Martin gets his first NCAA tourney win

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#78
"Martin's Stamp Clearly on Vols Now"
DAYTON, Ohio -- Count it as the first NCAA tournament victory for Cuonzo Martin or simply earning his first true bid to the Big Dance, it really doesn’t make any difference now.

After spending the season with the shadow of his predecessor seemingly getting larger every day, even popping up on the eve of perhaps the biggest game of his tenure with Tennessee, Martin finally, officially stepped out into some sunlight.

Maybe the Vols don’t play the prettiest brand of basketball, and certainly a win in the First Four doesn’t measure up to some of the loftier perches the program reached before he arrived. But in a gritty, nasty, 78-65 overtime street fight with Iowa on Wednesday night at UD Arena, Martin claimed a win that at last might have given him a way to silence the skeptics, the petition-signers and the comparisons to Bruce Pearl.

“I don’t deal with criticism,” Martin said. “That’s time and energy wasted.

“What was said? I don’t know. I don’t have that kind of time and energy. I’m consumed with success.”

So are all the orange-clad fans, and after what they had grown accustomed to while going to six straight tournaments under Pearl, they were practically starving for some of that success to arrive after Martin’s first two seasons ended in the NIT.

That brought plenty of ammunition for the Bring Back Bruce Brigade, which put together a petition that was signed by more than 36,000 people, all of them quick to point out Pearl’s record, the No. 1 ranking the team climbed to under his watch and his engaging personality. Pearl couldn’t return to the Vols even if he wanted to now that he’s taken over at Auburn, a move which coincidentally was announced about an hour before Martin met with the media on Tuesday on the eve of the first round.

But even when patience might have been wearing at its thinnest over the last couple months in Knoxville, the seeds Martin planted when he arrived in the wake of the NCAA investigation that chased Pearl out of town seemed to be blooming at just the right time.

Toughness? The Vols crave contact so much, they celebrated big plays by shoving each other under the basket.

Hard-nosed defense? The Hawkeyes came into the tournament averaging 82 points per game, and they came up 17 short despite getting an extra five minutes.

Resilience? Tennessee could have easily packed it in after bricking everything it threw up during a scoreless six-minute stretch to open the game as it fell behind by 12, or grown tired of having every second-half run and clutch shot answered by one on the other end by Iowa.

But those pillars Martin has preached since taking over were plain to see as Jarnell Stokes and Jeronne Maymon fought in the post for a combined 27 points and 20 rebounds. They were obvious as Tennessee’s guards harassed the Hawkeyes on the perimeter and came up with two steals and forced six turnovers. And all that tireless work eventually wore down Iowa in overtime and allowed the Vols to pull away to leave enough time for the typically stoic Martin to look into the crowd behind the bench and pump his fists a few times. :)

The celebration grew a little louder as Martin headed toward the tunnel leading to the locker room clapping his hands, and the noise coming from inside it once he arrived was impossible to ignore.

“We tried to stay away from all the criticism that this team has been receiving throughout the year,” Stokes said. “It’s that’s our motivation, then we’re in it for the wrong reason.

“We’re in it for Tennessee, keeping things positive.”

The Vols left no reason for negativity as they packed up in Dayton and prepared to fly to Raleigh, N.C., for a date with sixth-seeded Massachusetts on Friday.

And as for the latter part of Stokes’ equation, Tennessee now looks exactly like Martin intended when he took the reins. Maybe now he can stop hearing about who used to hold them.
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With NCAA tourney win, Cuonzo Martin stamp clearly on Tennessee Vols - ESPN
 
#79
#79
“We’re in it for Tennessee, keeping things positive.”


Get it? Jarnell is talking to you.
 
#80
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#82
#82
#85
#85
BOP said:
Yeah and Cal Poly became the first 19 loss team to win a tournament game since what the 50s? What a sad way to water down the records of a historic tournament.
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If they win national title, they end with winning record. Boom.
 
#86
#86
Get it? Jarnell is talking to you.

I want to be clear...

I pulled one quote out of a post and was trying to say...to those negative Vol fans, Jarnell has a message for you.

It certainly was not intended for the person who posted the quote.
 
#87
#87
vol66 said:
Get it? Jarnell is talking to you.

I want to be clear...

I pulled one quote out of a post and was trying to say...to those negative Vol fans, Jarnell has a message for you.

It certainly was not intended for the person who posted the quote.
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Gothca dude. Wasn't sure if you knew I was being sarcastic there for a second :hi:
 
#91
#91
Good for Martin. I liked the toughness of this team late in the second half and OT. They didn't play tight, and Iowa did. When the Vols play like that against a quality opponent it a lot easier to forget about Pearl!
 
#95
#95
BOP is being negative, but he's not wrong. I am glad we won. And I'm glad zo got a tourney win. That's it. Acting like this was some kind of signature event is silly. Best roster we've had in years, and we have to play an extra game just to get a seed in the tournament. And the way they played in the first half was a complete abortion. If we do that again, we're probably a 1 and done.
 
#96
#96
BOP said:
Yeah and Cal Poly became the first 19 loss team to win a tournament game since what the 50s? What a sad way to water down the records of a historic tournament.
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Bippity Bop, this tournament has been watered down ever since they went to 64 teams.

When 17-13 teams that finished 7th in their conference and lost early in their conference tournament get in pouring the water on!!

At least the 19 loss team WON it's conference tournament, so they earned, yes earned their way in by winning on the court not but some biased committee!!
 
#97
#97
SamRebel35 said:
BOP is being negative, but he's not wrong. I am glad we won. And I'm glad zo got a tourney win. That's it. Acting like this was some kind of signature event is silly. Best roster we've had in years, and we have to play an extra game just to get a seed in the tournament. And the way they played in the first half was a complete abortion. If we do that again, we're probably a 1 and done.
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You haters just don't know how to say anything positive about this team because you want Pearl so bad.

Face it Pearl lied, he's gone, and there never was a chance of him coming back!!
 
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#98
#98
BearBryant said:
You haters just don't know how to say anything positive about this team because you want Pearl so bad.

Face it Pearl lied, he's gone, and there never was a chance of him coming back!!
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Wow, you sure spun that quote around. I'm not being negative about this. I'm glad we won. I'm just not acting like it was some huge accomplishment. We beat a team that was on a huge losing streak in a round that 60 other teams were good enough to not have to compete in. I'm supporting the team, but if we play like we did in the first half, our season is over.
 
#100
#100
utvolpj said:
that is absolutely not true. The teams playing in the 1st round are not defined as the 8 worst teams in the field
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That's true technically. But they did make enough of their opportunities to get a "first round bye". It's not like it's an honor to be a last four team.
 
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