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SECT

Kentucky leading Tennessee 44-28 at the half.

edit--Is Tennessee really a Tourney team? Their resume is so thin, there's almost nothing there. I certainly don't think they deserve a bid.
 
If their name was any other besides UT, I would say their Tournament chances would be zero but their name will get them in.
 
GoDawgs4 said:
If their name was any other besides UT, I would say their Tournament chances would be zero but their name will get them in.
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I fear you are correct. That ain't right.
 
GoDawgs4 said:
If their name was any other besides UT, I would say their Tournament chances would be zero but their name will get them in.
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I agree. They're obviously a charter member at this point. They always find a way to include them.
 
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Tennessee has a pretty poor/thin resume at this point to get into the NCAAT but I am guessing reputation could slide them in.
 
SECbbfan24 said:
Tennessee has a pretty poor/thin resume at this point to get into the NCAAT but I am guessing reputation could slide them in.
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They don’t deserve to get in, but they’ll get the benefit of the doubt.
 
They have been in every one since the NCAA started sponsoring I believe - while they look pretty weak, I suspect they get the invite. The Miz win yesterday probably made it official.
 
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nwhoopfan said:
Kentucky leading Tennessee 44-28 at the half.

edit--Is Tennessee really a Tourney team? Their resume is so thin, there's almost nothing there. I certainly don't think they deserve a bid.
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Most bubble teams have pretty mediocre resumes. Their strength is that they've beat everyone they're supposed to, and they've lost to everyone they're supposed to. Likely comes down to how strong the bubble is.
 
nwhoopfan said:
I fear you are correct. That ain't right.
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This is not correct. Their resume isn't very good but it's still better than the other bubble teams. They're gonna be a 9 or 10 seed.
 
bballnut90 said:
Most bubble teams have pretty mediocre resumes. Their strength is that they've beat everyone they're supposed to, and they've lost to everyone they're supposed to. Likely comes down to how strong the bubble is.
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They have a win over LSU. That does make a difference here.

To have zero losses outside the top 50 is a very rare trait among bubble teams.
 
Tennessee hasn't been overly impressive by any means but they have beaten everyone they should have beaten, no catastrophic losses which is something they have going for them.

Unlike Holly's teams, they hard, they may play bad but they play hard. Holly would have found a way to sneak in a couple really bad losses while the team quit on her.

Would need to look at all the other bubble teams
 
SECbbfan24 said:
Would need to look at all the other bubble teams
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This is the rub. The other bubble teams have **weak** resumes. Tennessee is actually relatively safe (probably a 10 seed) because of this.

Here's a sampling of the bubble teams right around the cut line:

Bradley
Old Dominion
Iowa State
Western Kentucky
James Madison
Boston College
UCF
West Virginia
St. John's
Alabama

Tennessee's resume may be light, but they also don't have the bad losses that *all* of these teams have.
 
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Alabama was an interesting case with the last season run with some quality wins but losing to Georgia was a big miss for them, plus they have some really bad losses.

If all have similar resumes, then I guess you have to reward Tennessee for not having really bad losses. Their losses were all to either ranked teams or pretty competitive teams. You get rewarded sometimes for beating the teams you should beat.

I would think next year Harper would try to up the OOC slate to prepare her teams more and get additional opportunities for quality wins. Holly scheduled too many cupcakes. ND is typically strong but they just happen to fall off the wagon this season, given their losses and injuries.
 
SECbbfan24 said:
Tennessee hasn't been overly impressive by any means but they have beaten everyone they should have beaten, no catastrophic losses which is something they have going for them.

Unlike Holly's teams, they hard, they may play bad but they play hard. Holly would have found a way to sneak in a couple really bad losses while the team quit on her.

Would need to look at all the other bubble teams
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I would contest that Tennessee plays hard.... certainly when you look at Pats old teams and how they hustled.... but take that away and just judging normally.... I see players not hustling.... but playing regular speed....

The LVs have been out of it for a dozen years now.... not a sniff of getting close to anything.... they still need help in the coaching department....
 
Bayareahusky said:
I would contest that Tennessee plays hard.... certainly when you look at Pats old teams and how they hustled.... but take that away and just judging normally.... I see players not hustling.... but playing regular speed....

The LVs have been out of it for a dozen years now.... not a sniff of getting close to anything.... they still need help in the coaching department....
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I think Tennessee hurt really bad this year from the graduation and losing multiple big time players to transfer, then Green goes down early which was a big hole to replace offensively. I think Key is talented but extremely raw. Horston seemed rushed into it a bit but they really didn't have many options.

I am not overly familiar with the offense Harper ran while at Missouri St but I don't remember it looking like this one at Tennessee. They need to completely strip down the current junk yard ball play offensively. Its nothing but turnovers and bad shots, which was a pretty big imprint from the Holly era. They need more actual ball movement and actual understanding of spacing on the floor. Decision making has to improve, Half of Tennessee's turnovers each game are not caused by anyone but themselves. in general. they looked like a team with no plan offensively other than shoot a jump shot, then try to rebound it and finish. If Harper wants to get Tennessee back, this must be addressed.

Tennesse needs better quality post play. Kushkituah had a nice game the other night but has been horrendous in general offensively. Key is a great shot blocker but her shot needs a lot of work and polish right now. If I am harper, I am hitting the transfer portal for another big. You need some type of post presence that can rebound, score and defend effectively.

Tennessee beat the teams they should have beaten this year which is good but also really didn't beat any top 25 teams which isn't good. There are some systemic issues that will need to be addressed next offseason.
 
After further review, I say they are in but they will be seeded low and will probably lose their first or second game.
They certainly have some talent but they turn the ball over way too much.
 
