don't see that this season at all.
Most talent he's ever had and getting less.
We're not talking losing focus in the 2nd half.
We're talking terrible defense.
Really disappointed.
Hope he can pull them together but I doubt it seriously.
I'm done for a while.
Sorry for the DD attitude.

In one half. The D was spectacular in the first half.

They lost focused. They started thinking about Waffle House and Friday's game. It happens.

 

[zansdad]

I should probably just stop posting for a while.
I was really high on Martin when he came.
Seemed to be a guy that got more from less when it came to his players.
Don't see that this season at all.
Most talent he's ever had and getting less.
We're not talking losing focus in the 2nd half.
We're talking terrible defense.
Really disappointed.
Hope he can pull them together but I doubt it seriously.
I'm done for a while.
Sorry for the DD attitude.

I understand. After the Georgetown and UVA losses, I didn't post for about a week. Stayed away for a few days, then just read without posting for a few more. It's easy to get down on the Vols when they play bad, especially with some people always ready to celebrate every miscue.

 

[trevols81]

Obviously not. Dear God. Like UT is going to play D like that again. It's one bad half compared to every other good half defensively for about a month now.

Let's all forget the 13 points they scored in the first half. It's obvious they let up the gas.

Wide open 3s weren't falling in the first half for PC. Completely different story in the 2nd half. Lazy defense for the entire game. But CCM will fix this by the next tip off.

 

[SCowlsVOL]

I thought we finished off top 25 wichita state like a lycan.

ok well let's look at how we have finished games. all i was saying is that he had a point. 2nd half of everygame this season.

Game01- us 34 them 37 Kenn
Game02- us 37 them 40 UNCA
Game03- us 26 them 32 OKSt
Game04- us 45 them 35 Mass
Game05- us 39 them 35 Oak
Game06- us 18 them 21 Gtwn
Game07- us 22 them 21 Virginia
Game08- us 39 them 32 Wichitaw
Game09- us 35 them 49 Tonight's Game

i'm not panicking but we aren't exactly burning it up in the 2nd half besides when we held gtown and virginia in the 20s. all the other games we allowed 32 + pts in the 2nd half. 5 of the 9 games we have allowed 35 pts in the seconnd half. I think someone said they loved how we turned it on in the Oak game. We def didn't finish strong defensively. Is this just poor play in the 2nd half or do we get tired and need more conditioning? i'm just asking everyone's opinions. We just have to be better on defense in the 2nd half if our offense isn't going to play lights out every night. Happy we won though.

 

[MphsBlues]

I should probably just stop posting for a while.
I was really high on Martin when he came.
Seemed to be a guy that got more from less when it came to his players.
Don't see that this season at all.
Most talent he's ever had and getting less.
We're not talking losing focus in the 2nd half.
We're talking terrible defense.
Really disappointed.
Hope he can pull them together but I doubt it seriously.
I'm done for a while.
Sorry for the DD attitude.

Are you a Vol fan? If so, continue to be. Don't shed your allegiance because YOU lose heart. The team has had moments when the coach could have done things better. The team has had moments when the players let them down. Either way, give it time. We stand a real chance of making the big dance this year. ANY time that happens, the season is a success. I believe our program will eventually go big places under Cuonzo's watch.

 

[Spartacavolus]

ok well let's look at how we have finished games. all i was saying is that he had a point. 2nd half of everygame this season.

Game01- us 34 them 37 Kenn
Game02- us 37 them 40 UNCA
Game03- us 26 them 32 OKSt
Game04- us 45 them 35 Mass
Game05- us 39 them 35 Oak
Game06- us 18 them 21 Gtwn
Game07- us 22 them 21 Virginia
Game08- us 39 them 32 Wichitaw
Game09- us 35 them 49 Tonight's Game

i'm not panicking but we aren't exactly burning it up in the 2nd half besides when we held gtown and virginia in the 20s. all the other games we allowed 32 + pts in the 2nd half. 5 of the 9 games we have allowed 35 pts in the seconnd half. I think someone said they loved how we turned it on in the Oak game. We def didn't finish strong defensively. Is this just poor play in the 2nd half or do we get tired and need more conditioning? i'm just asking everyone's opinions. We just have to be better on defense in the 2nd half if our offense isn't going to play lights out every night. Happy we won though.

I just don't think letting up with a 30 pt lead is the same as not finishing strong on D or blowing games down the stretch. 2 games you listed were losses when we gave up 21 points in the 2nd half. Nobody likes lapses like that, but it happens. The team losing has nothing to lose, the reigns are off and they play freely and not concerned about missing shots. Amazing how many more 3's start going down when teams are down big.

