me too. our defense has never been that great. our defense relies upon the press on the i/b. at the beginning of the 2nd half, that opportunity didn't happen at all, hence the result.
what you saw last night was exactly what we are capable of, when we are not afforded the opportunity to create turnovers.
check the stats, our actual defensive stats rank near the bottom of the SEC, and that's misleading because of the number steals we usually generate, and that also helps off set some of the disparity in our rebounding stats.
it's the way we play. when we win, it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. when we lose, all the sudden you get this kind of reaction.
ridiculous.
I agree. This team plays a 9 man rotation, and four of those men are freshmen. There is only one senior, and although we love him, he can't score. 8 of these guys will return next year. Plus, our primary point guard is a freshman who had never played point before this season.
At the start of the season, with our conference strength and our difficult schedule, I decided that making the NCAA Tourney was a good goal. I think that most fans will agree that for a team with the composition that UT has right now, that was a lofty yet realistic goal. UT made the Sweet Sixteen (tied with the farthest any UT team has ever gone in the tourney), and we had a real chance to get into the Elite Eight in the final seconds.
No one is happy to watch a 20 point lead get taken away, but that is the nature of an outside attacking team and a young team, and UT is both of those things. They played out of their minds in the first half, and we can only hope that's a sign of things to come, but they hit a dead stretch in the second half, and OSU finally played to it's potential in the second half. UT was a streaky team this year, and by the end of the game, they ended up near their season averages.
Look, not even ESPN is saying that UT choked the game away last night, but rather that OSU played up and won it. When they were on, they were on. When they were off, they were way off. This is the way the entire season has played out. Besides, 5 seeds routinely get trampled by 1 seeds over the years, and UT nearly pulled a monumental upset.
Pearl has the Vols on the right track, and they will come out stronger and more mature next year. If you ask me, I think that they over-achieved. And if most of you would look at your pre-season expectations, I think that you would agree.
Go Vols. You had a Great Season, and we as fans can't wait until you hit the court again next year.
hmy:
