When I was a kid, I watched the NFL Draft from almost start to finish every year. And the only reason why was the Vols: nine players selected in 1991, nine again in 1992. Even when the draft was shortened to seven rounds, the Vols put 14 names on the […]
Author: Will Shelton
First Draft of 2023 Expectations
Plug in the win total machine and what do you get? A fitting 8.65 expected regular season wins for the Vols in 2023. That would make 9-3 our most expected outcome this fall. We’ve been running this thing since 2017, making this easily the highest total we’ve seen in terms […]
The 2023 Expected Win Total Machine
Hello, old friend. With spring practice behind us, we unveil the first edition of our Expected Win Total Machine. Last season, we found running it after the Orange & White Game produced almost exactly the same result as running it the week before kickoff. Perhaps that would change if you […]
How good do you have to be on the other side of the ball?
In basketball, Tennessee just finished as the number one defense in KenPom, their third consecutive Top 5 finish there. Outside of how the 2023 Vols looked night-to-night due to injuries, the real question there was about the gap between offensive and defensive efficiency. How good do these teams need to […]
Tennessee’s Modern Era Continues in the NBA Playoffs
Last year, we looked at the rise of the modern era for Tennessee basketball in the NBA. In particular, the Vols aren’t just getting more players into the league, but more opportunities for the spotlight in the playoffs. And that continues this week: Josh Richardson and New Orleans are in […]
What was Tennessee’s “easiest” path to the Final Four?
In this chaos bracket, shout out to Miami: the Hurricanes went through the hardest possible path as a five seed, knocking off a 12, 4, 1, and 2 to reach the Final Four. That’s a seed score of 19, far stronger than UConn (29), Florida Atlantic (31), or San Diego […]
FAU 62 Tennessee 55 – The One Leads to the Other
I’ve been doing this a long time, which means I’ve been wrong a lot. Tennessee’s continual lineup fluctuations this season made them harder to predict in some ways, but we felt like their rebounding had moved to the forefront in playing taller lineups since Zakai Zeigler went down. The Vols […]
What’s been most different without Zakai?
In basically six full games without Zakai Zeigler, the Vols still rate among the nation’s best teams. Bart Torvik has Tennessee ranked 13th since February 28; down from their full-season rank of fifth, but still plenty good enough to win. You’ll note that Duke is/was the fourth-best team in the […]
Alive, Kickin’, and Doors
These are the days you enjoy the most, because later this week it’s gonna get stressful again. That’s the beauty of the beast, especially in a world where 16 seeds can win and 15 seeds are in the Sweet 16 again. The tournament only allows enough time to celebrate the […]
Tennessee 65 Duke 52 – Brought to you by the letter O
Yes sir. We’re no stranger to big wins these days; this team has three over one and two seeds this year alone. Rick Barnes and company have erased the ghosts of Rupp Arena, beat great Kentucky teams in Knoxville and Nashville, and took down top-ranked foes multiple times. In our […]