Tony B Show: Do the Vols feel top 5?

[KTrain]

It's all about getting a good seed in the tournament. I didn't say the highest, I said a good seed. By this I'm meaning you say get a 2 seed you don't overlook the 15 and win big. then you play winner of the 7 vs 10, the 7 seed is a bad matchup but guess what 10 beats 7 and this 10 team is custom built for you to roll over. So, then you play say a 15 seed Princeton that beat a 6 seed opposite you and so on. So, I think it's the seed and the teams getting upset in your path you don't match up well with and teams that upset these teams are in your wheelhouse. The other dynamic is keeping all the players healthy. The year we played the 100-year-old nun team and barely lost a RS freshman Fulkerson had to play for injured (Back) Kyle Alexander or Vols win that one, then you never know after that.

 

[chuckiepoo]

It's all about getting a good seed in the tournament. I didn't say the highest, I said a good seed. By this I'm meaning you say get a 2 seed you don't overlook the 15 and win big. then you play winner of the 7 vs 10, the 7 seed is a bad matchup but guess what 10 beats 7 and this 10 team is custom built for you to roll over. So, then you play say a 15 seed Princeton that beat a 6 seed opposite you and so on. So, I think it's the seed and the teams getting upset in your path you don't match up well with and teams that upset these teams are in your wheelhouse. The other dynamic is keeping all the players healthy. The year we played the 100-year-old nun team and barely lost a RS freshman Fulkerson had to play for injured (Back) Kyle Alexander or Vols win that one, then you never know after that.

…or the year Fulky got assaulted…

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

It's all about getting a good seed in the tournament. I didn't say the highest, I said a good seed. By this I'm meaning you say get a 2 seed you don't overlook the 15 and win big. then you play winner of the 7 vs 10, the 7 seed is a bad matchup but guess what 10 beats 7 and this 10 team is custom built for you to roll over. So, then you play say a 15 seed Princeton that beat a 6 seed opposite you and so on. So, I think it's the seed and the teams getting upset in your path you don't match up well with and teams that upset these teams are in your wheelhouse. The other dynamic is keeping all the players healthy. The year we played the 100-year-old nun team and barely lost a RS freshman Fulkerson had to play for injured (Back) Kyle Alexander or Vols win that one, then you never know after that.

And to get that 2 or MAYBE a 1 seed we need to win or finish 2nd in SEC regular season. I happen to care about the regular season more than the NCAA tournament

 

[Vols till I fall]

They do when they are clicking on offense

Need to get DK out of this dry spell.

 

[Volfan1000]

On the drive home tonight I heard the question on the Tony B show:

Do the Vols feel like a Top 5 team?

The hosts, Tony wasn’t on, said no, and most callers agreed.

What are your thoughts?

I totally disagree. I think the reason a lot of fans, especially casual basketball fans feel this way is that they’ve just gotten used to good basketball at Tennessee.

In the last 6 seasons, 4 are 25 wins or better. You have 2 Sweet 16s. You have an SEC regular season title, an SEC tournament title and have made the Dance every year (minus Covid cancelled year). For reference on time period, that is the entire career of Tony Vitello at UT, and the entire Heupel and Pruitt eras. We have been an elite basketball school for a while….it’s become the norm. When you see a good team now, it just feels normal.

Sure, there’s 3 losses, three in a row even. But, those were to the current #1, #2 and #8 teams, and you won or tied all of them for a half. You played them all in 8 days, across 7 time zones and none were on your home court. Of the 13 teams you’ve played so far, 9 and possibly 10 will make the tournament……including the team you simply crushed tonight. Three will likely be #3 seeds or better. You probably won’t face a team as good as the three you’ve lost to again until at least the Sweet 16….UK being the only real possibility.

But the real way to answer this question, is Tennessee a top 5 team….who are 3 teams you think would be a guaranteed loss….if you don’t have them, Vols are Top 5.

With the way this season is going so far, Tennessee could hit number 1 in the polls sometime in February and Barnes has the depth to make sure that Tennessee stays there for a little while.

If Aidoo and Awaka can continue progressing offensively, Tennessee will be extra dangerous when March Madness rolls around.

 

[Volfan1000]

It's all about getting a good seed in the tournament. I didn't say the highest, I said a good seed. By this I'm meaning you say get a 2 seed you don't overlook the 15 and win big. then you play winner of the 7 vs 10, the 7 seed is a bad matchup but guess what 10 beats 7 and this 10 team is custom built for you to roll over. So, then you play say a 15 seed Princeton that beat a 6 seed opposite you and so on. So, I think it's the seed and the teams getting upset in your path you don't match up well with and teams that upset these teams are in your wheelhouse. The other dynamic is keeping all the players healthy. The year we played the 100-year-old nun team and barely lost a RS freshman Fulkerson had to play for injured (Back) Kyle Alexander or Vols win that one, then you never know after that.

Porter Moser parlayed that run into the Oklahoma job.

 

[SN-A-C Orange]

I would be ecstatic to stay OUT of the top five for the next 9 games.
Go 8-1 and be 18-4 headed into the home stretch.
Crack the top five and go 7-2 down the stretch, and finish at 25-6.
That would likely put us in the top 4.
That's my game plan.

 

[chuckiepoo]

I would be ecstatic to stay OUT of the top five for the next 9 games.
Go 8-1 and be 18-4 headed into the home stretch.
Crack the top five and go 7-2 down the stretch, and finish at 25-6.
That would likely put us in the top 4.
That's my game plan.

