BTO’s Florida Postgame Report

[TROLLVOL]

Another 0-3 game for Key. He’s not giving us a whole lot when he plays. Back to back games at least. I’m pretty down on him.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

If being a 4 seed is having the wheels come off I would hate to see what being a bubble team feels like. Go ask Kentucky fans how they are feeling about this season other than their win over us. Btw you do realize a 4 seed is the equivalent of being a top 16 team? That’s not really having the wheels fall off.

You are correct. After more thought, I think this team could end up with a 6/7. I believe that would qualify as “the wheels came off” since we were at a 1 before last nights debacle.

 

[Cartervol]

The offense just goes cold too much to get real excited about this team. They should probably shorten the rotation because they get lineups in there that just don't look for good shots. Commit some stupid fouls also. Not very smart at times..

 

[Namorto1]

Yeah, I’m pretty disappointed in Phillips so far. I was hoping he would have a Kennedy Chandler type impact this year, but he just disappears for multiple games in a row quite often. He’s not providing the scoring juice I was led to believe he would. Disappointing.

Since SEC league play started at Ole Miss and including the Texas game, Phillips is shooting 49% FG, and 42% from 3 pt line. Problem is that his volume is low. Had a real bad stinker against Georgia. Over that stretch he is averaging less than 6 shots per game. Only had 4 attempts last night. They rarely run anything for him. I think they are not using him vs him not performing. I suspect this is the role they want him to play but if so, it is a mistake. He is rebounding and defending well especially for a freshman. I do agree that he needs to stop jumping sideways into bigs and shooting off balance at times but that can be fixed by coaching. He is quick enough to drive, although his handle needs to tighten up, but he just needs to be reminded that pulling up, staying balanced and shooting an easy midrange jumper in the paint is fine. He gets in trouble at times when he drives too deep and throws up a prayer.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

I did not like a lot of the looks we took from 3...too many seemed rushed and/or too deep.

 

[cbrown]

No shooter on the team? Vescovi and ZZ are shooters.

No, they’re guys that can make shots sometimes. If they’re being defended closely, they won’t take a shot. Vescovi was 2-12 last night, and he frequently has games like that.

 

[Namorto1]

I did not like a lot of the looks we took from 3...too many seemed rushed and/or too deep.

Yep and most of them came from Vescovi and James who should know better as seniors.

 

[TennesseeFan07]

Mark it. When we get bounced from the tourney, it’ll be a carbon copy of tonight.

This. There is just no evidence this team is capable of stringing together six games of competent offense to beat teams that are decent.

 

[honda50r]

Mark it. When we get bounced from the tourney, it’ll be a carbon copy of tonight.

Totally agree. Eerily similar performance to every loss in the Barnes era - not great with adversity and big moments, which is essential for a successful tournament.

 

[CAVPUT]

Yep and most of them came from Vescovi and James who should know better as seniors.

Perhaps, but if not those two, then who? It's not like we have better options. For better or worse, this team depends on those to players. They are who and what they are.

 

[omghulkhands]

It was a dominant defensive performance by Castleton. He roamed the paint and made everyone’s life hell. Was efficient on offense too.

I’m still a little frustrated that once we went up 6 that the refs started blowing the whistle like crazy (literally right after Vescovi’s free throws, we were called for 3 fouls in about 70 seconds of game time)

But we need to better deal with momentum stoppers like that. Things like that are gonna happen and you gotta keep composure.

 

[SN-A-C Orange]

This is probably the most home court dominant series that we play in the SEC. We almost never beat them in Gainesville and they almost never beat us in Knoxville.

I wonder if shooting at Florida might be a sight line thing? Thoughts?

 

[Sudden Impact]

We just cannot seem to turn the corner in any sport. That's the difference in top 10 ranking and a CFP spot, a FF run, or a CWS. Maybe it is a curse. We still have a shot at it this year but the light has to go on for more than just one player and the Coaches as well. Our Achilles Heal is stated here and holds truth. Lack of preparation and adjustments to the offense are issues as well. I kept thinking the games we loss would wake us up and they did but going forward we have to get over the hump of winning streaks.

 

[Namorto1]

Perhaps, but if not those two, then who? It's not like we have better options. For better or worse, this team depends on those to players. They are who and what they are.

