A community of reasonable fanatics.
Kansas and Texas Tech played a double overtime thriller last night, with the Jayhawks securing the win and the new top spot in KenPom’s defensive strength of schedule ratings. This rating is essentially, “How good are the defenses you’ve played against?” The Vols slid to number two, but could move […]
If you were to imagine the most satisfying way to beat Will Wade and LSU, you might’ve come close today. Wire-to-wire beatdowns are fun, and we did look to be on our way there for a minute. Close game decided at the buzzer carries its own satisfaction, a moment that […]
I read John Calipari’s postgame quotes after the game on Saturday, curious to see how he described his team shooting 68% from the field. I’m more concerned with how we play. I’m trying not to make this game-to-game. If you do that, you torture yourself and your team. Are we […]
The most telling statistic for Tennessee this year is how many threes they make. Tuesday’s 20-point win over South Carolina included 7-of-21 from the arc for the good guys, making Tennessee 10-0 this year when they hit 26+% from three and 1-4 when they don’t. But over the last three […]
Alternative title: make more threes! You already knew that, of course. But the rise in frustration in watching Tennessee’s offense is directly related to their in/ability to make threes…and more than I thought. When word leaked out after an exhibition that the Vols were jacking 40+ threes, optimism reigned. Modern […]
Here’s one thing it feels like is happening to Tennessee more often than it actually is: the Vols get to third-and-short, go fast, and get stopped because defenses know what’s coming. Even in Josh Heupel’s fast-paced offense, no two games are exactly alike. It feels like the Vols do that […]
Tennessee played four one-possession games this year. They went 1-3 in them against teams that are currently 11-2, 10-2, 9-3, and 9-4. In the three losses, specific calls that should’ve/could’ve gone the other way stand out: Against Pittsburgh, a horrendous spot to leave the ball short after a third down […]
When last we met in the SEC Tournament, the Vols were in a similar predicament. John Fulkerson didn’t play, knocked out of the Florida game the day before. And a shorthanded squad played hard and well, led by Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer. Those two gave 36 minutes; Yves Pons […]
How do you measure the strength of this league? For the SEC, the national answer has long been associated with what kind of year Kentucky is having first. I’m not sure how much oomph Florida still gets for its back-to-back national championships, now 15+ years ago, but the Gators have […]
Arizona came into the game as the number one overall seed in Bart Torvik’s predictive bracketology. The thought there is they had the best chance to put together the kind of resume that earned the top seed on Selection Sunday. I don’t know if they’re the best team in the […]