Gary Parrish has Tennessee at #4

[VolBalls33]

UT is still 4 in the NET and our SOS schedule will likely end up in the top 10 with no Q2 losses(at least not yet) Unless UT falls apart UT will have a 2 seed, with a possibility getting a #1 seed. I just really hope if UT gets a #2 seed Duke isn't the #1 seed in our bracket.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

UT is still 4 in the NET and our SOS schedule will likely end up in the top 10 with no Q2 losses(at least not yet) Unless UT falls apart UT will have a 2 seed, with a possibility getting a #1 seed. I just really hope if UT gets a #2 seed Duke isn't the #1 seed in our bracket.

I hope we are in Duke's bracket

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

I hope we are in Duke's bracket

I'm not really worried one way or the other. If we plan on winning a championship and we both keep winning we'll eventually see each other anyways.
Having said that, I'm not particularly scared of Duke. You put the clamps on Flagg and you can beat Duke. We have the guys to stay on him defensively.
I forget his name but that one guy from NC. State was doing a great job guarding him, and to say Duke didn't look like a juggernaut while this was happening is an understatement. Unfortunately, there refs made sure he got in foul trouble, but it's Duke so we know they will get the whistle majority of the time. My worry would be the refs hosing us.

 

[Orange.]

I'm not really worried one way or the other. If we plan on winning a championship and we both keep winning we'll eventually see each other anyways.
Having said that, I'm not particularly scared of Duke. You put the clamps on Flagg and you can beat Duke. We have the guys to stay on him defensively.
I forget his name but that one guy from NC. State was doing a great job guarding him, and to say Duke didn't look like a juggernaut while this was happening is an understatement. Unfortunately, there refs made sure he got in foul trouble, but it's Duke so we know they will get the whistle majority of the time.

Your last sentence is why people don’t want to be in Dukes’s bracket. It’s not about Duke per se.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

Your last sentence is why people don’t want to be in Dukes’s bracket. It’s not about Duke per se.

Well, this year I'm sure some teams are necessarily worried about being in that bracket because of Flagg, too. If your team doesn't have solid defense, he will beat you.
But yeah, we played Duke in the tournament not long ago and surprisingly we got a decent whistle, but they didn't necessarily have a superstar like Flagg either. Guys like him and Edey get a lot of favorable calls.
I think we can beat them despite the refs.

 

[VolBalls33]

I hope we are in Duke's bracket

So we can watch Edey all over again? I'll pass

 

[kyvol98]

I didn't realize Gary was a drinking man.

 

[All Vol!]

While it is true that Purdue didn't lose, they still have an extra loss than we do after the Kentucky game. They only played one game this week and that was a five point home win over an unranked Indiana squad. I don't think that is enough to warrant them jumping an additional two spots to get ahead of us. I still say we should be 4 with the only justifiable argument being if they decided to keep Houston ahead of us. Even that is a little iffy, though. With Iowa St. losing twice, that vacates the #3 spot, which will almost certainly go to Alabama. Someone has to move up into the #4 spot. If that were either Florida or Houston, it would mean moving them up in the rankings directly coming off a loss. In Florida's case, they would move up a spot two days after getting beat by 20 points in their only game of the week. For Houston, it would be moving them up two spots two days after losing at home to Texas Tech. For me, the most logical solution is:
1. Auburn
2. Duke
3. Alabama
4. Tennessee
5. Florida
6. Houston
7. Purdue
8. Iowa State
9. Michigan State
10. Marquette

I think this is a good rundown. I might reverse 9 & 10 given that the Spartans played 2 unranked teams and lost to one of them while Marquette's lone loss this week was to a ranked team (UConn), but Mich St has only 2 losses overall to Marquette's 3, so I suppose it's pretty much a wash. And I agree there's a pretty strong argument for our Vols being #4.

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

Nearly all of our losses seem like flukes lol

We’ve lost too many games to say they are flukes. We will lose a few more. What’s important is that we get healthy and peak in March, then get a good draw in the tournament

 

[VolCalls]

This can't be right. Purdue was in top 10 last week. They aren't dropping out with winning a game this past week and not losing one.

One other thing, have come it shows Tennessee moving up 7 spots with the green arrow? Should be up 4? Did this guy already have a predicted AP 25 mid week and had us at #11 after the KY loss?

He updates it daily.

 

[njvols]

Yeah, it's the SEC so every game left on the schedule is loseable.

We have 9 games left, in order below.
Need to somehow try to go 7-2 or at least 6-3.
Good thing is I thought Missouri was on the road. I feel much better about that game at home.
Here's my predictions:

Missouri W
at Oklahoma W
at Kentucky L
Vanderbilt W
at Texas A&M L ( that one is legit winnable tho)
at LSU W
ALABAMA. W
at Ole Miss L
South Carolina W

My picks are based off of the fact it's hard to win 3 in a row in the SEC, and it's easier to win at home.

