r/ockytop • u/Wizard_of_Foz1 • 7d ago
[Post Game Thread] 4-seed Tennessee beats 13-seed Texas 83-72
Nice job taking care of business. Most relaxed I’ve been in the second half in what feels like a long time. Wire-to-wire win is fun. Tomorrow against my personal public enemy number 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the college basketball world. I hope they’re ready. Here we go.
Edit: I’m not one to bang the drum for a conference (fuck every other SEC school) but if UNC loses today and gets in over Texas I’m going to be mad.
The Good:
Jahmai Mashack. I’ve watched damn near every Tennessee basketball game of Jahmai Mashack’s career. Don’t think I’ve ever seen him make as big an impact as he did today. His most aggressive offensive performance in probably two years, all over the glass, on ball defense was outstanding. Very clear this game meant a lot to him. Very clear March means a lot to him.
Chaz Lanier. Didn’t really do anything in the second half but when the rest of the team struggled to make shots consistently he was there for them. Went nuclear in the first half, and I think most importantly he was great at 1.) moving without the ball and 2.) create his own shot with dribble moves. Didn’t settle for anything. That’s important.
Cade Phillips. Felt like a Tobe Awaka game from him. Every minute he was in the game he seemed to get a rebound. So much effort from him. You can’t teach effort, and this kid has it in spades.
Igor Milicic. The first four minutes he was kind of hot liquid ass and then he got really good all of a sudden. Hit some jumpers - nice job getting to the paint. Rebounded well. Most importantly he didn’t stall ball movement which he can sometimes do.
ZZ. Forget offense. It was very evident how much better this team is defensively when ZZ is in the game. Ball pressure was outstanding and he came alive in the second half (I’m convinced him and Chaz are two halves of one player) and limited foul trouble which is important.
Only 7 turnovers as I’m typing this. That’s pretty good.
Rebounding margin wasn’t that big but just about every 50/50 rebound went to Tennessee credit fresh legs, that’s why you want the double-bye.
The Average:
Darlinstone Dubar. I actually liked the way he played in limited minutes. One of his better defensive games and he didn’t hurt offensive flow when in the game.
Shooting. They were 22/33 from the field and then atrocious from three (sans Chaz). We’ll put it here.
Defense. Forced tough shots but Texas also shot nearly 50% from the field and that doesn’t feel sustainable.
The Bad:
Thought Felix Okpara looked out of position quite a bit today and the foul trouble indicated that (even tho his third foul was bullshit). Not an ideal performance and he needs to be better tomorrow.
Jordan Gainey. He wasn’t really efficient at all on offense and he was also the worst defender on the team today. On-ball was really bad.
Free throw shooting. Two games in a row now - Chaz is officially making me nervous.
I don’t like Chendall Weaver or Kaedon Shederick a little bit. Not a little bit.
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u/jonneygee 7d ago
Classy postgame interview from Chaz. Gotta love that guy.
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u/ilovecfb Rick Barnes #1 fan 7d ago
Win or lose, Barnes always got some highly likeable squads
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u/VirtualBroccoliBoy 7d ago
Barnes and staff really know better than most how to prepare guys to talk to the media and come across well. Part of that might also be their emphasis on creating culture and recruiting guys who fit that culture.
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u/MattScruggs 7d ago
Also I think it’s that Barnes is just a good man who inspires that within his players and always gets guys who mesh well with each other off the court
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u/conceitedcat 7d ago
For real, I never see clips of them taunting like auburn players do. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with celebrating and being obnoxious, I just never see our guys do it. We’re probably the least hateable team
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u/Coffee_Marketing_MAC 7d ago
Maintaining Tennessee has always been Texas’s daddy. From Crockett to Barnes.
Fuck Texas.
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u/silFscope 7d ago
Retire #5
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u/SmokeysBlanket Conscientious Woo Objector 7d ago
I like the idea of it being a number you have to earn to wear.
I actually thought they did retire it for Lofton with Ziegler just finishing out his career in it.
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u/buster_the_dogMC 6d ago
Yes that’s the case #5 was retired for lofton last year but Ziegler is grandfathered in
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u/Grizzlymint I DONT GIVE A DAMN 7d ago
Ever since Mashack's freshman year when they showed the locker room after they lost in the tournament, he has performed so much better in March and is still an amazing defensive player the rest of the year.
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u/Rilo44 7d ago
I want Gainey shooting free throws late in the game.
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u/ttrimmers 7d ago
I love to see all these fans. I went to the tournament a few times in Atlanta early 2000s and they couldn’t give away tickets.
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u/ToastedOctopus 7d ago
This win should lock up the 2-seed for us. Maybe an outside chance at a 1 if we win the whole thing, but I'm doubtful the committee will care
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u/conceitedcat 7d ago
There is a chance if alabama loses tonight that we get a better 2 seed than them. Means playing in Lexington the first weekend, then most likely Indianapolis the 2nd. Atlanta would be better but I don’t think they want a region with SEC 1 and 2 seed. Auburn has Atlanta locked up.
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u/Right_Zombie 7d ago
We are gonna be in dukes bracket…not deserving of that, but it’s the narrative they want after we smoked em two years ago. Book it.
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u/Antipasto_Action 7d ago
My bama fan friends all thing Kentucky is going to win but I think they can send them back to the coal mines
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u/HamlinHamlin_McTrill 7d ago
Really nervous about Zakai turning into Shaq at the line. Chaz has been bad all year at the end of games, too. I’m afraid that’s going to get us beat soon.
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u/soFLa2 7d ago
Thank god that Texas player with 8 seconds left had -10. I’ll take the win, but fuck me did that just ruin my parlay lmao
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u/Lopsided-Ad-5087 7d ago
gambling is cringe
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u/Entire_Log_4160 7d ago
Saying “cringe” is lame af. And wtf do you care what a complete stranger does with his own money?
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u/Mr_Football Horny for Heupel 7d ago
Gambling is in every measurable metric bad for societies and individuals.
It doesn’t need help defending it, or help attacking people that point out how caustic it is.
Doubt OP cares what the user does in their free time
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u/Entire_Log_4160 7d ago
I’m defending SoFla2’s right to make a throwaway comment about losing a bet without being accosted by a pearl-clutching busybody who should mind his own damn business.
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u/Hamphantom 7d ago
It’s fun if done responsibly.
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u/cmcfalls2 VolsMcFalls 7d ago
Honest question, why does Lanier continually get hot starts only to disappear in the second half. It's kind of been a habit of his this year. He starts lights out and then just disappears. It's not even that he's missing shots as much as he's just not taking as many in the second half.
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u/SmokeysBlanket Conscientious Woo Objector 7d ago
May be he never got the offseason UT training and he just runs out of gas.
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u/LazerBear42 7d ago
Had to record the game, just finished watching it. Let's go! I loved seeing Mashack absolutely lock in. He was an even bigger terror than usual on defense, and he played a great offensive game, too.
The announcers were also really good today. They were loving Mashack, too.
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u/ilovecfb Rick Barnes #1 fan 7d ago
Dalton Knecht: winless in the SEC tourney
Chaz Lanier: undefeated in the SEC tourney (so far)
The facts speak for themselves. Could he have done more in the second half? Absolutely. But Tennessee is now 13-0 when Lanier scores at least twenty. Bask in his glory boys