Vols vs Florida Atlantic? Thoughts?

I think the likely thing is gonna be FAU complaining about fouls simply due to how much height we have over them. I could easily see Jonas or Uros being straight up and then calling a foul because guards are shorty’s
That already happens. I'm convinced refs, in a lot of cases, base their call on how a player reacts vs what he actually sees. There's a lot of soccer influence in today's college basketball.
 
That already happens. I'm convinced refs, in a lot of cases, base their call on how a player reacts vs what he actually sees. There's a lot of soccer influence in today's college basketball.


I actually think the officiating has been a lot better the last 2 years versus past years and the officials seem to catch flopping more.

That being said, the one foul Saturday called against us that I disagree with was Plavsic foul on the 3. He jumped at the guy (shouldn't have) but I did not see actual contact after watching it 2-3 times. The Roach foul change was questionable as well.

However, considered the intensity of the game, I think the officials did alright. I don't see the favoritism with the blue bloods that I have seen in the past (maybe why you don't have either Kansas, UNC, Duke, or Kentucky in the Sweet 16 for only the 5th or 6th time ever).
 
It’s a tough matchup for us tbh. We struggle against good fast guards.
We struggle when we go ice cold on offense. We beat bama a couple weeks back without ZZZ. FAU doesn’t have guards with the speed and overall talent of Quinnerly, Sears, Brooks, and Miller. Can we lose this game - sure, but it won’t be because FAU is too talented for us. JMO
 
Exactly. In fact, they are ranked higher on KenPom than every team we lost to with the exception of Arizona (and 33 spots higher than the team they are being called a “poor man’s version“ of). Conversely, they are ranked lower than several teams we beat.

We SHOULD beat them but they certainly CAN beat us. IMO, how the game is called will be the main “X factor”…..can’t have Santi riding the pine.
What we can't have is Barnes pulling him for 2/3 of a half with 2 fouls. Hell, we've been using a zone for a change of pace so use it and keep Vescovi on the floor. We need his offense.
 
Dangerous team for TN. Not because they've won 33 games. Not because they're a top 30 offense on Kenpom. Not because they've beaten Florida and Memphis. Not because they can actually play some pretty good defense. They are dangerous because of TN's mindset and the fact that they struggle getting up for teams with names like FAU. if TN is going to advance they will need to play 40 minutes of focused defense and take care of the ball. If TN just shows up and plays their game wire to wire they should make it to that elusive E8 so many of us are pining for. Let's take care of business. the door is wide open.
Yup, against Top 35 offenses Tennessee is 4-7, they are 21-3 against the rest.
 
Another question is that there will be a meltdown with a bunch of Fire Barnes posts if we lose this game?

It is March, anything can happen.

I still feel like we win this one though.
 
Comparing Kenpon numbers between teams that don’t play a comparable schedule doesn’t seem like apples to apples. FAU is a good team, but between FAU, Michigan St, and Kansas St who would you rather play? I’m taking FAU and it’s not even close.
Well Kansas State is ahead of FAU on KenPom and Michigan State is right behind them, so all 3 are very comparable teams…KP adjust for schedule and quality of opponent, they aren’t just getting a boost for simply winning.
 
This is the kind of game where I expect Phillips to shine. Early in the season he played well and was able to score the ball against smaller, less physical teams. I also expect the same from JJJ. VOLS WIN! GBO!


THIS....... If they really tighten up the amount of contact Phillips, Santi and Key will greatly benefit within our offensive movement around the top of the key. ORN and Tobe can work their way to the basket. I SUSPECT that coach is going to have Uros start the game with a bubble between him and whoever he is defending with arms up while they try to get early whistles on him. This is a game where Aidoo should be able to patrol the lane effectively with his more finesse style of defense.
 
Who’s the last Top 25 mid major we’ve played?
Don’t recall any top 25 mid major teams? So you think this is the best mid major team in recent history?

Personally, I think their resume is built against a weak schedule and their ranking is a mirage. They may beat the doors off us and prove me a fool but I’ll have to see it to believe it. Yesterday I didn’t see one player for FAU that I thought was better than the comparable player on our roster.
 
We need to come out hot and throw 10 or 12 on them before they get a chance to get their legs under them.
If not, and we let them get it in their heads they can win, it's not going to end well for us.
 
In his game preview pressers, Barnes should address this issue of our supposed physical play and make clear that we simply play tough, good
defense, have been playing it all year, and this idea that we're overly physical or play football-style basketball is nonsense. He needs to reshape this narrative because if he doesn't, then there is a risk that it could influence the officials and the way they call the game. That is, they could call a lot of fouls on us. The FA coach is going to push the "UT gets away with a lot of physical play" line---and that needs to be strongly countered by Barnes.
 
I understand your point and don’t disagree that the computer models try to account for the weak schedule but I’m not sure if it’s really possible. What’s FAU’s record if they played 18 SEC or Big 10 games? Would be the same team but highly unlikely they’d be top 150 in Kenpom IMO. To me the only impressive win for them is Memphis. We may shoot ice cold and they shoot 3’s like that guy did from Purdue against Grant /Admiral and we lose - it’s college basketball. But, we’ve played 20+ better teams this season than FAU. JMO
What in the actual heck did I just read? So they’d be the worst or 2nd worst team in the SEC? We’ve only played 28 different teams this year, so FAU is one of the 8 worst teams we’ve played, really??
 
Second game of the season. Florida with a new coaching staff and implementing new offense / defense along with several new players. Very understandable that Florida could have dropped an early season game to a lesser team. Look at Texas A&M’s early season and where they finished without a new coach
And yet you want to point out FAU lost to Ole Miss, which was 2nd game of the season, hmmm…they also just beat Memphis who many had pegged to beat Purdue?
 
Think the matchup of the game is going to be mashack guarding FAU #1 (Davis I think?). He’s their best scorer based on the first two games of the tournament. Feel like mashack has the ability to really make things difficult on him if he can stay out of foul trouble.

They kinda remind me of auburn on that they can get hot, or they can get frustrated and really take some bad shots. If we can keep it a halfcourt game and take care of the ball then think we’ll win. Memphis did that for the most part on the second half and FAU struggled offensively until Memphis started turning the ball over.
 
What in the actual heck did I just read? So they’d be the worst or 2nd worst team in the SEC? We’ve only played 28 different teams this year, so FAU is one of the 8 worst teams we’ve played, really??
I think they’re somewhere in the middle of the teams we’ve played based on watching them this weekend. I may be completely in left field, but I don’t give the same weight to Kenpom rankings for a team that hasn’t played a decent schedule.

Which of their players would make our rotation? None jumped out to me
 
Looking at their past 5 wins, they’ve eeked out wins over some bad teams. But they won. They clearly are a pretty good team. If we can own the boards and impose our will on defense we win easily. If they have success on offense, it will go down to the wire
 

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