Thoughts Entering NCAAT

#76
#76
utvolpj said:
So you'll come back to celebrate and rub people's nose in a UT loss? That should be fun
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Dude, I am speaking facts. I have no intention to come here and rub mud on anyone. Damn, you guys get your feeling hurt to easy. We have no depth and that will take us out. March basketball is a different story.
 
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#77
#77
utvolpj said:
So you'll come back to celebrate and rub people's nose in a UT loss? That should be fun
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Dude, I am speaking facts. I have no intention to come here and rub mud on anyone. Damn, you guys get your feeling hurt to easy. We have no depth and that will take us out. March basketball is a different story.
 
#78
#78
Izzy1984$ said:
Dude, I am speaking facts. I have no intention to come here and rub mud on anyone. Damn, you guys get your feeling hurt to easy. We have no depth and that will take us out. March basketball is a different story.
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Sorry, it was sent twice.
 
#79
#79
Izzy1984$ said:
Dude, I am speaking facts. I have no intention to come here and rub mud on anyone. Damn, you guys get your feeling hurt to easy. We have no depth and that will take us out. March basketball is a different story.
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We will go 8 deep which is all you need. If Estella gets a few min, then that’s nine deep.

Awaka, Mashack, and Gainey will play every game.
 
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#80
#80
vol94 said:
We will go 8 deep which is all you need. If Estella gets a few min, then that’s nine deep.

Awaka, Mashack, and Gainey will play every game.
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Hope you are right but it's March and their activity this year is not in anyone's Spot Light.
 
#81
#81
We were 11 point favorites against State. I don’t trust this team. If Barnes wants to rid himself of his tournament failures, it’s elite 8 or bust!
 
#83
#83
Izzy1984$ said:
Dude, I am speaking facts. I have no intention to come here and rub mud on anyone. Damn, you guys get your feeling hurt to easy. We have no depth and that will take us out. March basketball is a different story.
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You certainly aren't speaking facts about our depth. How embarrassing for you! Even more so embarrassing is your obliviousness to it
 
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#84
#84
njvols said:
Don’t like the trend line stat I saw though. Need to get our mojo back quickly.
View attachment 627662
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There are two kinds of fatigue, physical and mental/emotional. Everyone of these games was a tough, physical, contest against very good teams - everyone of them is in the tournament and none of us would be surprised if any one of them did major damage to their respective brackets. They got to the finish line - regular season championship, then a very emotional senior night - and had a bit of a let down. Now they just need to get their "legs" back physically and reset mentally/emotionally. I'll be surprised if they don't come out on a mission Thursday.
 
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#85
#85
I sure hope Barnes can find a way to keep the team within 8 points. DK can get on a run and win you some games if the lead is 8 and under.
 
#86
#86
cgrish said:
If they watch any game film at all dk will be doubled
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Lower seeds mostly won't have the players to successfully double Knecht without us physically dominating and higher seeds we will see in later rounds are less likely to employ that strategy.

Someone else said we peaked too soon which is total BS unless you consider our late Feb - early March run to an SECT peaking too soon. I would rather go into the tournament after getting a loss or two out of our system late than on a multi game winning streak.
 
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#87
#87
I think if we just get thru the R32 we will be poised for a deep run. Zero excuse to lose to Texas or any of the other possibilities.
 
#88
#88
CAVPUT said:
Not so sure. Auburn looks like it's primed and ready for a deep run. Talented and deep. I think they'll end up going the furthest of the SEC teams. Don't think they can take UConn, but I'd bet they put a scare into them.
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Doubtful. Auburn has a gauntlet of a bracket and already on a win streak. I think they go out the second weekend.

We need Knecht to be efficient and draw attention but don't need 25+ a game from him to win. We need ZZ to control the offense in both halves when we don't run ISO or PnR with Knecht. Aidoo & Awaka need to at least hold their own, or close to it against opposing bigs. JJJ, SV, Mashack and Gainey need 20-25 pts per game among them and not let guys regularly beat them off the dribble (and if they do it needs to be going into the help). Just a couple of those guys being scoring threats opens up the floor for DK.

I also think we have at least one game (def Purdue if we play them) where Estrella contributes 6-8 crucial minutes when whistles go against us (probably Awaka). JJJ and SV played great last tournament and JJJ was very aggressive in hunting his shot like early in the season.

We have everything needed... just have to play to our potential and get a little luck.
 
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#89
#89
Izzy1984$ said:
Dude, I am speaking facts. I have no intention to come here and rub mud on anyone. Damn, you guys get your feeling hurt to easy. We have no depth and that will take us out. March basketball is a different story.
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No depth? We are plenty deep enough for two games a week. Estrella will have his number called at some point and we don't have a true backup PG but Gainey can run point along with SV, if needed.

Depth isn't the issue. We can't have games where the entire team is cold or gets beaten up physically to the point that they don't run the offense and make the plays that are available.
 
