Tony B Show: Do the Vols feel top 5?

[scottchatt]

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.

 

[TartanTurff]

Fans have seen the inconsistency in the Tennessee offensive and defensive production for several seasons, that does not occur with regularity in top 10 teams as the season progresses, such that it is hard to get wound up on the Tennessee ranking, particularly looking at Kentucky actually beating Carolina, while Tennessee gave up 61 in the first half and was out of the game despite a spirited second half, Ole Miss beat NC State by 20, Tennessee nearly fumbled that game away in the closing minutes, even tonight against a buy team, Tennessee went into a points drought in the first half, which will eventually cost them winnable SEC games as the season progresses.

Part of the concern is the lack of consistent inside scoring and a defense first approach, rather than a balanced approach to the game, allowing players to play through mistakes, particularly on defense, where the trip to the bench happens with blown defensive assignments and bone head turnovers, quick hooks that don't show regularly in the top 10 program as the season progresses.

 

[SGMVols]

Basilio and his toadies have been Barnes haters since the day he stepped on campus. It’s mostly because Barnes doesn’t go on his show like Tyndall did.

 

[NighthawkVol]

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.

No.

 

[Titans4Vols]

I don't follow CBB anywhere close to as heavily as CFB, so I don't have much in depth knowledge of other programs, but from a lesser informed point of view(for all that's worth lol) I don't know if it feels like this team is top 5, but in saying that, the team does feel like a top 10 team, and in college basketball, most years, that might as well mean top 5. Come tournament time it doesn't even really matter if you were the 3rd best or 13th best performing team, as the tournament has so many runs and upsets that it's often down to just who gets hot.

Tennessee I think(again, going off my lesser than great knowledge) has a top 10 roster talent wise, and that's all you can realistically ask for each season. That gives you as good of a chance as you can get going in to the tournament.

Being ranked 2, 5, 8, 10, 12 or 15 during the regular season is kinda irrelevant at that point. I assume the #5 ranking is just based on how talented voters feel the roster is.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

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

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Basilio and his toadies have been Barnes haters since the day he stepped on campus. It’s mostly because Barnes doesn’t go on his show like Tyndall did.

Yeah
What does Barnes have to gain by appearing on Tony’s show? Losing brain cells is about the only thing I can think of.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

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

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

 

[TrumpedUpVol]

Absolutely. I feel there’s a clear-cut delineation between Houston/Purdue/Kansas/UConn with Clingan and the rest of the top ten, but it’s worth remembering that Tennessee gave two of those teams all they could handle on a neutral court when ZZ was still acclimating to his return. I don’t think it’s at all unreasonable to slot Tennessee at the top of that next tier, though Ole Miss will prove it out either way.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Absolutely. I feel there’s a clear-cut delineation between Houston/Purdue/Kansas/UConn with Clingan and the rest of the top ten, but it’s worth remembering that Tennessee gave two of those teams all they could handle on a neutral court when ZZ was still acclimating to his return. I don’t think it’s at all unreasonable to slot Tennessee at the top of that next tier, though Ole Miss will prove it out either way.

The Ole Miss game, singularly, will not prove anything

 

[walkenvol]

Fans have seen the inconsistency in the Tennessee offensive and defensive production for several seasons, that does not occur with regularity in top 10 teams as the season progresses,

IMO, this is a misconception about the sport of basketball shared by many. It’s different from football such that a team can execute at an extremely high level and still have “off” shooting games. Also a team can play excellent defense and the opponent can throw up poor shots that all seem to fall. Theres’s a degree of randomness (especially in the 3 point shot era) in basketball with shots falling or not which is part of why March Madness can be so exciting. Only things that can be truly controlled are effort and execution of offensive / defensive concepts and game plans.

 

[ColinS]

It's impossible to know who the real top 5 or 10 is because it's so wide open. For a team like us with all the pieces it's more about getting there as the season moves on than being there now. My guess is we would be more of a 10-20 team at the moment.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Talk to me at the end of January and I can answer the question better. Still too early for anyone to make any definitive statements one way or another.

 

[Lukusw]

That ranking doesn't happen in a vacuum. I don't watch TN and think "oh, yeah, that's a top 5 team," but right now the ranking is reasonable. Because it's not just how well we play, it's how well everyone else does too.

Purdue, kansas, uconn, houston deserve to be top 5 (though even there, flaws can be found--purdue & uconn both have losses to unranked teams; houston hasn't even played someone currently ranked).

If you look at the next 5:
KY lost at home to UNC Wilmington
Marquette has 2 losses against unranked teams
UNC also has 3 losses, 1 vs unranked
Illinois lost to us; best win against now #17 FAU
Arizona looked top 5 until the last week & now have a blowout loss to Stanford.

 

[VolGee4]

Fans have seen the inconsistency in the Tennessee offensive and defensive production for several seasons, that does not occur with regularity in top 10 teams as the season progresses, such that it is hard to get wound up on the Tennessee ranking, particularly looking at Kentucky actually beating Carolina, while Tennessee gave up 61 in the first half and was out of the game despite a spirited second half, Ole Miss beat NC State by 20, Tennessee nearly fumbled that game away in the closing minutes, even tonight against a buy team, Tennessee went into a points drought in the first half, which will eventually cost them winnable SEC games as the season progresses.

