Tennessee season

[stwainfan]

 

[stwainfan]

 

[stwainfan]

 

[visitingcock]

Looking forward to battle of the battle of the two first year head coaches.

 

[DefenseBB]

So let me offer so congrats to the LV faithful, with the 6 home games this season (and strong reason why they are 6-0, plus the fact they have played 1 decent team with a pulse), the LV are averaging 9,454 fans a game which shows a 6.4% increase over average attendance from last year!
The trend is looking up after cratering a few years ago. Heck with a good SEC attendance season the LV might even crack the Top 5 in attendance again (they will need to average 10,500+ for that).
2023-24 8,880
2022-23 8,150
2021-22 7,477

The 2020-21 season was covid so there are no numbers to list.

For the Saturday double header in Brooklyn, I am not sure what to expect to be honest. The UConn faithful will travel and Iowa did appear in droves when Caitlin Clark was on the team but who know for this set of games. LVs usually travel well also. Louisville? Base on the rather pathetic crowd at the Yum Center last night, I am not optimistic they will contribute. I am hopeful that 11,000+ attend but it is 17,732 capacity arena. I have my fingers crossed.

 

[Darwin]

Looking forward to battle of the battle of the two first year head coaches.

Iowa will get run off the court.

 

[visitingcock]

Iowa will get run off the court.

They might lose, but I doubt they get “run off the court”

Everybody has been fussing them since Clark left but they keep winning. Not a great team, but I don’t think the loss of Clark ( and Martin) has destroyed the program.

 

[packwrap]

The fast pace, pressure, and 3s worked great early for Tenn. I was most impressed that the Vols hung in there when the game tightened up again.

I love this matchup with Iowa. Will be stress for Iowa and show who is the pretender. Iowa not fast, but good with the ball.

 

[stwainfan]

The fast pace, pressure, and 3s worked great early for Tenn. I was most impressed that the Vols hung in there when the game tightened up again.

I love this matchup with Iowa. Will be stress for Iowa and show who is the pretender. Iowa not fast, but good with the ball.

One thing is Florida State plays a fast pace also. So the press is more effective to speed teams up.

 

[Darwin]

If you have watched Iowa play much this season, one of the things that will stand out is their lack of athleticism and speed on the court, not to mention how shallow their bench is. At the pace that UT plays the game and with the ten players they constantly rotate, Iowa will be gassed early. I will be surprised if Iowa even makes the tournament this year, they will not finish in the top 6-7 in the B1G.

 

[stwainfan]

 

[DefenseBB]

I have to be honest; I don't know what to make of the LVs this year yet. I am going to the game Saturday but I think Iowa is over rated at 17 so Tennessee beating them would not surprise me. I will have to assess and report on Sunday. I am rooting for Iowa though-mostly because I have met Jan Jensen and like her and the fact it is Tennessee.... (the enemy of my enemy is my friend thing).

 

[Bjbod]

If you have watched Iowa play much this season, one of the things that will stand out is their lack of athleticism and speed on the court, not to mention how shallow their bench is. At the pace that UT plays the game and with the ten players they constantly rotate, Iowa will be gassed early. I will be surprised if Iowa even makes the tournament this year, they will not finish in the top 6-7 in the B1G.

I expect Iowa to lose this game, but I soundly disagree with several of your points. While they are not athletic quickness-wise they can run the court. They have 10 players averaging at least 9 minutes/game so I'm not sure where the shallow bench comment fits in. The Vols cause turnovers and Iowa likes to commit them...that's where this game will be won or lost. 2nd possible Tennessee advantage is their love of the 3 vs Iowa's poor defense at the arc, but they're only making 29% so far. Finally, I would be shocked if they're not in the tournament. Barring major injury, this team will be better in March than it is now.

 

[stwainfan]

I have to be honest; I don't know what to make of the LVs this year yet. I am going to the game Saturday but I think Iowa is over rated at 17 so Tennessee beating them would not surprise me. I will have to assess and report on Sunday. I am rooting for Iowa though-mostly because I have met Jan Jensen and like her and the fact it is Tennessee.... (the enemy of my enemy is my friend thing).

I am looking forward to your report. Don't forget your orange juice.

