The Official 2024 NCAAT Watch Party Thread

[Lankykong]

Hard to beat a team 3 times. You really want Bama having eternal bragging rights over us in the two biggest sports? You also want to bank on us making a natty game so bad that you want one of our biggest rivals to keep winning? Seems like closet Bama fan behavior to me.

Bama is structurally unable to beat us because Grant Nelson can’t check anyone on our team and their other 5s are worse than Aidoo. If it was a guaranteed matchup and we would make it to the title game, I would much rather play them than UCONN. Not sure about Illinois. I don’t think Clemson has more than like a 10% chance against those teams so it would have to be Bama for us to play someone who is meh in the championship.

Note: not literally unable, but would need to shoot like 60-70% from 3 or something

 

[zeppelin128]

Freaking Alabama. Assholes.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

All I know is that two media darlings (AZ and UNC) were sent home last night and that’s a good thing. Now if we can get Purdue out of there and the Vols to advance, that would be ideal. One game at a time.

Add Iowa State also. The last two weeks some were touting them as 1 seed. I think ol Joey brackets moved them ahead of TN after we lost in the SECT.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

The Tournament is all about match ups.

Tennessee was the more physical team when we played Bama twice.

The teams they’ve beat in the tournament have been good on offense but not very physical defensively.

That being said, Barnes out coached Oats twice during the regular season. You can’t overlook that.

 

[CAVPUT]

The Tournament is all about match ups.

Tennessee was the more physical team when we played Bama twice.

The teams they’ve beat in the tournament have been good on offense but not very physical defensively.

That being said, Barnes out coached Oats twice during the regular season. You can’t overlook that.

No, you can't overlook it, but it's not going to ease the pain if we lose today and we're watching bama in the elite 8 and possibly final 4. Heaven forbid they win this thing. Wouldn't that be a pound of salt in our wound?

 

[Orange931]

Bama gets a miracle from some bench kid who hasn’t scored more than 6 all year lol. You can’t make this stuff this up.

 

[Lankykong]

No, you can't overlook it, but it's not going to ease the pain if we lose today and we're watching bama in the elite 8 and possibly final 4. Heaven forbid they win this thing. Wouldn't that be a pound of salt in our wound?

Yeah, definitely would. I’m gonna root for Clemson because I don’t think either will beat either Illinois or UCONN anyway.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

No, you can't overlook it, but it's not going to ease the pain if we lose today and we're watching bama in the elite 8 and possibly final 4. Heaven forbid they win this thing. Wouldn't that be a pound of salt in our wound?

Like Florida having two basketball national titles and their program historically not being close to ours. Heck, even SC has been to a final four! It certainly feels like our program is cursed.

 

[walkenvol]

The Tournament is all about match ups.

Tennessee was the more physical team when we played Bama twice.

The teams they’ve beat in the tournament have been good on offense but not very physical defensively.

That being said, Barnes out coached Oats twice during the regular season. You can’t overlook that.

Match ups are important, but it seems to be more about who gets hot shooting and/or who goes ice cold. NC runs away with the win last night if Davis has an average shooting night for him and/or Nelson doesn’t have his best scoring game of the season. AZ does the same if Love doesn’t go ice cold.

Let’s all hope none of DK, ZZZ, and Aidoo have one of their worst shooting games of the season!

 

[vols4lfe]

So crazy that both Bama and Clemson got smoked in the first game of their conference tourneys, and one of them is about to reach the F4. March is wild.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I thought that Iowa State was destined for the Final 4. It’s a brutal, unforgiving format and it requires either a lot of luck or a **** ton of talent to advance.

 

[Lankykong]

Match ups are important, but it seems to be more about who gets hot shooting and/or who goes ice cold. NC runs away with the win last night if Davis has an average shooting night for him and/or Nelson doesn’t have his best scoring game of the season. AZ does the same if Love doesn’t go ice cold.

Let’s all hope none of DK, ZZZ, and Aidoo have one of their worst shooting games of the season!

Yeah, it’s both. Sometimes the matchup is so bad that the shooting can’t overcome it though

 

[BreatheUT]

All I know is that two media darlings (AZ and UNC) were sent home last night and that’s a good thing. Now if we can get Purdue out of there and the Vols to advance, that would be ideal. One game at a time.

I'm just disappointed I missed the CBS post game show with Barkley and Kenny Smith. Smith has a semi-smug attitude while Barkley went out on a limb for Alabama. I don't think he particularly cares for Alabama but he is an SEC guy and UNC is probably one of the few teams that would make him say Roll Tide.