Part of the concern is the lack of consistent inside scoring and a defense first approach, rather than a balanced approach to the game, allowing players to play through mistakes, particularly on defense, where the trip to the bench happens with blown defensive assignments and bone head turnovers, quick hooks that don't show regularly in the top 10 program as the season progresses.

The quick hook last night for Aidoo was after a poor outlet pass and several missed shots. I’d like to see examples of other quick benchings after poor defense. The same guys are getting the rotation minutes. Awaka came in and played great.

The UK win over UNC was a neutral game, and the OM win over NC State was a gone game. But that doesn’t matter, right?

I guess some don’t watch other basketball teams and see that droughts happen.

 

[volbound1700]

Top 5? No. Top 10? Yes.

Happy with this season so far and Barnes haters are dumb. When Barnes retires, he will probably be the most successful coach at Tennessee. He just needs that one year of luck (I mean run) in NCAA Tournament. It hasn't happened yet although he does have 2 Sweet 16s so far and that isn't bad.

I agree with TartanTuff about the inconsistencies. That is a problem with this team and has been a problem at the program for several years running now. When they are ON, they can beat anyone but when they get OFF, they look bad. They tend to have stretches of both in major games.

 

[cardvolfan]

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.

Last night the Vols looked Top 5. Yes, they played down in competition level, but they totally looked in sync in every area. You can also play poorly in these situations, so I took last night as a huge positive. Norfolk State beat FGCU earlier in the season, who of course beat FAU last week.

 

[cardvolfan]

IMO, this is a misconception about the sport of basketball shared by many. It’s different from football such that a team can execute at an extremely high level and still have “off” shooting games. Also a team can play excellent defense and the opponent can throw up poor shots that all seem to fall. Theres’s a degree of randomness (especially in the 3 point shot era) in basketball with shots falling or not which is part of why March Madness can be so exciting. Only things that can be truly controlled are effort and execution of offensive / defensive concepts and game plans.

This 1,000%.

 

[kckempf]

Last night the Vols looked Top 5. Yes, they played down in competition level, but they totally looked in sync in every area. You can also play poorly in these situations, so I took last night as a huge positive. Norfolk State beat FGCU earlier in the season, who of course beat FAU last week.

Norfolk State hadn't been dominated like that all season, either. I wouldn't say they're a good team but they're not a team that is getting shut down by mediocre competition.

 

[Franklin_Vol09]

Fans have seen the inconsistency in the Tennessee offensive and defensive production for several seasons, that does not occur with regularity in top 10 teams as the season progresses, such that it is hard to get wound up on the Tennessee ranking, particularly looking at Kentucky actually beating Carolina, while Tennessee gave up 61 in the first half and was out of the game despite a spirited second half, Ole Miss beat NC State by 20, Tennessee nearly fumbled that game away in the closing minutes, even tonight against a buy team, Tennessee went into a points drought in the first half, which will eventually cost them winnable SEC games as the season progresses.

Part of the concern is the lack of consistent inside scoring and a defense first approach, rather than a balanced approach to the game, allowing players to play through mistakes, particularly on defense, where the trip to the bench happens with blown defensive assignments and bone head turnovers, quick hooks that don't show regularly in the top 10 program as the season progresses.

Our lack of inside game is what concerns me. When we play a team with a big inside presence, our fans say we took a lot of jump shots because of that. However, when we play a team that is much smaller, we still settle for jump shots. This team will lose big games if we have very little inside game. Our dribble drive game is horrible too.

JJJ drives at times and every once in awhile. DK has the ability and I hope he does it more to keep a defender honest. Aidoo is doodoo down low. I’d rather have Awaka start than Aidoo.

I’ll get roasted for this but a starting lineup of ZZ, DK, JJJ, Awaka is my fav. The 5th could be Mashack at the 2 spot or Aidoo at the 5 for bigger teams but I’m concerned that we arent aggressive enough scoring in the paint.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

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

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

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Norfolk State hadn't been dominated like that all season, either. I wouldn't say they're a good team but they're not a team that is getting shut down by mediocre competition.

Norfolk State is the favorite to win the MEAC and go to their 3rd NCAAT in 4 years.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Our lack of inside game is what concerns me. When we play a team with a big inside presence, our fans say we took a lot of jump shots because of that. However, when we play a team that is much smaller, we still settle for jump shots. This team will lose big games if we have very little inside game. Our dribble drive game is horrible too.

JJJ drives at times and every once in awhile. DK has the ability and I hope he does it more to keep a defender honest. Aidoo is doodoo down low. I’d rather have Awaka start than Aidoo.

I’ll get roasted for this but a starting lineup of ZZ, DK, JJJ, Awaka is my fav. The 5th could be Mashack at the 2 spot or Aidoo at the 5 for bigger teams but I’m concerned that we arent aggressive enough scoring in the paint.

The staff recognizes that they need help inside and that’s why Phillips and Estrella are getting a lot of minutes. One or both need to be making significant contributions by the post season in order to have a great season.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Anyone who definitively says no just plain doesn’t understand college basketball, and is likely a casual football fan spouting off.

 

[jeff1vol]

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.