Who can beat us?

#51
#51
LSU is much better than advertised...watched them play a couple times and they definitely have talent.
 
#53
#53
Foul trouble, the bench is not that deep. Yes I understand several players have played mins this season.
If Turner comes back mid season and returns to form look out.
If the light ever comes on for Walker, look out... Crazy that Walker cannot take more of Fulks mins.
 
#55
#55
Hope they can hold serve at home and win 5 of the road games. That would be a total of 5 losses. Not bad at all in a conference that has about 8 invites. This conference is as good as any in the country. The ACC has 4 teams really. Many of you still think the grass remains greener as usual.
 
#56
#56
LSU's head coach has never played high school or college basketball. He definitely impressed someone to get that job.
LSU coach’s - Will Wade was the manager of my son’s HS BB team. One the the smartest young minds in the sport - even back then. He will have a great career in coaching at any level.
 
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#57
#57
I would like to agree, however, I don't think we can cut down the nets without Turner. Bone is going to need some rest or I am worried he gets worn down by the end of the season. Even more concerning is we are a Bone injury away from being a slightly above average team. This is definitely a special team but hard to make a deep run without a backup pg.
Good point.
 
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#59
#59
#62
#62
The best team that can beat us is also the one we'd least expect to do it.
They call them the Tennessee Volunteers. Other than that squad,
I don't think too many other teams can see a healthy Tennessee playing
to their potential on the court.

Those that do have the talent to match up will be gunning for it at every opportunity.
 
#63
#63
Not to me - Fulky tends to make good things happen with his minutes. So far Walker has struggled. Pretty simple to me.
Oh I agree, point I was trying to make.Walker appears to have all the physical tools, hopefully he figures the game out one day. I like Fulk but let's face it he plays off balance and is little threat to score. He should work on a perimeter shot, cause right now no one is guarding him within 12 feet.
 
#64
#64
Do you mean no one is guarding him "outside" of 12 feet?

Too often folks evaluate a player's worth on their offensive production. There are 5 players and 1 ball. We've got some gifted scorers on this squad. I'd rather have GW taking 90% of the post shots and Admiral taking 75% of the 3's - I want my best guys taking the shots whenever possible. I want the other guys to play tough defense, rebound, set picks, pass the ball, run the floor, and make their bunnies and FT's. Even if Fulky improved his outside shot significantly, I'd still prefer several other guys on the team taking those 15-17' shots. Fulky hustles, plays D, rebounds, blocks some shots, and disrupts the passing lanes. He's not an SEC caliber starter yet and may never be?. I'm sure CRB doesn't view Fulky as a finished product and will continue to work with him to improve his game. We need guys like him because guys like Admiral and GW aren't going to be the 7th or 8th man. Unless you're going to follow the Kentucky model and get a new squad each year, then part of your roster has to be developmental guys who might not be ready to be impact players till their Junior or Senior seasons. I'm confused why this issue with Fulky keeps coming up?
 
#65
#65
I think TN Tech is the only gimme we have left this season. I expect us to drop some. 5 losses is par, and 3 is realistically optimistic imo
I was thinking around 7 or 8 losses coming into the season but the SEC hasn’t been quite as good as I thought and UT had been a little better than I expected. I didn’t expect to see a clear step forward from last year but I do. Last year’s team hoped to be competitive against teams like Nova and UNC. This year’s team not only expects to compete but they expect to win. I’ve never seen a UT men’s team this consistent. I don’t see more than 3 or 4 losses this season. If we win the SEC tournament we will be a 1 seed and we may be without that.
 
#66
#66
This doesn't look like a strong year in the SEC at all... South Carolina, in particular, is atrocious. Anything less than 14-4 in the SEC should be a disappointment, imo.
Totally agree on the record. Historically speaking I do think the SEC is solid but not as good as I anticipated. UT and Auburn are legit top 10 teams, KY isn’t far behind and Miss St and LSU are possible top 25 teams. I thought we would see more teams pushing for the top 25 though. Bama is odd. They beat teams like Arizona and lose to teams like Northeastern.
 
#67
#67
I would like to agree, however, I don't think we can cut down the nets without Turner. Bone is going to need some rest or I am worried he gets worn down by the end of the season. Even more concerning is we are a Bone injury away from being a slightly above average team. This is definitely a special team but hard to make a deep run without a backup pg.
I don’t think a Bone injury takes us down that far. No doubt it would hurt but Barnes would figure something out.
 
#68
#68
Auburn, LSU, Alabama, MSST, Kentucky and any of the other teams that improve by SEC tourney time. Don't get too high else your going to have to face some realism as these teams get up every game and give their best to out Tennessee. Take that to the bank. Tennessee has some weaknesses that will be exposed and your going to see them. How you handle the reality will be up to you.

There are at least 4 players on this team that has to keep stepping up and improving their offense in order for us to survive and thats Alexander, Bone, Bowden, and Pons. Rupp will explode when the Vols walk in. In venues in the aforementioned it will take a team with mental toughness and ice in their veins.

Take my word for it. Some teams are going to make a lot of progress. Tennessee better do the same. Mark this post down if you want to so you can bump it a little later on.
What’s your prediction on conference record? I said 12-6 before the season but after what I’ve seen to this point I’m thinking no worse than 15-3.
 
