Can this team run the table?

#51
#51
Catbone said:
No. We play UK twice. No game is a gimme.
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Not to mention, if LSU is at their best and continues improvement into our Feb23rd game at Baton Rouge, it could be a very tough game. Basketball being what it is, my guess is that we will not run the table.
 
#53
#53
livefaith said:
The season is definitely dwindling in numbers. The problem is that it is just now ramping up in quality. Every team with the greatest likelihood of beating us is still to come. UK, AU, LSU, MSU, even UM all await and @ 1/2 of those on the road. Then turn around and do a mini rendition of some of those again in the stupid SEC tournament. The idea of "running the table" with that gauntlet ahead is far fetched IMO. We have already survived near losses at home to an SEC avg/above avg Tide, and on the road to the SEC cellar dwelling VU. Either of those games inserting the the 1st four teams above and we in trouble.

Our debate right now is like a jury debating reasonable doubt. The evidence has been stacked up in abundance for us in court, but someone asks "but, is it beyond a reasonable doubt". Hmmmm? How possible is it?
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#54
#54
I am of the opinion that Kentucky and the Rupp refs will get us in Rupp, we will beat the Wildkittens in TBA and maybe face them in the SEC tourney. Auburn is truly a hot and cold team that lives and dies by the 3 ball, so it would depend on if their shots are falling in Auburn on whether UT can pull a win out there. Other than that, Ole Miss, Miss State and even LSU are all very beatable and would be good tests before tourney time. If Tennessee locks down their defense and starts playing it like they did at the end of last season, I think there is an outside chance they could go into the NCAA tourney with just 2 losses total.
 
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#55
#55
I believe that Alexander's play will mean a lot in how well we do the rest of the way. If he gets in early foul trouble against Kentucky, LSU, Ms State, or Auburn we are in trouble. This team has shown it knows how to win in close games so lets hope.
 
#57
#57
Giveem6 said:
I think we drop atleast one of not two games before the season is over. The toughest part of our schedule comes right at the end and with Kentucky twice, lsu, ole miss, state, and Auburn all bunched in there I could see us dropping atleast one of those.

I hope I'm wrong and running the table would be an insane accomplishment considering the SEC is one of the top three power 5 conferences in America. Go vols!
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Theoretically, is it best we play a soft schedule or a tough-as-nails schedule the last part of our schedule? I feel like that tough schedule will better prepare us for our 6-game run in THE tourney.
 
#58
#58
cardvolfan said:
I think a lot of the seeding also depends upon what that cluster of 6-7 really good teams does going forward, as well.
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That's very true.

Mich-mich state x 2
Tenn-KY x 2
Virginia vs Duke once


So parts 6 of the top 7 are going to lose for sure. Gonzaga likely wins out but I am not sure they end up a 1 seed because of the schedule
 
#60
#60
There is nothing Kentucky would want more than to ruin our #1 ranking...These upcoming games will be good for the rivalry and the sport...I would love nothing more than to go into Rupp and whip their tails again...Nothing is more satisfying.
 
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#61
#61
VolsnRavens said:
Reading this thread like.....View attachment 191964
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Or like
tenor.gif
 
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#62
#62
I don’t know if this is the luck of the draw for UK but they play 1 day before us each week they play us. Meaning they get 1 more day of rest before each match-up with us... that seems odd
 
#63
#63
VFL 24/7 said:
I don’t know if this is the luck of the draw for UK but they play 1 day before us each week they play us. Meaning they get 1 more day of rest before each match-up with us... that seems odd
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*** just texted a couple of my buddies on the team and they said it won’t affect anything as far as game prep so I guess it is fine.
 
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#65
#65
VFL 24/7 said:
*** just texted a couple of my buddies on the team and they said it won’t affect anything as far as game prep so I guess it is fine.
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Game prep shouldn't be affected. Extra day off this late in the season is more valuable.
 
#67
#67
PulaskiVolFan said:
Everyone knows that anybody can get beat on any given night, that alone makes it near impossible to do. In order to beat this Vol team you're going to have to score 40 or more in at least one half. Its going to take 75+ to beat us as the offense simply doesn't have any weakness. Most games we are doing whatever we want. I'd guess that we only play a game or two the rest of the way and not score 75. Therefore an opposing team must really be able to score in order to keep up and very few teams on our schedule are likely to put up points against the Vols defense. Kentucky and Auburn in my opinion are the only 2 teams left on our schedule that can score 40+ in 2 halves.

We'll likely see Ky 3 times this year and Auburn once. Those 4 games will determine how many losses this team has entering into the tournament. Any other losses can happen but at this point would be considered huge upsets.

