Tennessee struggling with Florida (record of 11-11)...

[EricLA]

Sure Tenn will win this game by 10'ish+ but... this is a Florida team who lost to Eastern Washington. That EW team lost to AAC cellar dweller SMU. By 16 points.

I realize it's a bit of a thin "six degrees of separation" but SMU was on a 14 game losing streak before beating UCF. My point is that if Florida is roughly equivalent to SMU (even though they lost to a team SMU beat), Can you imagine UCONN struggling to put SMU away??

Memphis is light years better than SMU, and without Stokes, Tuck or Stewie, UCONN pummeled them by 46.

I get that Tenn keeps winning, and really, who else are you going to rank ahead of them (maybe only Florida State - they gave ND a better game than Tenn did)? But seriously?? They were losing the game till about 12 minutes left in the 2nd half.

Serious question for any Tennessee fans - is it just playing down to the level of the competition? Lack of focus by the players? Lack of coaching preparation? Given the lack of really strong teams in WCBB, I do think it's fair that Tenn is in the top 10 but are their fans even the least bit surprised/worried?

 

[Buzzyboy]

Sure Tenn will win this game by 10'ish+ but... this is a Florida team who lost to Eastern Washington. That EW team lost to AAC cellar dweller SMU. By 16 points.

I realize it's a bit of a thin "six degrees of separation" but SMU was on a 14 game losing streak before beating UCF. My point is that if Florida is roughly equivalent to SMU (even though they lost to a team SMU beat), Can you imagine UCONN struggling to put SMU away??

Memphis is light years better than SMU, and without Stokes, Tuck or Stewie, UCONN pummeled them by 46.

I get that Tenn keeps winning, and really, who else are you going to rank ahead of them? But seriously?? They were losing the game till about 12 minutes left in the 2nd half.

I know exactly what you're saying. Someone yesterday commented about how pitiful our conference is right now and all I can say is what does the SEC have for impressive teams. Who in that conference wouldn't UConn smoke???? Tennessee has some talent and I figure they wouldn't get totally blown out (maybe) but for the most part, is there any single conference where there is a plethora of GOOD teams? The ACC is maybe the closest I can think of with Louisville and Notre Dame and Duke and North Carolina but UConn has shown pretty clearly that other than Notre Dame on an off night, Notre Dame is the only one I would really fear! There is such a drop off from the top few teams in women's basketball, even now. This is not to say that there aren't a lot of "pretty decent" teams out there but just the fact that the Stanford game sent shockwaves around women's basketball, shows how the Huskies are (were) considered above and beyond these lesser teams. I think after that kick in the butt coming out of that game, they are back in that place we all expected.

 

[EricLA]

Good points Buzz. Don't forget Florida State in the ACC. And by the way, both Temple and Tulane gave FSU a good game - both losing by less than 10. For the record, I'm NOT saying the AAC is as good as any of the other major conferences, but I would also like to point out that it does not seem nearly as "bad" as people want to believe, and the conference is just getting started.

Again, I won't say that they will put 5 or 6 in the NCAA's any time soon, but given that there is such a huge drop off after the top few teams, and no one ranked outside the top 4 or so seems really consistently good, it will be hard to say the SEC is so great, especially if UCONN smokes SC...

Personally I think the ACC is the best conference hands down. ND, FSU, Duke, L'ville, UNC, Syracuse, and even Miami. All those teams should make the NCAA's. The SEC may put as many in the NCAA's, but their top 7 teams are so much weaker (LSU, Mississippi, aTm, and Georgia are all "average")...

 

[stwainfan]

I know the team didn't play their best today. I didn't get too see the game. Harrison was in foul trouble. Still productive a double double.
Jared keeps getting better. I think one of the problems in this game was turnovers. That helped Florida stay in the game. Massingale was not shooting good either. She had been shooting good. Just a off night I think.

 

[bballnut90]

Sure Tenn will win this game by 10'ish+ but... this is a Florida team who lost to Eastern Washington. That EW team lost to AAC cellar dweller SMU. By 16 points.

I realize it's a bit of a thin "six degrees of separation" but SMU was on a 14 game losing streak before beating UCF. My point is that if Florida is roughly equivalent to SMU (even though they lost to a team SMU beat), Can you imagine UCONN struggling to put SMU away??

Memphis is light years better than SMU, and without Stokes, Tuck or Stewie, UCONN pummeled them by 46.

I get that Tenn keeps winning, and really, who else are you going to rank ahead of them (maybe only Florida State - they gave ND a better game than Tenn did)? But seriously?? They were losing the game till about 12 minutes left in the 2nd half.

Serious question for any Tennessee fans - is it just playing down to the level of the competition? Lack of focus by the players? Lack of coaching preparation? Given the lack of really strong teams in WCBB, I do think it's fair that Tenn is in the top 10 but are their fans even the least bit surprised/worried?

Doesn't worry me. During several Tennessee championship and Final Four seasons they've had games like this where they can play down to the level of their competition but are usually good about finishing the deal and coming away with the win even if it isn't pretty. I could probably come up with 5-10 examples on par or worse wins they've had in successful seasons. Tennessee traditionally could always elevate their play though to where they could compete with or beat anyone if they brought their A game. This year I think that's the case again besides Connecticut who I think is 20 points better than anyone in the nation.