I'd say we go 6-3, but I think real possibility we do 7-2.
This would put us at 24-7 or 25-6, respectively.
I think we most likely need the 25-6 to get the #2 seed.
Probably have to go 26-5 to get a #1 seed.
But who knows, other top teams could start losing, too.

was getting ready to post same thing. I think 6-3 is fair...even 5-4 possible. If we can maintain decent shooting from UF game, turns to probable 7-2. If we're to be a one seed, our continuity on offense will need to show up at least marginally. SEC is a gauntlet this year!

 

[VolCalls]

was getting ready to post same thing. I think 6-3 is fair...even 5-4 possible. If we can maintain decent shooting from UF game, turns to probable 7-2. If we're to be a one seed, our continuity on offense will need to show up at least marginally. SEC is a gauntlet this year!

All else being equal, we have to beat Alabama on March 1st. No matter what else happens, if the committee is splitting hairs for the last one seed, they will look at head-to-head.

 

[njvols]

We are a #2 seed at home and a #7 seed on the road.

If they can change their offensive play on the road and get off to a better start, they can get back to where they were earlier. The three-point shots have to be inside out, not side to side. They should create some fouls and get some early free throws. They have the horses.

Seems we finally remembered this against UF, and has always been a Rick Barnes staple...going back to Grant Williams days. If we keep intention around this, we'll be in good shape.

 

[LibertyVol]

I'm not really worried one way or the other. If we plan on winning a championship and we both keep winning we'll eventually see each other anyways.
Having said that, I'm not particularly scared of Duke. You put the clamps on Flagg and you can beat Duke. We have the guys to stay on him defensively.
I forget his name but that one guy from NC. State was doing a great job guarding him, and to say Duke didn't look like a juggernaut while this was happening is an understatement. Unfortunately, there refs made sure he got in foul trouble, but it's Duke so we know they will get the whistle majority of the time. My worry would be the refs hosing us.

It is a valid concern. However, the last time Tennessee played them, did they get a friendly whistle? Seriously, I can’t remember. Of course every game is different and the NCAA may want to move Duke along in the tournament because Duke has a superstar.

 

[deatojl]

I said in the other thread about ranking we should be #4, but AP likes to favor "hot" teams, so I could see us 5 or even 6.
Having said that, now that I have thought more about it, I don't see them putting Purdue above us. If Michigan State stays above us it will be like last week. We will be right behind them. Purdue doesn't have the resume/record to jump Michigan State. They probably take Marquette's spot, but maybe a higher ranking depending on if Iowa State takes a big drop.
Everything considered, I won't be surprised at all if we are #4 come tomorrow afternoon.

Well, it looks like I was nearly spot on with what the coaches poll ended up being. The only difference was swapping Florida/Houston and St. Johns came in at #10 with Marquette #11. They did have Houston ahead of Florida last week in that poll too, though, so it makes sense that they just left them both where they were. We will see how well the AP voters do their jobs.

 

[Tenacjim]

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

Well, it looks like I was nearly spot on with what the coaches poll ended up being. The only difference was swapping Florida/Houston and St. Johns came in at #10 with Marquette #11. They did have Houston ahead of Florida last week in that poll too, though, so it makes sense that they just left them both where they were. We will see how well the AP voters do their jobs.

Tennessee #4. I thought we might get it. I didn't really see how Purdue could jump us, but I thought they may keep Michigan State ahead. I guess that Florida @ss kicking impressed some people

 

[deatojl]

Tennessee #4. I thought we might get it. I didn't really see how Purdue could jump us, but I thought they may keep Michigan State ahead. I guess that Flordia @ss kicking impressed some people

With the Saturday games being fresh on everyone's mind, I'm sure they were impressed. It was a very impressive showing by our squad, particularly as short handed as we were. I also think the results from other top 10 teams made it a good week to have that impressive win. If it were a "typical week" without so many top 10 losses, I think we would have likely moved up to #7 just on the merit of the Florida win on its own. Looks like the AP swapped Florida and Houston also and moved A&M ahead of Marquette.

 

[chuckiepoo]

With the Saturday games being fresh on everyone's mind, I'm sure they were impressed. It was a very impressive showing by our squad, particularly as short handed as we were. I also think the results from other top 10 teams made it a good week to have that impressive win. If it were a "typical week" without so many top 10 losses, I think we would have likely moved up to #7 just on the merit of the Florida win on its own. Looks like the AP swapped Florida and Houston also and moved A&M ahead of Marquette.

Recency bias rears its ugly head.

 

[orangemadam]

seems like A&M is a sleeping giant. I haven't seen much of them in games.

 

[foolonthehill]

I hope we are in Duke's bracket

Duke is the last team we want.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

Duke is the last team we want.

Uh huh