Virginia up 4 on UT at the half....

[Suebird10fan]

Sorry Sue - should have added the sarcasm emoticon. Yes Phil was correct - I was pulling their orange leg, so to speak.

Seriously tho, Simmons did have a great game. IF that was the kind of efficiency she exhibited every day, then she would be correct to take that many shots. But she's not that efficient at all, as you pointed out. It's one of those things where if she hits more of her early shots than she misses, then IMHO she should continue shooting. But if she misses one after another, as she more frequently does, she should spend more of the game becoming a facilitator (if that's possible) rather than continuing to jack up shots she's going to miss.

In fairness, the same could be said of Bria on several of her 0-11 3-pointer games. Don't get me wrong - I'm not comparing the players - Bria does WAY more when she's playing besides score.

Ok ... Feeling better now.

 

[EricSD]

Ok ... Feeling better now.

A 3-13 shooting day for her again. It's too bad for her that she can't put together more consistent offensive efforts.

 

[Boxerpups4me]

But but but... Simmons showed why she is deserving of AA consideration. I mean a monster game from her in 36 minutes. And she was not a volume shooter.

Virginia is 3-3 with losses to James Madison and West Virginia. This is a WVU team, who by the way, lost to OSU by 9. If Tennessee really is the #3/4 team in the nation, it is an incredibly down season for WCBB. I mean WAY down.

As for the fouls, UVA was called for 18 and Tennessee for 20. Hardly a huge disparity. I think part of the problem is that Tennessee in the past taught defense by being physical and tough. They never learned to play defense by moving their feet. I imagine the coaches just can't suddenly teach how to do that and perhaps that is part of the problem. It's like Jim Calhoun trying to teach a zone defense. He never learned the zone properly and his teams never played a very good zone when they tried.

This Virginia team also lost tonight to K State in the consolation round of the Junkanoo Jam tonight. SMU beat K State in the first game by 11. Tennessee beats SMU tonight by 40. Just makes you scratch your head and wonder why Tennessee can't play with this type of consistency game in and game out. They obviously have the overwhelming talent disparity against Virginia and SMU. Yet, they throttle SMU and play like a glorified high school team against Virginia. Maybe it is a coaching issue, who knows. One thing is certain, they are playing with the same kind of inconsistency that plagued them at times last year and that's what worries me the most about this team.

It's easy for UCONN fans to poke fun at the way Tennessee has been playing, but the truth of the matter is that Geno is a great coach and he runs his offense like a well oiled machine. I know in the Maryland game they had like, what, only six turnovers?? That's just indicative of a very disciplined basketball team and that discipline comes from the top and rolls downhill.

 

[Stray Cat]

...makes you scratch your head and wonder why Tennessee can't play with this type of consistency game in and game out. They obviously have the overwhelming talent disparity against Virginia and SMU....Maybe it is a coaching issue, who knows...the truth of the matter is that Geno is a great coach and he runs his offense like a well oiled machine. I know in the Maryland game they had like, what, only six turnovers?? That's just indicative of a very disciplined basketball team and that discipline comes from the top and rolls downhill.

Boxerpups4me, I applaud your honest assessment. I think you answered your own question. The LV's definitely have the talent but the coaching isn't and hasn't been there for quite a while now. Turnovers are definitely a key stat, as is the ratio of assists to FG's made -- this is a good indication of ball movement on offense vs. scoring from 1-on-1 stuff and put backs. I can guarantee you that UConn ranks high in this category.

However, if I was an LV fan, my biggest concern would be the lack of team defense. This is always evident when they play teams like ND that make them look silly on backdoor cuts. They also are apparently having adjusting to the new defensive rules as another poster alluded to. And overall, they allow average teams to score way too many points. To me this is the most important weapon in UConn's artillery. Even if their offense isn't clicking, their defense will always keep them in the game. You can't always rely on outscoring your opponent...some night you have to allow less points they they allow you. COACHING is the biggest reason that got UConn and the LV's where they are (8 NC's apiece) and where they are headed recently (in opposite directions). Don't let the rankings fool you, there is a huge gap between UConn and most other teams. Stanford and Maryland proved they aren't on the same level, although I think Duke and possibly down the road ND will provide UConn's best competition. I can't see the LV's staying any closer than 20 points to UConn.

 

[Bestiarius]

Boxer, here is my uneducated analysis of what is going on at TN that provides you with so much consternation.

I don’t think there is much difference in the way the LVs play each of it’s games, even though the outcomes are inconsistent. It takes too long for the LVs to figure out the opposition. If an opponent gets hot, the team doesn’t know how to react. Likewise if the LVs get cold. The team just plods along depending on rebounds and taking enough shots to score more than inferior opponents. It’s player talent that allows this approach, and it’s lack of competent coaching that keeps the LVs from being a top team.

Although Holly has been at Tennessee under Pat for 27 years, she doesn’t have 27 years coaching experience. It’s more like 1 year experience 27 times. She lets things happen to the team and it takes her too long to stop the bleeding. Basketball games aren’t long enough to recover from an extended period of poor tactics/strategy. Tennessee matches up better against some teams that others, and if the same game plan is used against every opponent, you’re going to have widely differing results. For instance, SMU has no height and they couldn’t hit their open shots. While the game looked like TN did something right, I think it was a case of SMU being off that night.

For the most part, Tennessee fans don’t realize there’s a problem. It's such an insular culture. Most are irrationally exuberant and puzzled that the team isn’t doing better. Why is this so? TN tightly controls it’s news. Almost everything that appears is under the vols banner. It’s difficult as a Vol fan to get an honest critique and analysis of the LV team. Yes, homerism is expected, but the Vols seem to take it to the extreme. A good example is the TN coverage of Simmons. TN publicity has “convinced” the powers that be that she is an AA and Wade candidate. She had one good game and is now back to mediocrity, yet her good game is heralded like the second coming. The Summitt doesn’t allow any criticism. VolNation does, but few visit the site. I guess Vol fans don’t want to hear it and the administration doesn’t want them to. Fans cancel their subscriptions to local papers if any criticism appears. As a result, the fans continue in blissful ignorance thinking they have the best of everything. This helps keep the LVs from improving.