BTO’s LSU postgame report

#1
bleedingTNorange

bleedingTNorange

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#1
1. That one hurts...not in a sense of are we gonna make the tourney or are we on the bubble, but that was a winnable game on the road that we led for the majority of and if we don’t go brain dead and make uncharacteristic plays we likely win, that’s what makes it hurt so bad. Again in the grand scheme of things a road loss to what’s likely to now be a Top 10 team isn’t going to hurt your resume, but it would’ve been nice to have.

2. If you’d have told me we would outrebound them by 6 and break even of the offensive boards I would’ve nearly guaranteed a win, add in we shoot a better percentage from the field and 3 and I would’ve said it was a certainty, yet we lost, how? Biggest thing that jumps out is the 14 turnovers to their 7, not sure how many points off those 14to’s they got but that obviously hurt. The other is that they attempted 31ft’s to our 16, that shouldn’t happen. Smart killed us off the dribble all game, the zone was effective but Barnes appeared hesistant to use it I’m guessing because of fear of being ate alive on the glass, point blank our guards have gotta be better at staying in front of their man.

3. Individually, great to see Schofield have a nice game and see his shots falling, I thought GW competed and played a great defensive game, he didn’t get many calls which has seemingly become a bit of a theme lately for our whole team, it doesn’t seem like we’ve gotten a very favorable whistle in awhile.

4. GW & Schofield played well, Turner, Bowden and Alexander struggled yet again and Bone had the flu and wasn’t himself although he played pretty well considering...not sure if some guys are just off but the ball isn’t moving and we aren’t playing like we were a few weeks ago. For a team that’s been averaging about 22apg and towards the top in the country in that statistic our last 3 games have produced 11ast, 13ast and today a season worst 10ast. Idk of the Kentucky beating messed up some of our guys in the head or what, but right now they don’t look like the same squad.

5. The good news...there is time and opportunities upcoming to right the ship. Heading into the final 7 games I stated 4-3 is what I predicted and wouldn’t be necessarily bad, we are 1-2 so that would mean we go 3-1 to finish the year, that’s still attainable. We have a road game against a scrappy Ole Miss team that has surprised folks this year, they’ve come back down to earth a little bit of late but this is a game our Vols should win. If you can find a way to finish 3-1 and be at 27-4 (15-3) at seasons end we are likely in the conversation of a 1 or 2 seed heading into the SECT.


GBO!!!
 
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#4
#4
I think it's obvious that the lack of defense/rebounding means this team isn't going to win any championships (SEC regular season excluded). As the quality of teams is getting better, Tennessee isn't getting better looks and able to run in transition. And they don't get big stops. They still could get a Final Four, but they won't win any championships.
 
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#5
#5
whobethis16 said:
The problem is these "uncharacteristic" plays have been common the last 3 weeks. How long do they have to go until they're characteristic?

Not getting any points on the technical/succeeding possession was the turning point. Can't put the foot on the throat and finish.
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I agree and I thought when he missed both that it would come to haunt us. Bone play bad at the end of the game also by wanting to be the hero.
 
#6
#6
This isn’t the same team.

We are on a downward trend.

You have to be able to see that.

It’s a major concern.

Using the record to say don’t worry is not smart.

The current product is not good. They have not played up to the level of their opponents.

To me, they peaked early and couldnt stay consistent with that high level of play.
 
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#7
#7
zjcvols said:
I think it's obvious that the lack of defense/rebounding means this team isn't going to win any championships (SEC regular season excluded). As the quality of teams is getting better, Tennessee isn't getting better looks and able to run in transition. And they don't get big stops. They still could get a Final Four, but they won't win any championships.
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Already getting exposed. As you said our defense sucks and against bigger teams we can't rebound. Embarrassing we can't even force there hottest player to there left driving to the basket. Basic fundamentals.
 
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#11
#11
Very tough loss no doubt but it is a long season and still lots to play for. I just hope our team doesn't adopt the defeatest mentality of some of our fans. Learn from the mistakes and press on. GBO.
 
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#13
#13
1. I'll just say it. Will Wade is a whiny brat. How he gets away with acting like an 8 year old on the sidelines is beyond me.

2. No aggression by our guards offensively. We settled for jumpers, and I'd be shocked if we finished with even 20 points in the paint.

3. Defensively, we couldn't stop any penetration without fouling. LSU's guards made shots from outside when we got on our heels, and drove right by us when he tried to protect the perimeter. I bet LSU got 40 points in the paint.

4. For a team with upperclassmen leadership, we see our upperclassmen make some really dumb mistakes. The intentional foul on Bone, Schofield fouling a 3-pt shooter, Alexander not boxing out...we just get a real case of the stupids sometimes.

5. SEC officiating is not acceptable. Alexander's first foul on the "illegal" screen, the no call on the hook and hold at the end even after a review, not putting time on the clock at the end, the list could go on. We should have won in spite of any of that, but our own mistakes did us in. Still, even a mild-mannered Rick Barnes was ready to murder someone on that crew. The lack of consistency and an inability to apply the rules isn't fair to the players.
 