Low profiling rec!

 

[chuckiepoo]

With the way this season is going so far, Tennessee could hit number 1 in the polls sometime in February and Barnes has the depth to make sure that Tennessee stays there for a little while.

If Aidoo and Awaka can continue progressing offensively, Tennessee will be extra dangerous when March Madness rolls around.

It’s gonna be Estrella and Phillips that make the difference.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

I'm bored so I went back and looked at the National Championship last year and Uconn was up 36-20 with 3:18 left in the 1st half... didn't score again until 18:59 in the 2nd half. 4 min and 19 second drought. SDSU cut the lead to 10.

9:50 up 56-41 UConn was up 15 points then went on a 2 min and 35 seconds drought and SDSU cut the lead down to 6 points.

The point of this post is; scoring droughts in basketball are like Thanos... they're inevitable.

Exactly

 

[therealitytheory]

The Tar Heels were unconscious shooting the ball against us. Watching their game vs Pitt...they had long droughts, bricked open shots, and won mainly with a stout defense.
Kinda familiar...

 

[orangemadam]

Hoping Aidoo is up for this game Saturday. I hope to see him continue
to progress, we need stronger play from him on these big post players
coming up in SEC as well as the NCAAT. Estrella and Philips really need some
minutes in order to get ready for March also.

 

[volbound1700]

Winning the SEC regular season and getting a 1or 2 seed matters a great deal. The better the seed, the better the chance to advance in the the one and done crapshoot, that really doesn't identify the best team. Not usually anyway.

It's all that matters to casual fans

Tennessee has never been a 1 seed and has only been a 2 seed three times ever (I believe). It would be huge for Tennessee to get a top spot.

 

[walkenvol]

From my perspective, the only thing needed to be a solid top 5 team is good health and for our top 7-8 guys to be performing close to the potential we’ve already seen from them in flashes.

ZZZ is rounding back to his level of play before last season’s injury which is all conference level.

JJJ is clearly playing his best at UT (probably due to being healthy) and is looking like the 5* player he was ranked out of HS.

SV is doing everything better except shooting 3’s. If he finds his 40%+ stroke from 3 in conference play like he did last season then he will be a 3 time all conference selection.

DK has shown what he’s capable of prior to the ankle injury which is potentially conference POY level. Just need him fully healthy again.

Mashack has improved again this season, especially on offense. His outside shot and especially his drives into the lane are becoming dependable. His defense is obvious to everyone.

Aidoo and Awaka are the keys IMO. Both show flashes but neither has found consistency. If these 2 can play consistently at the levels they have already shown then our roster looks as good as any team in the country.

Last year we lost ZZZ. Grant’s year we lost Alexander. Good health and some good luck with avoiding terrible officiating will have us squarely in the final four running!

JMO, TIFWIW, AARP

 

[joevols89]

The Tar Heels were unconscious shooting the ball against us. Watching their game vs Pitt...they had long droughts, bricked open shots, and won mainly with a stout defense.
Kinda familiar...

We didn’t attempt to guard UNC. It looked like we were defending them in slow motion.

 

[aWhiteLoftonChism]

Anything lower than a 2 seed with this team would be a colossal failure. The expectations are there, time to deliver

A colossal failure??? With how finicky and inconsistent voters/NCAA seeding can be anything in the top 3 is fine.
It’s a long season and never know what can happen

 

[cgrish]

THIS team we saw last night is nowhere NEAR a top 5 caliber team. Until they can go a complete game without hitting a multiple minute scoring drought, it'll be status quo come March. This team simply isn't shooting as well as needed right now. WIDE OPEN bricks. One after another. Thank goodness for ZZ's good shooting night.

I have watched several games, and I have yet to see us play a complete game.

 

[LakeMaryFLVol]

Doesn't matter. All that matters is what happens in March.

This

Entertaining pass time in Winter...March is Money time and will define team

 

[ColinS]

I have watched several games, and I have yet to see us play a complete game.

I agree and that's what has me excited. I think this team has a chance to peak late. Every game so far seems to have two or three guys that are off and yet we have still been good. Not great but good. If we play as a complete team lookout!

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

This

Entertaining pass time in Winter...March is Money time and will define team

To the casual fan. The NCAA tournament is a one and done crapshoot.

 

[Chris4Vols22]

To the casual fan. The NCAA tournament is a one and done crapshoot.

Are you saying that real fans shouldn't care about what happens in March Madness?

I do agree with your sentiment in that it is not a good way to determine the national champion. Imo, they should shrink the field and play series. Maybe 32 teams and best of three series.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Are you saying that real fans shouldn't care about what happens in March Madness?

I do agree with your sentiment in that it is not a good way to determine the national champion. Imo, they should shrink the field and play series. Maybe 32 teams and best of three series.

No, not all. I'm in a favor of a best 2 of 3 from the sweet 16 through the final four. It would only add one weekend to the tournament

 

[VolFreakJosh]

No, not all. I'm in a favor of a best 2 of 3 from the sweet 16 through the final four. It would only add one weekend to the tournament

I agree.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

This team so far just seems to be missing something intangible. Killer instinct, swagger, whatever. Hopefully that can change now in SEC games.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

This team so far just seems to be missing something intangible. Killer instinct, swagger, whatever. Hopefully that can change now in SEC games.

Slow adapting to the new pieces. 4 or 5 new players are in the rotation and they didn't get to work much with ZZ. They’re only going to get better as the season progresses.