#69
#69
Oh I agree, point I was trying to make.Walker appears to have all the physical tools, hopefully he figures the game out one day. I like Fulk but let's face it he plays off balance and is little threat to score. He should work on a perimeter shot, cause right now no one is guarding him within 12 feet.
He has bad footwork on offense. He’s always getting in awkward positions and that’s why he falls. He certainly plays hard though and kind of reminds me of Steven Pearl but with a little more talent.
 
#70
#70
They better have a bunch, because their "bangers" are gonna get fouls too. O, by the way, those "bangers" better be able to score, because our guys will score as well as foul....
That’s exactly what I was thinking. You put throw away players in to draw fouls and you may get our guys out but you’ll be down 20. Very few teams have the talent to match up with us and employ such a tactic.
 
#71
#71
What’s your prediction on conference record? I said 12-6 before the season but after what I’ve seen to this point I’m thinking no worse than 15-3.
I can't predict. I will say several teams in the SEC will Improve. Try this on for size

1

Mississippi State
11-1

Tennessee
10-1

Auburn
10-2

Kentucky
9-2

Ole Miss
9-2

LSU
9-3

Arkansas
8-3

Alabama
8-3

Missouri
8-3

Vanderbilt
7-3

Georgia
7-4

Florida
7-4

Texas A&M
6-4

Some teams are going to get hot...SEC going to be tough....All I can say is enjoy the ride...Hope for tremendous bench improvement...Tennessee could lose up to 8 conference games...I get so tense watching some of the games I turn it off, and then back on a little later. Wonder what tickets will be going for when Tennessee enters Rupps Arena....One postive and improvement to me so far is "not just one man is doing the scoring right now...What worries me is " players freezing up and not looking for the shot in big games and trying to pass it all off on Williams or the Admiral. If Bone is hot I want him to keep shooting. If Bowden is hot keep shooting and for Alexander to play like THE MAN down low. Other players must take pressure off Williams and the Admiral.
I'm not looking for an argument but I believe that is the facts as I see them at this time.
 
#72
#72
I can't predict. I will say several teams in the SEC will Improve. Try this on for size

1

Mississippi State
11-1

Tennessee
10-1

Auburn
10-2

Kentucky
9-2

Ole Miss
9-2

LSU
9-3

Arkansas
8-3

Alabama
8-3

Missouri
8-3

Vanderbilt
7-3

Georgia
7-4

Florida
7-4

Texas A&M
6-4

Some teams are going to get hot...SEC going to be tough....All I can say is enjoy the ride...Hope for tremendous bench improvement...Tennessee could lose up to 8 conference games...I get so tense watching some of the games I turn it off, and then back on a little later. Wonder what tickets will be going for when Tennessee enters Rupps Arena....One postive and improvement to me so far is "not just one man is doing the scoring right now...What worries me is " players freezing up and not looking for the shot in big games and trying to pass it all off on Williams or the Admiral. If Bone is hot I want him to keep shooting. If Bowden is hot keep shooting and for Alexander to play like THE MAN down low. Other players must take pressure off Williams and the Admiral.
I'm not looking for an argument but I believe that is the facts as I see them at this time.
I’m not looking for an argument either man, just a discussion. I was seriously asking your thoughts. I don’t believe we will lose 8 but you certainly never know. Winning on the road in basketball is harder than in football in the SEC. I forget where I saw those road team winning percentages between the two sports but it was a couple years ago and the margin was several points so I doubt the fact has changed. It’s tough to use nonconference records alone as a means to predict the future as you have to look at who teams have beaten and who has beaten them. It seems like the SEC has taken more losses than last year at this point but it also seems like the scheduling has been tougher. Regardless, I can see 5 or maybe 6 NCAA teams this year so UT will have to stay healthy and play both smart and hard. They really look better than last year to me though. Grant definitely took a step forward and so have others. It’ll be a fun ride!
 
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#73
#73
I can't predict. I will say several teams in the SEC will Improve. Try this on for size

1

Mississippi State
11-1

Tennessee
10-1

Auburn
10-2

Kentucky
9-2

Ole Miss
9-2

LSU
9-3

Arkansas
8-3

Alabama
8-3

Missouri
8-3

Vanderbilt
7-3

Georgia
7-4

Florida
7-4

Texas A&M
6-4

Some teams are going to get hot...SEC going to be tough....All I can say is enjoy the ride...Hope for tremendous bench improvement...Tennessee could lose up to 8 conference games...I get so tense watching some of the games I turn it off, and then back on a little later. Wonder what tickets will be going for when Tennessee enters Rupps Arena....One postive and improvement to me so far is "not just one man is doing the scoring right now...What worries me is " players freezing up and not looking for the shot in big games and trying to pass it all off on Williams or the Admiral. If Bone is hot I want him to keep shooting. If Bowden is hot keep shooting and for Alexander to play like THE MAN down low. Other players must take pressure off Williams and the Admiral.
I'm not looking for an argument but I believe that is the facts as I see them at this time.
" lose 8 games...." I don't see this happening unless the wheels fall completely off which would only happen if there are several injuries
 

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