 

[bballnut90]

Cooper has the tools to be an absolute star for Tennessee. She showed a ton of potential in the McDonald's AA game and then barely played at SC on a loaded roster, but I'm happy to see her thriving so far this season.

 

[Darwin]

I expect Iowa to lose this game, but I soundly disagree with several of your points. While they are not athletic quickness-wise they can run the court. They have 10 players averaging at least 9 minutes/game so I'm not sure where the shallow bench comment fits in. The Vols cause turnovers and Iowa likes to commit them...that's where this game will be won or lost. 2nd possible Tennessee advantage is their love of the 3 vs Iowa's poor defense at the arc, but they're only making 29% so far. Finally, I would be shocked if they're not in the tournament. Barring major injury, this team will be better in March than it is now.

It’s also true that most teams, barring major injury will be better by March, so that is relative, not unique to Iowa. As for the question on depth, I should have prefaced the term depth with the word quality. It’s not that Iowa’s bench players don’t have any quality, but you can see in the few “close “ games they have played so far against a decent opponent, for example if we can consider Rhode Island a decent opponent, that in those games Iowa is probably 7 deep of which 3-4 will be able to score and the rest are holding down a spot.

I have nothing against Iowa and wish them well. From what I have seen so far I suspect UT will wear them out rather quickly with true quality depth. And yes, turnovers are a big issue here with Iowa’s propensity to commit them and UT’s knack of producing them. We will see how Iowa reacts to full court pressure for 40 minutes and fresh players coming in every 2 minutes in waves. I may be wrong of course, wouldn’t be the first time.

 

[GoChips20]

Cooper has the tools to be an absolute star for Tennessee. She showed a ton of potential in the McDonald's AA game and then barely played at SC on a loaded roster, but I'm happy to see her thriving so far this season.

For me, she’s the one that got away at SC. Even over Saniya Rivers.

 

[bballnut90]

For me, she’s the one that got away at SC. Even over Saniya Rivers.

To be honest I don’t know if Cooper ever had a realistic path to significant playing time at SC. She would’ve been competing behind Tessa/Fulwiley/Pao Pao/Raven until her senior year.

 

[stwainfan]

 

[bballnut90]

Talaysia Cooper easily looks like a lottery pick if she declares for 2026. Holy cow she was impressive today. She's 6-0 but looks bigger with her length and is unbelievably athletic and a menace defensively. She got to the basket at will off the bounce today and made some brilliant passes. This team is wild and kind of all over the place but the players work their butts off on both ends and are a ton of fun to watch.

 

[GoChips20]

Kim Caldwell has to be one of the early favorites for NCOY, right? Tennessee has a completely new identity and looks to be thriving. Not contenders yet but going to do some damage to some really good teams. Cooper might be an All-American this year.

 

[stwainfan]

 

[stwainfan]

 

[DefenseBB]

Carolyn Peck's over exuberance aside (she did coach there under Pat after all so she tends to be a "homer" for both TN and the SEC), this was a nice win for the LVs. But before anyone (looking at you STWAINFAN) gets too carried away, the Lady Vols were simply outplayed in every category but 3 -Turnovers (30-9) 3 pt shooting (24%-21%) and final score. They did force an impressive 30 turnovers which is what prompted the victory. However, they were thoroughly out rebounded 48-33, they shot an abysmal 39% from the floor (30/77) and an equally as bad 24% from the 3 pt line (7/29). They were called for a shocking 24 personal fouls (but probably committed well over 30!). Cooper should have gotten unsportsmanlike technicals at least 2 times for her behavior but I think the refs were so exhausted from blowing their whistles they couldn't muster the energy (Iowa was called for 21 fouls!). Add in only 8 assists vs 9 turnovers and you have the makings for an ugly, ugly game. This game did expose the fact that Iowa probably is not a top 25 team but that the LVs should be until they play a legitimate top 25 team.

I don't see this type of style working against teams with better back courts and better shooting from the 3 line. This bad shooting by LVs is endemic of their season-they are at 43% (245/570) from the field and an even worse 28.7% (74/258) from 3 pt line. So sure be happy today but please do not get carried away that the Lady Vols are "Back" as when they play SC, LSU, Texas, OU and even Ole Miss, they will have their hands full.