Correct, I don’t mind either taking shots, but they need to be good shots. Both threw up some real head scratchers last night at the worst times. They were impatient and it reflected in the rest of the team. With James specifically, it is predictable, when his first shot goes in, he is generally fine the rest of the game with his shot. When he misses, it is usually a poor game on offensive end. Florida defended Santiago well…they are good at it and just took him out of the game. They won’t be the last squad who does that so we do need more options. Ideally, Key could be one but he has disappeared as level of play has increased unfortunately. It is mental I’m guessing for him. They need to run more sets for Phillips. Guy is getting up less than 6 shots per game in his last 10 games. I love ZZ but he can’t carry an offense and he started to press even moreso when collectively we struggled.

 

[savannahfan]

We absolutely played like this was the second round of the NCAAT.

We can not beat teams that have a big post player. Don't want Purdue at all till FF.

I don't thank you will need to worry about us facing anyone in the final four. We will do well to get past the 16.....

 

[cardvolfan]

Losing is disappointing. Here’s a novel idea: instead of ripping the team nonstop when we lose, how about supporting these guys. Poor shooting nights happen, and concurrently, losses can result. Thinking they routinely happen to Tennessee more often than others just isn’t true. Go Vols.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

No, they’re guys that can make shots sometimes. If they’re being defended closely, they won’t take a shot. Vescovi was 2-12 last night, and he frequently has games like that.

6 out of 100 career games he's shot 2-12 or worse. Not sure that's "frequently" but do you, seems some of you "fans" love misery, these game threads are crowded when the team has a bad game but none of you are around when they are winning...why is that?

 

[VollerNbham]

We are about to see just how good this team is. These last 9 games are gonna be rough. Could absolutely lose any of them with an offensive performance like tonight. You can't expect the defense to win every game for you.

Noone breaks for the basket for the open shot and when they do the ball handler never dishes the ball to them.

 

[cardvolfan]

6 out of 100 career games he's shot 2-12 or worse. Not sure that's "frequently" but do you, seems some of you "fans" love misery, these game threads are crowded when the team has a bad game but none of you are around when they are winning...why is that?

It’s almost like many on here would be happier if we were 12-10 right now. EVERY media poll, coaches poll, and analytical site has Tennessee squarely inside the top ten of college basketball. These players deserve our gratitude for doing what they do. Build them up and be thankful we‘re where we are instead of being desperate for wins and searching for the bubble.

 

[SN-A-C Orange]

I have read every post ... so here goes ...
First not one person has mentioned that Florida has the 8th best defense according to Kenpom. That has something to do with the outcome.
Florida gave us a look we have not seen this year defensively. We never figured it out. Suspicion... we will have a plan for this the next time someone tries it.
Yes, we shot poorly ... a lot of them were shots on the move ... because Florida's defense was excellent and we were 'harried.'
Castleton is a problem ... perhaps the coaches 'instilled' a fear of shooting within his reach ... but your bigs can't play soft against him. Unfortunately, he did what he wanted to do.
When Olivier talks about maturity on the court ... I suspect that it his self evaluation (as opposed to a team evaluation).
This was the very definition of a trap game .... sandwiched between Texas and Auburn.
I had concerns, they were justified.
Our expectations of Phillips are too high, he is a freshmen and he reverts to high school behaviors from time to time.
Aidoo is not regressing, we got to see the area he struggles with...but he is getting better. He will get quicker and he will get stronger. Patience.
We missed way to many mid range shots.
Summation, our inconsistent offense was no match for the defense.
Our scheme or execution of it on defense against their offense was poor.
Put this one behind us and move on.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

It’s almost like many on here would be happier if we were 12-10 right now. EVERY media poll, coaches poll, and analytical site has Tennessee squarely inside the top ten of college basketball. These players deserve our gratitude for doing what they do. Build them up and be thankful we‘re where we are instead of being desperate for wins and searching for the bubble.

I am definitely happy with where the program as it. I don’t want Barnes fired obviously, and I’m happy we are yet again a Top-10 team this season.

But, looking at this loss in a vacuum, or at least in the context of this season, I think it is OK to be upset about a not that great loss and to be a bit more concerned about this team today.

