MBB @ #5 Tennessee Discussion and Predictions Thread

[kingofnerf]

(Photo courtesy South Carolina Athletics)

 

[FurmanCock]

I thought our inside game was a big part of this win (that sounds strange to say). Both Gray and Mack banged on the offensive end, and made decisive plays to the basket. Gray is so much better when he keeps the ball high and doesn't dribble. It makes a huge difference when we can score points inside the paint.

Our D is tenacious, we get up close and body up and stay in front of the defender. We had a very good ref crew last night for that type of defense. For the most part we didn't reach, fought through screens, and played very physical. Funny enough, I think this was the kind of defensive effort that Coach Martin always hoped for.

 

[kingofnerf]

Garnet warriors battling it out.

(Photo courtesy South Carolina Athletics)

(Photo courtesy South Carolina Athletics)

 

[kingofnerf]

I thought our inside game was a big part of this win (that sounds strange to say). Both Gray and Mack banged on the offensive end, and made decisive plays to the basket. Gray is so much better when he keeps the ball high and doesn't dribble. It makes a huge difference when we can score points inside the paint.

Our D is tenacious, we get up close and body up and stay in front of the defender. We had a very good ref crew last night for that type of defense. For the most part we didn't reach, fought through screens, and played very physical. Funny enough, I think this was the kind of defensive effort that Coach Martin always hoped for.

Exactly, but I think he never landed recruits with the right body types. Even then, so many guys left after one season.

 

[FurmanCock]

This is a good TN team, they are a legit long-run tourney team. We got some help from all of their point blank misses at the basket -- our defense can get credit for much of that, but those are shots that I'd be willing to be usually go in for TN.

 

[kingofnerf]

This is a good TN team, they are a legit long-run tourney team. We got some help from all of their point blank misses at the basket -- our defense can get credit for much of that, but those are shots that I'd be willing to be usually go in for TN.

True. We destroyed their 13-game winning streak at home.

Our defense was good enough to screw up their rhythm. We play unselfish team ball, but they seem too dependent on Knecht this season; he actually scored 31 of their 59 total points last night. Assuming another player would score 10 less points than Knecht, that's a 63-49 blow-out win for us.

Knecht stepped up like we've seen other standout players do against Dawn's teams over the years but there was not enough help from their other teammates to get the wins.

I am very excited about watching a team-ball system similar to Dawn's in place for our MBB team. The offensive highlights for both teams will be fantastic since their is more parity in MBB.

 

[GMB2USC23]

Exactly, but I think he never landed recruits with the right body types. Even then, so many guys left after one season.

I wish we would leave Coach Martin out of discussions but he obviously landed recruits that fit his system for at least one year.
Gray and Wright along with Davis all committed to... I love our current players but not one has accomplished more than Thornwell or Dozier who paved the way and set the bar with Coach Martin... I hope Coach Paris and his team surpass that bar, accomplish greater things but until then...

 

[kingofnerf]

I wish we would leave Coach Martin out of discussions but he obviously landed recruits that fit his system for at least one year.
Gray and Wright along with Davis all committed to... I love our current players but not one has accomplished more than Thornwell or Dozier who paved the way and set the bar with Coach Martin... I hope Coach Paris and his team surpass that bar, accomplish greater things but until then...

They mentioned it during the broadcast, but last night's win was our first at Thompson-Bowling Arena since January of 2017. That didn't sound right, so I went and checked for myself today and, sure enough, it's true. There were two close ones, but we didn't get the wins.

Here are the details if anyone's interested:

Year	Date	School	Rank		Opponent	Rank	W/L	Pts	Opp
2016-17	1/11/2017	South Carolina		@	Tennessee		W	70	60
2017-18	2/13/2018	South Carolina		@	Tennessee	18	L	67	70
2018-19	2/13/2019	South Carolina		@	Tennessee	1	L	73	85
2019-20	1/11/2020	South Carolina		@	Tennessee		L	55	56
2020-21	2/17/2021	South Carolina		@	Tennessee	19	L	73	93
2021-22	1/11/2022	South Carolina		@	Tennessee	22	L	46	66
2022-23	2/25/2023	South Carolina		@	Tennessee	11	L	45	85
2023-24	1/30/2024	South Carolina		@	Tennessee	5	W	63	59

Rick Barnes started with the Vols for the 2015-16 season. He took notice of Frank's concepts during our Final Four run and installed them in his own system with sustained success, but never made it to the Elite 8 or higher like Frank did. Nonetheless, Frank's struggles with his system after our Final Four run are well known.

Season	Team	Overall	Conf	Standing	Postseason
2015–16	Tennessee	15–19	6–12	12th
2016–17	Tennessee	16–16	8–10	T–9th
2017–18	Tennessee	26–9	13–5	T–1st	NCAA Division I Round of 32
2018–19	Tennessee	31–6	15–3	T–2nd	NCAA Division I Sweet 16
2019–20	Tennessee	17–14	9–9	T–8th	Postseason cancelled due to COVID-19
2020–21	Tennessee	18–9	10–7	4th	NCAA Division I Round of 64
2021–22	Tennessee	27–8	14–4	T–2nd	NCAA Division I Round of 32
2022–23	Tennessee	25–11	11–7	T–4th	NCAA Division I Sweet 16

Last night the wheel came back around, especially if you factor their blow-out of us last year up there.

 

[GMB2USC23]

I'm going to refrain from speaking on this in detail because Coach Martin is no longer here but again he obviously was able to recruit for his system for at least one year... He posted similar in conference records as the Final Four team twice...
The past is the past and I'm going to look forward, I wish Coach Martin nothing but success and hope Coach Paris's accomplishments surpass anything Coach Martin did here but I find it petty and disheartening to compare the success of one to the other based on what the inherited and how the times have changed...