I think our lapses that led to our losses were all on the offensive end. This was really the first bad half of defense that I have seen. I think the lead led to some Rocky Top League ball. And I think the offensive lapses were caused 100% by walking the ball up and not looking to get a good shot early in the shot clock, or at least push the pace. We are better at a quicker pace. Not fast, but quick.

 

[UT IE 95]

You look at the scores by half and think "good, the starters have been working two a days and got some rest in the second half". Golden, McRae, and McBee all played +30 mins? Seriously?

 

[MphsBlues]

You look at the scores by half and think "good, the starters have been working two a days and got some rest in the second half". Golden, McRae, and McBee all played +30 mins? Seriously?

When your starters are still in and things go South on you against a team like this, do you yank them, or leave them in and see how resilient they are? I'm not sure, myself, but at least he got to see what direction he needed to take in practice. I'm no expert - just a thought.

 

[YankeeVol]

I'm not worried about the second half.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I should probably just stop posting for a while.
I was really high on Martin when he came.
Seemed to be a guy that got more from less when it came to his players.
Don't see that this season at all.
Most talent he's ever had and getting less.
We're not talking losing focus in the 2nd half.
We're talking terrible defense.
Really disappointed.
Hope he can pull them together but I doubt it seriously.
I'm done for a while.
Sorry for the DD attitude.

You'll come back around I know you. They played absolutely perfect ball the first half, were up 43-13 crying out load. Martin from there on out really used the game for different things and learning experiences. He played some lineup combo's we probably won't see again, and was trying a few different things.

They had a shooter get hot, our backup PG turn it over a few times, and a loss of focus for a bit. We still continued to score the ball and push the pace which is what you said you wanted to see, you said you wanted Martin to show he'd continue to let them run.

Well he let them run, probably more than we did even in the WSU game. He then postage said he wants them to continue to run, and run even more, as long as they aren't turning it over. That's what you said you wanted to see, was him willing to adjust, well he has. If your disappoint is defensively, I don't have much to say, other than let the numbers speak for themselves. This is one of the best defensive teams in the country, and they got bored for a half Calban. One thing you don't have to worry about with Martin is defense, you should know that.

Remember big picture here...we started a 6 game home stand and you said you wanted to see us go on a winning streak, run more, and score more. So far we have done all those things. We sit at 6-3 and yet to have a bad loss, this time last year we were 3-6 with 3 bad losses (Charleston, Oakland and AP). The improvement should be crystal clear IMO.

 

[calban]

You'll come back around I know you. They played absolutely perfect ball the first half, were up 43-13 crying out load. Martin from there on out really used the game for different things and learning experiences. He played some lineup combo's we probably won't see again, and was trying a few different things.

They had a shooter get hot, our backup PG turn it over a few times, and a loss of focus for a bit. We still continued to score the ball and push the pace which is what you said you wanted to see, you said you wanted Martin to show he'd continue to let them run.

Well he let them run, probably more than we did even in the WSU game. He then postage said he wants them to continue to run, and run even more, as long as they aren't turning it over. That's what you said you wanted to see, was him willing to adjust, well he has. If your disappoint is defensively, I don't have much to say, other than let the numbers speak for themselves. This is one of the best defensive teams in the country, and they got bored for a half Calban. One thing you don't have to worry about with Martin is defense, you should know that.

Remember big picture here...we started a 6 game home stand and you said you wanted to see us go on a winning streak, run more, and score more. So far we have done all those things. We sit at 6-3 and yet to have a bad loss, this time last year we were 3-6 with 3 bad losses (Charleston, Oakland and AP). The improvement should be crystal clear IMO.

You're right. Proud of them 1st half.

 

[johnnybravo]

You'll come back around I know you. They played absolutely perfect ball the first half, were up 43-13 crying out load. Martin from there on out really used the game for different things and learning experiences. He played some lineup combo's we probably won't see again, and was trying a few different things.

They had a shooter get hot, our backup PG turn it over a few times, and a loss of focus for a bit. We still continued to score the ball and push the pace which is what you said you wanted to see, you said you wanted Martin to show he'd continue to let them run.

Well he let them run, probably more than we did even in the WSU game. He then postage said he wants them to continue to run, and run even more, as long as they aren't turning it over. That's what you said you wanted to see, was him willing to adjust, well he has. If your disappoint is defensively, I don't have much to say, other than let the numbers speak for themselves. This is one of the best defensive teams in the country, and they got bored for a half Calban. One thing you don't have to worry about with Martin is defense, you should know that.

Remember big picture here...we started a 6 game home stand and you said you wanted to see us go on a winning streak, run more, and score more. So far we have done all those things. We sit at 6-3 and yet to have a bad loss, this time last year we were 3-6 with 3 bad losses (Charleston, Oakland and AP). The improvement should be crystal clear IMO.

Good points