#90
#90
Vols All Day said:
I sure hope Barnes can find a way to keep the team within 8 points. DK can get on a run and win you some games if the lead is 8 and under.
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Most of our conference losses had horrible first halves and we won the 2nd half but only enough to make it respectable.

It's not ideal but I agree that if we are less than 10 points down with around 4-5 minutes to play then DK's offense, ZZ's clutch second half 3's and our defense are enough to give us a chance. Not much margin for error in those situations, though.
 
#91
#91
NOBODY knows how this team will perform in the NCAA Tournament. Potential to win it all or lose in the first few rounds.
I for one, like our chances and proud they won the SEC regular season.
I shall sit back, chill, and enjoy the ride.
Got a feeling it could be interesting.
GBO! 🧡🍊🧡
 
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#92
#92
1974Vol said:
There are two kinds of fatigue, physical and mental/emotional. Everyone of these games was a tough, physical, contest against very good teams - everyone of them is in the tournament and none of us would be surprised if any one of them did major damage to their respective brackets. They got to the finish line - regular season championship, then a very emotional senior night - and had a bit of a let down. Now they just need to get their "legs" back physically and reset mentally/emotionally. I'll be surprised if they don't come out on a mission Thursday.
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I support this!
 
#93
#93
Izzy1984$ said:
Dude, I am speaking facts. I have no intention to come here and rub mud on anyone. Damn, you guys get your feeling hurt to easy. We have no depth and that will take us out. March basketball is a different story.
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I hate responding to trolls, but the depth comment is absurd. You're right that March basketball is different, but it's when teams generally shorten their rotations, not expand them. UT goes eight deep, and Estrella has played enough that he can be used in case of foul trouble or if an additional big is needed for certain matchups.

You win or lose in March based on defense, rebounding, balanced scoring, and being able to knock down free throws in the clutch. If UT loses it will be because we had one of those long cold spells or got nothing from SV and JJJ, and we allowed too many second chance points. I trust that our defense will be sound and chase people off the 3-pt. line, and our late game FT shooting is solid.

I don't believe we can advance far with ZZ taking such an oversized offensive load. When he's more of a facilitator and a late-clock safety valve on offense, this team runs better. But that means that SV and JJJ must become willing shooters to free up DK, or it's going to be a slog offensively. Establishing a post presence early is also a key, as well as defensive rebounding to limit second chance points and allow us to run.

Biggest question is the ability to string together games where we do most of all of these things. If we play like we did most of January and February, we can be dangerous. We'll see.
 
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#94
#94
gainesvol82 said:
Doubtful. Auburn has a gauntlet of a bracket and already on a win streak. I think they go out the second weekend.

We need Knecht to be efficient and draw attention but don't need 25+ a game from him to win. We need ZZ to control the offense in both halves when we don't run ISO or PnR with Knecht. Aidoo & Awaka need to at least hold their own, or close to it against opposing bigs. JJJ, SV, Mashack and Gainey need 20-25 pts per game among them and not let guys regularly beat them off the dribble (and if they do it needs to be going into the help). Just a couple of those guys being scoring threats opens up the floor for DK.

I also think we have at least one game (def Purdue if we play them) where Estrella contributes 6-8 crucial minutes when whistles go against us (probably Awaka). JJJ and SV played great last tournament and JJJ was very aggressive in hunting his shot like early in the season.

We have everything needed... just have to play to our potential and get a little luck.
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Agree on all points. It is crucial that we get those 25-30 from any combination of JJJ, SV, Gainey, and Shack every game, and we need a solid 12-10-4 from Aidoo and a physical presence from Awaka.

I really want to see JJJ get back to slashing and getting that 10-12 ft. jumper in the paint, which is money when he is playing well, and SV just to become a willing shooter. Getting that killer P&R action going with DK and Aidoo would be key as well.

Honestly, if I had to point to one thing aside from balanced scoring, it will be rebounding on both ends that determines our fate. In games we lose we invariably give up a ton of second chance points on kick-out 3's. That cannot happen, and cleaning up the defensive boards and creating turnovers will also get us into transition more.
 
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#96
#96
It's pretty simple...ZZ and Aidoo have play like the All SEC players they are. I would also keep a close eye on Santi's minutes and limit them if he's not giving us anything on offense and, instead, play either Mashack or Gainey depending on the matchups and how those 2 are playing.
 
#98
#98
CAVPUT said:
Only partly. You can't advance very far in tournament play if you're literally a one or two man team which we are right now. You have to get everyone clicking. And on any given day, even a superstar can be off. No, this team will only go as far as JJJ, Vescovi and Aidoo takes it. Got zero expectations for those guys showing up in back to back games much less a streak of 3 or more.
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Steph carried Davidson to the EE but couldn’t get further and that was STEPH CURRY
 
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