Tonight’s POG is…

[kptvol1452]

Hard to call as every player except 1 was a net positive and that type play can definitely beat Houston (I assume).

Since we have to pick one it’s Z with 18-10.

I think it should go to entire team.
ZZ had good #s, Felix played great
Gainey , Lanier, Cade off bench
Go Vols!!!!!

 

[Vol$_Deep_11_9]

I’m going with Shack. Dude does all the dirty work every game. But lord that was a total team effort last night. Going to need another one tomorrow

 

[LittleCat]

Game plan of taking the ball to the basket was the POG tonight!
A different times different guys stepped in to make the plan work. The dynamics may have changed, but the plan was always stuck to and this is precisely why we won the game.

This is really true. UT didn't get sucked into a shootout type of game. Just kept working the clock, finding good shots, and relentless pressure on defense.

 

[Volle]

Gainey pretty much busted that zone idea KY had for two minutes! His medium range shots helped us keep the lead and momentum.

 

[gainesvol82]

Mashack with the very Mashack 4 points, 3 Rebs, 3 ast, 5 stl, 0 to game. Just a little bit of everything. Not the PotG but a damn good stat line.

Dubar also gave us some really great minutes tonight. Solid game for him.

This. Dubar finally gave us what I have been hoping for.......strong/physical play on defense, rebounding and on offense with some smart perimeter shots mixed in. No reason that he can't give us very productive minutes like last night with his frame and skills. Seems like the competitor in him responded to the big stage and what this team has the opportunity to achieve.

I've never felt this comfortable with a UT team in the tournament. ZZ, Mashack and Gainey are all culture guys that are mature and locked in. Chaz is an elite shooter and overall scorer, Okpara/Phillips are intense, athletic rim protectors, rim runners and overall defenders. Dubar mentioned above and despite his mental lapses....Igor has a lot of ability and plenty of size to rebound and defend the post. His outside shooting ability stretches the floor too but he has to play smarter.

I just don't see anyone we can't or haven't already beat. Part of me would love to face UF again but I also think they are one of the only teams that could exploit an advantage with bigs/depth.

 

[deatojl]

Prior to ZZ, no Tennessee player had ever put up a points/assists double double in an NCAA tournament game. ZZ has done it three times and two out of our three games this year.

 

[Volnanza]

Mashack is like a black hole swallowing up the other teams scorers. He rarely gets the individual game recognition (- Bama), but he creates so much difficulty for the opponent. UK made 6 threes. Wait for this ... 4 of them were absolutely incredible because our defenders were draped on them. Literally 2 three balls made for an entire game for UK were taken when "open". TWO!!! Mashack is the head of that snake and the coaching , scheme, and discipline by the rest were elite! 6 points on open 3s for the entire game. UK held to 65!

Warms my heart that all those Big Blue supporters got to make the long drive to watch a Vols clinic without a single 5* player on the roster!

I've always thought that the best image of him would be a spider. He plays like he has 8 arms and legs. Whoever gets Mashack on him must feel like "Man! What did I do to deserve this?". He and Z ate Kentucky alive last night.

 

[TrippieRedd]

Going with Okpara, personally thought he was the best player on the floor last night. His offensive rebounding is a big reason why we destroyed them. 5 in the first half, 7 total.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Going with Okpara, personally thought he was the best player on the floor last night. His offensive rebounding is a big reason why we destroyed them. 5 in the first half, 7 total.

No reason he shouldn’t be able to have another big game tomorrow either. He’s going to be the biggest player on the floor every time he’s out there.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

No reason he shouldn’t be able to have another big game tomorrow either. He’s going to be the biggest player on the floor every time he’s out there.

The guy may not get a ton of points, but he affects the game in many ways that indirectly lead to points.
Truly the backbone of this team!

I think I might just miss him most of anyone on the team not coming back. ZZ is right there with him, though.
Barnes seems to have a knack for finding dudes like Mayshack, so hopefully he can find us someone with a similar skillsetanf mindset.
Definitely a tough position to fill in terms of what he does for this team, tho.
Whoever it is will definitely have some huge shoes to fill next year!

 

[livefaith]

Going with Okpara, personally thought he was the best player on the floor last night. His offensive rebounding is a big reason why we destroyed them. 5 in the first half, 7 total.

Felix has been playing really well this tournament

 

[Col_Cathcart]

The guy may not get a ton of points, but he affects the game in many ways that indirectly lead to points.
Truly the backbone of this team!

I think I might just miss him most of anyone on the team not coming back. ZZ is right there with him, though.
Barnes seems to have a knack for finding dudes like Mayshack, so hopefully he can find us someone with a similar skillsetanf mindset.
Definitely a tough position to fill in terms of what he does for this team, tho.
Whoever it is will definitely have some huge shoes to fill next year!

I’m going to make your morning. Okpara is only a junior.