The SEC Media pre-season prediction:

1. South Carolina
2. Texas A&M
3. Mississippi State
4. Kentucky
5. Arkansas
6. Tennessee
7. Auburn
8. Louisiana State
9. Missouri
10. Georgia
11. Alabama
12. Florida
13. Mississippi
14. Vanderbilt


Pretty interesting - here's the final standings:

1. South Carolina (16-0)
2. Mississippi State (13-3)
3. Arkansas (10-6)
4. Kentucky (10-6)
5. Texas A&M (10-6)
6. Tennessee (10-6)
7. Louisiana State (9-7)
8. Alabama (8-8)
9. Georgia (7-9)
10. Florida (6-10)
11. Missouri (5-11)
12. Vanderbilt (4-12)
13. Auburn (4-12)
14. Mississippi (0-16)

I guess the biggest misses were Auburn being overrated and Alabama being a bit underrated, but otherwise the predictions were pretty well dead on. The 10-6 teams were placed in order of their overall win %, so conference-wise they are all tied for 3rd place. And as the SECT plays out, it seems the top 5 of USC, MSU, Arkansas, UK, and TAMU are still a bit above the others. Four of the 5 reached the SECT semifinals, with the 5th one getting knocked out by one of those 4. Makes sense....

Kelly Harper taking the Lady Vols from 19-13, 7-9 in Warlick's final season, to 21-10, 10-6 with losses of Westbrook, Jackson, and both Greens is a solid step forward, if not a major stride. That's 4 of your 5 predominant starters from the previous season removed from the equation, and they've still got the post-season ahead to add more wins.

Finding a legit PG to add to the roster - is Green one of those? - would help, but I agree the overall offense needs to be overhauled, and the perimeter defense also needs some improvement. But Tennessee was a solid interior defense team this season - shot-blocking, rebounding, field goal % defense (3rd nationally), 3-pt. field goal % defense (2nd in SEC), and overall scoring defense (3rd in the SEC) were...solid.

If they improved slightly on their own scoring offense, and improved substantially in turnovers per game, they would be significantly improved as a team. There is a stat for points off turnovers, but it's only for single game box scores and is not kept for a season statistic: I think if it was, Tennessee would be way down the list. They mute their defense with giving opponents multiple extra opportunities to make up for denying them opportunities at the same time. They take steps back for every step forward...
 
I have posted all season UT is better than last, even though there is still a long way to go to even get back to the first season or two under Holly who was still utilizing Pat's players.

Last season was basically a train wreck for the LVs and the change had to be made. It was and some roster turnover happened, which was inevitable. I've frequently posted when I looked at the LVs roster last year the only players I saw who would have received substantial playing time in the Summitt years were Westbrook, Davis and Z Greene. The rest were role players at best. Two of those were gone this year.

Davis had a heck of a year and carried a lot of the load. Horston and Key, based on the games I watched, looked pretty good at times and have some potential to be good to great players. Massengill looked much better this season during the times I saw her even though I too am not sure she's the point guard they need.

Still, it was clear to me Kelly had the team displaying a much better attitude and hustle during the games even though the offense still leaves much to be desired. There are still too many turnovers. They need a true PG and a "4" player. Still they probably should be in the tournament as a 8 or 9 seed and will probably still lose on the first weekend. It's not a ton progress but Harper looks like she stopped the bleeding.
 
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I'm so proud of Jordan Hortson. She just showed why she's a special player. Tennessee had six players that had never played in this tournament before. Now a couple of weeks before the NCAAT. Yes I think Tennessee is in. The team finished tied for 3rd in the SEC , 21 wins. I feel good that the team is heading in the right direction.
 
stwainfan said:
I'm so proud of Jordan Hortson. She just showed why she's a special player. Tennessee had six players that had never played in this tournament before. Now a couple of weeks before the NCAAT. Yes I think Tennessee is in. The team finished tied for 3rd in the SEC , 21 wins. I feel good that the team is heading in the right direction.
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I agree that the LV’s are in the tournament. But let’s not get too excited. TN’s 21 wins was built on a plate full of OOC cupcakes. For the season, TN was 1-10 vs RPI top 50 teams.
 
SECbbfan24 said:
Tennessee hasn't been overly impressive by any means but they have beaten everyone they should have beaten, no catastrophic losses which is something they have going for them.

Unlike Holly's teams, they hard, they may play bad but they play hard. Holly would have found a way to sneak in a couple really bad losses while the team quit on her.

Would need to look at all the other bubble teams
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true....but would’ve had some good wins too
 
Geew1992 said:
true....but would’ve had some good wins too
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That happened under Holly because of 1. Evina and 2. The players ignoring Holly and using their natural talent to steal some wins. Harper is trying to get them to play a structured offense and it’s just too big a change for some to turn around quickly. Every player’s development curve is different
 
HuskyNan said:
That happened under Holly because of 1. Evina and 2. The players ignoring Holly and using their natural talent to steal some wins. Harper is trying to get them to play a structured offense and it’s just too big a change for some to turn around quickly. Every player’s development curve is different
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Good point. In watching KY hammer TN yesterday, it was clear that KJH has installed a much more sophisticated offense at TN. The LV’s set picks, run plays and there’s lots of motion, something we never saw under HW.

TN’s problem is that the execution of that offense is terrible. The LV’s continue to commit far too many turnovers. Perhaps another year to get used to the system, and the return of Green at pg, and maybe TN takes a step forward. On the other hand, perhaps TN just doesn’t have the players required to run a sophisticated motion offense, no matter how long they practice it.
 
I think if this team can make a S16. That would be a successful fist year for Harper.
 
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