I think we go 3-1 those 4 games, win everything else that we'll be heavily favored in and enter the tournament as the number 1 overall seed. If we smash Ky in Rupp then I definitely believe we can run the table.

Lots can happen between now and the end, we could go 0-4 vs Ky and Auburn and lose 2 more that we shouldn't and limp into the tourney as a 3 seed with 7 losses. Sounds farfetched to me!

Curious as to who everyone thinks could break the roll that we are on?
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I love how fans just wait for the wheels to fall off and make some dumb remark like.........I told you so. This team has the ability to run the table because of what they can do, not who they are playing. There is very few things wrong with the offense and the defense. IF they get beat, it's only because the other team was better that night. UT belongs at #1 for a lot of reasons, just sit back and enjoy the ride.
 
#68
#68
SolidRockGolf said:
Personally I hope we don’t. Understanding that we can go on a long focused run is great. Getting a loss later in the season could double down on their focus knowing they could lose at anytime. That way they see that they have weaknesses that can cause an early exit if they don’t focus.

I say this because I think some teams checkout during the first few games counting them as a win before it even starts. Now personally I think we are past this but I also would like to see a double down on defense and a complete refocus.

This is coming from a novice fan so I reserve the right to be wrong.
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Like what you say and how you are saying it.
To me, the key word in your statement is DEFENSE.
At times the Vol defense leaves me a little uncomfortable. I know if you are scoring 70 - 75+ points a game the other team is getting plenty of chances to score. However, part of the time in every game I get a little uneasy with our effort. It's almost like "who cares", we will just go score again. At some point the we will just score again may not happen.
 
#69
#69
Rudy123 said:
No!!!!! Ky will want to beat the # 1 Team. We play them twice in the same month, so I see one loss if not two
Auburn is dangerous in Auburn.
Miss. State & Florida again. LSU is a top # 25 Team.
I don't know of any team in American college landscape that can go thru that and not lose at least one game.
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Maybe Duke. They never seem to play a road game. Their reputation seems to precedes them and most officials seem to get caught up in the excitement and act like they do no wrong.
 
#70
#70
IPleadInsanity said:
It would be great to beat UK twice in regular season, again in the SEC tournament finals then again in the regional finals.
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Many years ago our high school team would beat the primary Jackson Tn. team both season games. Then would come tourney time. Many or most time we would lose game no. 3. Our coach who was a good friend of mine privately told me "the hardest thing to do in basketball is to beat a good team 3 time in a row." Over my lifetime, following the results of most american sports, this has held true.
 
#71
#71
vavolfan6 said:
We are a really good team, but to this point our SEC schedule has been cake. We have some really difficult games back-to-back to close the season.

x2 Kentucky
@Auburn
@lsu
MS State

also tough games against Florida and Ole Miss

All these teams will be fighting for either a season title or an opportunity to get a double bye in the tournament. It isn't going to be easy and I would be very happy if we close out with two or less losses in SEC play

I say we lose to KY once, and lose to either @ Auburn or @ LSU....,my fear is that losing two games leads to a slump and maybe we drop another.

I think the team with only 2 SEC losses will be season champion...3 losses will be a tiebreaker.
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Like what you are saying. Most of the posts I have been reading on the subject seem to imply the other teams in the "running" are not going to lose. They are in the same boat we are. They have some tough games to play too.
 
#72
#72
Well, it should definitely be surreal for any Tennessee fan to somewhat realistically think about the men's basketball team running the table. Crazy how far we've come.

We are more than good enough to beat every team left on the schedule, but we're going to lose a couple before the end of the season. If by some chance we don't lose, we're transitioning from a great season by a great team to one of the best seasons on record for a men's college basketball team. I'd be ecstatic, of course, but to expect that is more than a little unreasonable.

On the other hand, aren't we favored in all of our remaining matchups except the game at Rupp? Saw that on ESPN - I think our odds for that game are pegged at 48%.
 
#73
#73
BruinVol said:
That's very true.

Mich-mich state x 2
Tenn-KY x 2
Virginia vs Duke once


So parts 6 of the top 7 are going to lose for sure. Gonzaga likely wins out but I am not sure they end up a 1 seed because of the schedule
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I don’t think Gonzaga gets a 1 unless everyone in front of them implodes
 
#74
#74
No we can't run the table would be to much pressure, we need to win the SEC we have not even started to play the top teams in the SEC yet we will lose 2 or 3, Kentucky is coming and LSU is one of the most overlooked teams in the country and they only play us and Kentucky once i know we have not lost but we could finish second or third if we dont bring our A game every night we got back to playing team ball in the second half against SC but number 5 was playing me ball for three games untill the second half, i don't know if he is trying to hard or trying to show the scouts he can play but he has got to get back to playing team ball for us to win the SEC much less the whole thing.
 
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