We’ve had some head scratching losses this year. Florida, Colorado, and Kentucky aren’t necessarily bad teams, but they certainly aren’t good teams. I think it’s understandable to lose to one or two of those teams, but losing to all 3 is puzzling.

And it isn’t necessarily that we lost it is HOW we lost to be quite honest. Losing happens, but it seems to be that whenever we lose we don’t just lose because we were below average scoring the ball that night, we lose because we were putrid on offense. This team really does seem to have zero middle ground. We either can’t miss, or we can’t make it. When March rolls around, that tendency to yet again have zero middle ground on offense is going to cost us.

Defense is super important, but this consistency issue on offense has plagued us all season. It’s just really concerning in the bigger picture. I think people are also just upset because that loss means you’re now out of the SEC Title picture. And, you’re likely out of the 1-seed picture unless we run the table. So, we lost a few things of value last night which makes waking up in the morning sting a lot more than just a regular loss.

 

[griffdog14]

Haven't seen this team just give up a winnable game like they did with 3 to go in this one. Jacking up 3's that weren't falling all night? sheesh. But then again, they were completely dominated by Castleton in the paint. Even when he wasn't directly guarding the ball, they heard his footsteps. When he started scoring it was a wrap.

Also pretty pissed at another hall of fame Barnes performance. I am so f*****g sick of game-changing runs just going on and on without a timeout.

 

[Vols8086]

1) We don't have an alpha and I said in the off season that the ceiling would be dictated by how good Philips is. We have a bunch of high quality Robins but no Batman when things start heading downhill offensively. We don't have a guy that we can give the ball to and tell him to go and make a play. Think back to the Grant and Admiral days. How many times did one of those guys bail us out with the shot clock running down or the team just needing a basket? We don't have anybody even close to those guys in that regard.

2) Physical play on the perimeter bothers our guards so badly.

3) Our guards struggle to finish at the rim due to lack of athleticism and size. So neutralize the 3 ball and our guards can't score with any sort of consistency.

4) I like Barnes, but his biggest weakness is his lack of in game adjustments and calling sets to get a basket when we need it. Now some of that is personnel related, but these are also all his guys so I can't just totally blame the players since he recruited them.

Over the course of the season these losses happen. However, we have some pretty glaring weaknesses that if you can expose them, we could lose to just about anybody. Barnes has to find a counterpunch for this team.

 

[cardvolfan]

I am definitely happy with where the program as it. I don’t want Barnes fired obviously, and I’m happy we are yet again a Top-10 team this season.

But, looking at this loss in a vacuum, or at least in the context of this season, I think it is OK to be upset about a not that great loss and to be a bit more concerned about this team today.

We’ve had some head scratching losses this year. Florida, Colorado, and Kentucky aren’t necessarily bad teams, but they certainly aren’t good teams. I think it’s understandable to lose to one or two of those teams, but losing to all 3 is puzzling.

And it isn’t necessarily that we lost it is HOW we lost to be quite honest. Losing happens, but it seems to be that whenever we lose we don’t just lose because we were below average scoring the ball that night, we lose because we were putrid on offense. This team really does seem to have zero middle ground. We either can’t miss, or we can’t make it. When March rolls around, that tendency to yet again have zero middle ground on offense is going to cost us.

Defense is super important, but this consistency issue on offense has plagued us all season. It’s just really concerning in the bigger picture. I think people are also just upset because that loss means you’re now out of the SEC Title picture. And, you’re likely out of the 1-seed picture unless we run the table. So, we lost a few things of value last night which makes waking up in the morning sting a lot more than just a regular loss.

Name one team that hasn’t had putrid shooting nights 4-5 times. It happens because the game of basketball itself is wildly inconsistent. Yes, those losses can be disconcerting, but in the realms of basketball probabilities, they’re going to happen during the course of a season. Purdue has been consistent as far as wins go, but could have easily lost 2-3 more. Purdue’s only loss to anyone was to Rutgers on their own home court. It was a bit puzzling and unexpected, but probabilities are what they are.

 

[Clad in Big Orange]

Frustration from the inevitable reality of this team/program. Destined for another early exit after a performance similar to last night, vs Kentucky, vs Colorado, vs Michigan, etc..