 

[VFLfan]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here and admitted LV fan for all my life (and a level-headed one at that so you won't have to ream me about looking at anything through orange-colored glasses). The LVs are far below UCONN right now and anyone who is honest, including LV fans, know it. The game today was disappointing to say the least, especially after the last few had been much better for us. Few bright spots to take...but we did pull it out eventually, Nared played very confident and scored in double figures for us, and Carter woke up in the second half. Burdick and Massengale were virtual no-shows on the offensive end and with Izzy in foul trouble and FL sagging, it made for an ugly win. Keep improving and learn is all they can do to try to get back to the level of UCONN. I don't think this one was on Holly. The team has to step up and stop playing so poorly and until someone stands up and takes the lead, we probably will have other games were we struggle. Hopefully we can pull it all together by Tourney time. Guess time will tell.

 

[CocoHusky]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here and admitted LV fan for all my life (and a level-headed one at that so you won't have to ream me about looking at anything through orange-colored glasses). The LVs are far below UCONN right now and anyone who is honest, including LV fans, know it. The game today was disappointing to say the least, especially after the last few had been much better for us. Few bright spots to take...but we did pull it out eventually, Nared played very confident and scored in double figures for us, and Carter woke up in the second half. Burdick and Massengale were virtual no-shows on the offensive end and with Izzy in foul trouble and FL sagging, it made for an ugly win. Keep improving and learn is all they can do to try to get back to the level of UCONN. I don't think this one was on Holly. The team has to step up and stop playing so poorly and until someone stands up and takes the lead, we probably will have other games were we struggle. Hopefully we can pull it all together by Tourney time. Guess time will tell.

Lady Vol Fans,
What is happening with Jannah Tucker. Is she not healthy? Not good enough? She has only logged 4 minutes in 2 games this year-another redshirt year? I saw her on AAU circuit and predicted stardom as power SG. She was strong defensively , good handles -shot creator , outstanding long range shooter. Hopefully that criminal did not completely ruin her basketball skills.

 

[VFLfan]

Apparently her knee was pretty bad and she hasn't played in over 2 years now. The word is she has been fully cleared by the medical staff but she isn't fully confident with her knee yet. She is supposedly practicing every day and the rumor mill is her shot looks good but she isn't confident in her lateral movement, playing defense, etc. Looks like she won't be a contributor until next year, if at all. Very sad story, to say the least.

 

[triaddukefan]

Good points Buzz. Don't forget Florida State in the ACC. And by the way, both Temple and Tulane gave FSU a good game - both losing by less than 10. For the record, I'm NOT saying the AAC is as good as any of the other major conferences, but I would also like to point out that it does not seem nearly as "bad" as people want to believe, and the conference is just getting started.

Again, I won't say that they will put 5 or 6 in the NCAA's any time soon, but given that there is such a huge drop off after the top few teams, and no one ranked outside the top 4 or so seems really consistently good, it will be hard to say the SEC is so great, especially if UCONN smokes SC...

Personally I think the ACC is the best conference hands down. ND, FSU, Duke, L'ville, UNC, Syracuse, and even Miami. All those teams should make the NCAA's. The SEC may put as many in the NCAA's, but their top 7 teams are so much weaker (LSU, Mississippi, aTm, and Georgia are all "average")...

Temple and Tulane played FSU before Romero became eligible. They are a much better team with her than without.

Not sure if the ACC is the best..... the Pac 12 is pretty good, along with the SEC

 

[j66kicker]

Hi guys! I'm a newbie here and admitted LV fan for all my life (and a level-headed one at that so you won't have to ream me about looking at anything through orange-colored glasses). The LVs are far below UCONN right now and anyone who is honest, including LV fans, know it. The game today was disappointing to say the least, especially after the last few had been much better for us. Few bright spots to take...but we did pull it out eventually, Nared played very confident and scored in double figures for us, and Carter woke up in the second half. Burdick and Massengale were virtual no-shows on the offensive end and with Izzy in foul trouble and FL sagging, it made for an ugly win. Keep improving and learn is all they can do to try to get back to the level of UCONN. I don't think this one was on Holly. The team has to step up and stop playing so poorly and until someone stands up and takes the lead, we probably will have other games were we struggle. Hopefully we can pull it all together by Tourney time. Guess time will tell.

Welcome - hope to see you guys in the FF

 

[tennparker3]

Ariel was 0-8 today. She was out of it on both sides. Idk, the concussion she got last year was versus Florida so maybe she had a mental block. Who knows?

Isabelle was unstoppable. The only way she was contained today was the refs blowing their whistles. I'm praying that flopping will be a focus for SEC officials this offseason. I watched 3 SEC games today and they were all heavily influenced by inconsistent officiating versus the actual play of teams. The SEC is a punishing league. It is the most competitive overall but most of the games are more about physical play than fundamentals and fluidity of play. It looks like crap to be honest. Anyways, Isabelle scored the first 11 points for Tennessee to take a 11-4 lead, she got called for a foul and was sat down and voila, Florida gets back in the game.

Plain and simple, Tennessee came out flat. Holly was madder than a hornet apparently. Tennessee had 13 turnovers in the first half and 10 of them were flat out horrible passes. That is not on Holly, that is on the team. The seniors had 13 of 21 total turnovers and at this point in the season it is extremely frustrating and worrying.

Nared is coming on strong as of late and will be playing a bigger role down the stretch it seems. She is just a different type of player than what we've had for the last few seasons. Her, Reynolds, and Draya all seem to be the ones just taking it upon themselves to just play the game. They aren't so robotic in the motions of the game and they all do a much better job taking care of the basketball (only 3 turnovers between the three of them). The more those three play together the better Tennessee will be IMO. Reynolds and Nared have played together since youth leagues and it shows. They attack and finish.

Burdick, despite the 5 turnovers, had another strong game in which she just did all the little things to help. She had 14 rebounds and finished the game strong with some great passing and defense.

We are a final four team, but we are not a championship team as of now. Playing to the level of competition has got to be the most frustration thing to watch happen as a fan and coach.