 

[sami]

Davis literally dribbled the air out of the ball and led his team to defeat.

Choked in every way possible.

Yeah, not sure what Hubert Davis drew up for that last possession, but if it was for what we saw, he choked just as much or more than RJ.

 

[sami]

The way I see it, NC fell into the trap of running with Bama. They allowed them to get hot and
fell victim to a random white dude having the game of his life.

UNC doesn't have the personnel to play Alabama the way we do, and they probably felt like they were a superior version of Alabama and that it was Bama who would have to adjust their style. They were wrong, but it also took a career game from Nelson to finish it.

 

[sami]

I agree with you. But unfortunately that’s how the stupid of the tourney works. Bruce’s 4th best team (prolly, maybe 3rd idk) is our only one to make the E8. This is probably bama’s worst team of the last 3 years and it’s the one to break through. I’m biased bc of Tennessee’s awful history, but damn I hate march.

This is why I can't base my feelings about a team strictly by what happens in a tournament like this, where one bad shooting half or one kid (Nelson) having a freak night can send you home.

I hope like hell we can get to the FF (and beyond), but this team will always be a special one to me, and one that had one hell of a season and one of the 3-4 best players to ever come through here.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

UNC doesn't have the personnel to play Alabama the way we do, and they probably felt like they were a superior version of Alabama and that it was Bama who would have to adjust their style. They were wrong, but it also took a career game from Nelson to finish it.

And Davis had an off night

 

[CornbreadVol]

I'm genuinely convinced we have the worst luck in all of sports. Ryan Cline, Carson Edwards foul, Stokes charge call, Sister Jean, and thats just basketball within the past decade. I fully expect a 7th year manager-converted walk-on to come into the game and hit 6 threes.

 

[SGMVols]

This is why I can't base my feelings about a team strictly by what happens in a tournament like this, where one bad shooting half or one kid (Nelson) having a freak night can send you home.

I hope like hell we can get to the FF (and beyond), but this team will always be a special one to me, and one that had one hell of a season and one of the 3-4 best players to ever come through here.

For all the praise Oats is getting in the media, I can promise you not even he planned on “Grant Nelson goes full Larry Bird for a night” being his win condition.

He had scored 6 points total in the first two rounds.

 

[sami]

Bama opens as a 2.5 point favorite against clemson.

UCONN a 7.5 point favorite over Illinois.

UConn is going to boat race Illinois, but Clemson and Alabama is a toss up. One thing for sure, Clemson isn't going to try and beat Alabama at its own game the way UNC did last night. I'd anticipate a game in the 70's at most.

 

[BreatheUT]

For all the praise Oats is getting in the media, I can promise you not even he planned on “Grant Nelson goes full Larry Bird for a night” being his win condition.

He had scored 6 points total in the first two rounds.

True, yet Nelson is capable but hasn't had a good year. He was pre-season All-SEC much like Vescovi. He is quicker twitch with size.

 

[sami]

For all the praise Oats is getting in the media, I can promise you not even he planned on “Grant Nelson goes full Larry Bird for a night” being his win condition.

He had scored 6 points total in the first two rounds.

Or that Davis would pick this game to have his worst shooting night of the season. But regardless, for those of you who insist on suffering through ESPN pre-game idiocy, prepare for plenty more of "Oats' beautiful mind" garbage.

 

[Vfl2407]

I don't cheer for Alabama either, but you seem oddly hung up on what they do. Are we even serious rivals in basketball? I've never felt that way.

As a very old fart Vol fan…I consider our biggest football rivals to be Bama and Florida and biggest basketball rivals to be UK and Vandy.

 

[JCP201]

I just want to get by Creighton. One game at a time. Hope that flu bug is gone and everyone feels great.

 

[GiveHim6InSC]

I don’t mean to be an ass, I just genuinely have no idea why a Tennessee fan would hate Clemson as much as Alabama. It’s simply nonsensical.

That said, I hope you are right. We certainly have the road less traveled, but more power to us if we can reach the F4 through it. I believe we can do it, just need some good shooting and good bounces on our side

Mainly because I live near Clemson and have to listen to the incessant hatred they have for Tennessee. The past year or two have been better as the Vols have won the head to head contests in various sports. But they hate Tennessee, they negatively recruit against Tennessee, and if the two should play and they win, it will just perpetuate things, especially since Barnes coached there years ago and did well.