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#14
#14
Catbone said:
Disagree.
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Can you provide stats & facts that say different? Now you can't. It's a lazy narrative people use because they've heard it before and it makes them sound smart. You know why Tennessee isn't playing as well? It's because they are playing better competition, not because they peaked in early January.
 
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#15
#15
SpringBokVol said:
This isn’t the same team.

We are on a downward trend.

You have to be able to see that.

It’s a major concern.

Using the record to say don’t worry is not smart.

The current product is not good. They have not played up to the level of their opponents.

To me, they peaked early and couldnt stay consistent with that high level of play.
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Took a top 15 team to OT in their house...not ready to throw in the towel.
 
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#16
#16
The biggest takeaway for me after looking at the box score is ZERO assists for Bone.
 
#17
#17
bleedingTNorange said:
Took a top 15 team to OT in their house...not ready to throw in the towel.
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With Waters/Reid combining to score 1 point.

At full strength of course this isn't a bad loss but Tennessee had a lot of breaks go there way and blew it. It's not good either.
 
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#18
#18
zjcvols said:
With Waters/Reid combining to score 1 point.

At full strength of course this isn't a bad loss but Tennessee had a lot of breaks go there way and blew it. It's not good either.
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1. I’m not sure Waters is a huge upgrade over what Smart gave them today, Vegas sure didn’t seem to think not having Waters was much of a difference.

2. The defense or Reid was very good, he missed a couple shots but the game plan was great on him, so I wouldn’t point to that as something LSU did...Tennessee took him away.

3. As far as losses are defined this absolutely gets classified as a “good loss”, I get it may not feel like it is but it is.
 
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#19
#19
1. Not getting anything from Bowden again. He's gotten away from being aggressive for some reason. The offense is so much better when he's looking to attack.

2. Kyle has just gotten worse as the season has went on. Not sure what has happened there. I went from thinking he could make it in the NBA to now thinking he has no shot. (Don't really mean that of course he has a shot but he has got to get back to playing how he was). This team kinda goes how he does.

3. Turner can't play any defense.
 
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#20
#20
bleedingTNorange said:
1. I’m not sure Waters is a huge upgrade over what Smart gave them today, Vegas sure didn’t seem to think not having Waters was much of a difference.

2. The defense or Reid was very good, he missed a couple shots but the game plan was great on him, so I wouldn’t point to that as something LSU did...Tennessee took him away.

3. As far as losses are defined this absolutely gets classified as a “good loss”, I get it may not feel like it is but it is.
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1. Yeah if Smart plays like that and Waters plays well, we could be talking double digit loss. Either way, we couldn't stop a backup PG from dominating.

2. It was good defense I agree, maybe that's why Smart had 28 points and Skyler Mays did whatever he wanted to. Either way, didn't matter, it was a loss.

3. I know you love to use "good losses" to spin a narrative, and that's fine and in terms of resume, no it's not a bad loss at all. But Tennessee has played five top 25 kenpom teams and is 2-3. This team isn't going to win championships with the current squad unless they drastically change their defense.
 
#21
#21
SpringBokVol said:
This isn’t the same team.

We are on a downward trend.

You have to be able to see that.

It’s a major concern.

Using the record to say don’t worry is not smart.

The current product is not good. They have not played up to the level of their opponents.

To me, they peaked early and couldnt stay consistent with that high level of play.
Click to expand...

You have kind of become insufferable. I’m not giving up, and I am guessing they won’t either. It’s a good basketball team in a long season. Let’s see what they can do.
 
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#22
#22
At the end of regulation instead of driving to the hole Bone tries to hit the brakes and take a 3? Make the officials make a call at the end or get a close shot? At the end of OT, Turner takes a 3 with 4 seconds left? Drive to the basket and force the officials to make a call or get a close shot? Turner is trying too hard to take the big shot and needs his 3’s to come from passes instead of off the dribble.

Still with the mental mistakes we win if GW doesn’t miss so many close shots earlier in the game. He was uncharacteristicly inaccurate and that should fix itself.

Pons needs to red shirt next year. Does absolutely nothing on offense such that the other teams have quit guarding him at all. He needs some serious skills work till he has some confidence in his jumper and develop the handles to drive the lane.

Can anyone help me understand why a player as clearly fast as Bone can’t stay in front of a guy when on defense?
 
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#23
#23
zjcvols said:
1. Yeah if Smart plays like that and Waters plays well, we could be talking double digit loss. Either way, we couldn't stop a backup PG from dominating.

2. It was good defense I agree, maybe that's why Smart had 28 points and Skyler Mays did whatever he wanted to. Either way, didn't matter, it was a loss.

3. I know you love to use "good losses" to spin a narrative, and that's fine and in terms of resume, no it's not a bad loss at all. But Tennessee has played five top 25 kenpom teams and is 2-3. This team isn't going to win championships with the current squad unless they drastically change their defense.
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All of this is accurate. It's a "good loss", but anybody that's been watching all season knows we're currently underachieving.
 
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#24
#24
Team needs to ratchet up the intensity. Defense has been lacking all season and offense is looking lackadaisical lately.
 
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