1. UT's 2021-22 had some great moments - beating Arizona, UK (twice), Auburn, and winning the SEC tournament - but this was ultimately another disappointing season with yet another early exit from the NCAA tournament under Rick Barnes. I think Coach Barnes is a very good coach (and I am not sure that UT could do better even considering his tournament failures) but the single elimination NCAA tournament baffles him and his teams for some reason. After the second place regular season conference finish and the conference championship, my personal metrics were sub-Sweet Sixteen finish would be disappointing (especially for a team that felt snubbed by its 3 seed), Sweet Sixteen but no better finish would be satisfactory but feel somewhat lacking as I thought UT was a T8 or better team, and Elite Eight or better would make this a great season. Well, UT fell well short of a successful end to this season IMO.
2. The NCAA tournament is a maddening affair. Basketball, unlike football and some other sports, is more prone to upsets and that's why the NCAA tournament is so great but so frustrating simultaneously. But there is an often repeated adage that a team's flaw/s will ultimately reveal itself/themselves in the tournament and a loss is likely to follow. There are hundreds and hundreds of examples of this but Memphis missing free throw after free throw in the final minutes against KU in the 2007-08 championship game is a prime example of it. Well, UT's scoring droughts, inconsistent three point shooting, and lack of a consistent inside presence ultimately doomed UT's 2021-22 squad as all of those things came to bear yesterday. I mean, how in the world does the #5 team in the country in the last AP poll and one of KenPom's T8 most efficient teams blow a 6 point lead with 8 1/2 minutes to go and lose by 8?
3. Under Coach Barnes, UT has lacked a wing that can get his own shot at any time and a true rim protector and I think UT's struggles in the tournament can be attributable to these absences. UT's best rim protecting duo was probably Grant Williams and Kyle Alexander but Alexander got hurt and that was a devastating loss for the team. UT did not protect the rim well again yesterday. UT has never really had the type of wing that I am talking about under Coach Barnes and maybe, maybe Admiral Schofield was the closest to that player, but he wasn't really all that explosive. I am hopeful that maybe Aidoo is the rim protector we have been missing but that remains to be seen. I currently do not see a wing on the roster or that will be on the roster that can get his own shot and that will continue to be an issue for UT.
4. UT has also lacked a hardnosed player that would take the ball through someone's face to get the officials to find their whistles again since Grant Williams left. When I say this, I don't mean faux tough guys like Uros who is just hammering on people and crying and whining the whole time. I mean a guy who will calmly assert physical control of the game. The reality is that Michigan was the aggressor and more physical team yesterday and it rattled UT and some of its players - maybe one of the reasons UT went 2-18 from 3. I saw Vescovi on the ground multiple times in the first five or so minutes with no foul calls and I thought it was going to be a long day. I think the officiating was poor and Michigan was able to manhandle UT without fouls called that were obvious fouls and then there were some inexplicable calls in favor of Michigan, but losers whine about officiating whereas winners find a way to win. It's also simply true that the team that is the primary aggressor usually gets fewer fouls called on it than the other team and that happened yesterday. One way to combat that is to have someone like Grant get the ball in the post and create a lot of contact on a play and maybe cause a minor scuffle and then the officials rethink the approach and start calling fouls again. UT did not have that guy and has not had that guy since Grant and it allowed Michigan, as the primary aggressor, to get the advantages the primary aggressor gets and kept it all game without the hard reset the play I am describing provides.
5. Even though Coach Barnes' tournament track record is ugly, the tournament still is the best sporting event in America, and Coach Barnes cannot play the game for the players and he cannot control some other teams' players having strangely great games - which is often just bad luck. Think back to the Ryan Cline of Purdue in 2019 going 7-10 from 3 and scoring 27 points when he averaged 6.3 ppg. Think back to the Loyola-Chicago game winner that, in the aftermath there were physics analyses done of where the ball hit the rim and the chances it goes in and it was almost, but obviously not quite, impossible and UT was missing Alexander. It felt like Michigan had 3 guys that played the best games of their season yesterday and it just happened all at once.
6. Maybe the NCAA committee got the seeding right. Maybe it rightfully thought the Big Ten was better than the SEC. Only Arkansas is on to the Sweet Sixteen and Auburn has a chance to join Arkansas. The Big Ten has Michigan (obviously) through now and has 5 teams playing today for a chance at the Sweet Sixteen.
7. All that being said, I know my disappointment is nowhere near as acute as the disappointment for UT's coaches and players. I know they gave it their all and came up short - and that is just part of life - and I appreciate what they did for me as a fan and for all of us and the program we love. The key here is will they use this to prepare for next season and learn lessons of what needs to happen or not.
Go Vols!
