Happy Thursday:
It's Time! The Vols are in action tonight versus Saint Peter's in a 2 vs 15 matchup in Charlotte. Let's roll.
We're Taking Your Calls Well Past Midnight Postgame Tonight: 
It's Garza Law Tennessee Basketball Overtime as soon as the game ends. We'll be taking your calls as soon as the game ends and celebrating another Tennessee victory into the wee small hours of the morning. What a great time to be alive and well! This is amazing.
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The Best Two Days In Sports! Beano says it every year and he's right. There are teams and players that you haven't thought about all season who will emerge as stars and steal the show in the front of the tournament. These next couple of days are so bizarre that gamblers will cheer against their bets to see the unexpected. Hopefully Tennessee can stay out of the upset trap this weekend.
St Peter's Head Coach Just Says No To Knecht: Bashir Mason said yesterday that the Peacocks are committed to taking Knecht away and taking their chances with the rest of what Tennessee puts on the floor. We'll see how this works out. The Vols came into gameday as a 22 point favorite. The Vols are #1 in America in offensive efficiency versus the press. St. Peter's loves to press. Good luck to the Peacocks who also play a bunch of zone. The Vols happen to be very good on zone offense as well. If Knecht plays well the Vols could win this game by 40 points. Amazing ...
Assessing Tennessee's Path After Tonight: The Vols figure to draw either Texas or Colorado State in round two. Let's look inside to what each team offers plus peak ahead to the Sweet 16.
Texas Longhorns: The Longhorns don't play an appealing brand of basketball. They've evolved somewhat since Chris Beard (who was terminated last season) but they're erratic though boasting pretty good athletes. Think of a less refined Big 12 Auburn of a few years ago (not the current Auburn team but the one defeated by Miami a few years back). Texas doesn't defend very well and isn't particularly strong at anything on offense. They're middle of the pack on every stat imaginable. In the SEC they would comp to a glorified Texas A&M or Mississippi State of this season. You're probably thinking ... but those two teams beat Tennessee. And you're right ... They did. But those two teams are much better coached than this Texas team by Rodney Terry who's a placeholder head man. The Horns comp to the Aggies or State Bulldogs because they're a pretty good middle of the power five league team. This is a team that shouldn't be able to beat a fully engaged Tennessee team on a neutral floor.
While Texas doesn't do a lot offensively, their big guys can get rolling when they're playing well. Dylan Disu (Vandy transfer) and Kaydin Shedrick (Virginia transfer) are formidable down low. Obviously this is a concern when looking at this matchup. Particularly in light of the play of recent from Aidoo and Awaka. One other personal note on the Horns ... Rick Barnes obviously coached there for 17 seasons and maintains a ton of ties to Austin. In fact current Longhorn rotation player Brock Cunningham comes from a family with ties to Rick Barnes from his days in the Austin community. He's seen Cunningham grow up and now he's got a chance to perhaps compete against him. Small World.
Colorado State: Isaiah Stevens is one of the best point guards in the country but appeared banged up in the play in win over Virginia. Colorado State is really a 6 or 7 seed masquerading as a #10. The Rams had a rough stretch in their conference back in January. They play slow on offense but defend well. One thing they'll do is get downhill on an opponent like Tennessee. The Vols will attempt to keep this team in front of them. Steven will try to shake a myriad of defenders off the dribble. 6-7 Joel Scott is the other key player. They're extremely undersized as no player is over 6-8. Don't let the Virginia game fool you because the Cavs drag everybody into the mud. Colorado State managed that game quite well though they didn't look like a world beater. It's hard to take anything from any Virginia game when scouting an opponent.
Tennessee will try to speed up every team in this four team tournament but it's harder to speed up an opponent than slow them down. The concern for the Vols is that Tennessee has to keep scoring. Tennessee is very good on defense when they get set. The problem with teams that slow it down is that the Vols have trouble scoring at times which means the Vols then aren't set on defense. The Vols haven't been good in transition defense. The Vols have had a lot of trouble scoring of recent in the half court.
Creighton: 3 players average 17 points per game. They’re very good at what they do. Offensively Greg McDermott runs excellent stuff. As Maury Hanks said they have a million plays they run on offense. They don’t play super fast but quickly enough. They’re more skilled than athletic. They’re a big sized mid major team. They’re bigger than Tennessee with dare I say a bunch of slower white guys out there. No offense. They have a few guys with NBA aspirations. PG Steven Ashworth 6-1 170 transfer from Utah State had a HORRIBLE START to the season but turned it on recently. They were forced to stick with him and the lights have come on recently. They have size down low but they won’t bully you. Ryan Kalkbrenner 7-1 is a very good rim protector and is a finesse guy. He’s a better version of Aidoo. He’s probably heading into the portal and might even be Duke bound before it’s over. Tennessee would be -1 versus the BlueJays who are the 2nd best 3 seed by rank.
This would be one hellacious college basketball game. Tennessee would have to play their best game since Auburn to beat these guys. It would be a really interesting game for those that love the sport. If both teams play their best game the Vols should win. Personally I’m cheering for somebody to knock Creighton out. Could we see South Carolina again? Do we want to see South Carolina again? SC seems to have the key to hanging in with the Vols sort of like the Lady Vols have the ability stay on the floor with Dawn Staley’s bunch.
Does Stephen F’in Pearl Have A Gripe? He’s pissed because Auburn won the SEC Tourney and is going out west to Spokane to start the festivities. Auburn goes into the tournament as a 4 seed. They join Tennessee in 2023 as the only teams to be top 5 in NET and not get a #1 or #2 seed. Interesting. The reason they were so highly rated by the computers is that they just eviscerated lessor competition. It’s that simple. The metrics reward the haves blasting not beating but BLASTING the have nots. The problem with Auburn is that while doing this they only amassed 2 quad one wins coming into the SEC Tournament. Therefore when the seeding committee sat down all they saw was a resume replete with a whole lot of nothing.
Interesting Side Note On Gonzaga Ending Up In Tennessee’s Region: It should actually be BYU there but the committee had to do a late switcheroo since BYU can’t and won’t play on Sunday. So the #1 5 seed had to slide all the way to the middle of the 6 line while Gonzaga got a kiss of fate becoming the top #5 seed in the tournament. That’s wild.
Mark Griffin Returns Scouting Tonight's Opponent: It's Griffin's patented 3 pointers ...
Griffin's 3 Pointers
'Griffin’s 3 Pointers- Saint Peters | 2012-22 | Wagner | 165 | 130 | .559 | 2 NIT Appearances |
| 2022-Present | Saint Peters | 33 | 31 | .516 | 1 NCAA Appearance- 2024 |
| Overall | 198 | 161 | .552 |
3X NEC Coach of The Year- 2016, 2018, and 2021
- TEAM: Overall 19-13 Conference 12-8 (Home 8-5 Away 8-8 Neutral 3-0)
Wins over NJIT 75-48, Niagara 72-67, Canisius 54-52, UMBC 66-60, Kean 73-70, Bucknell 67-58, Iona 69-57, Mount St. Mary’s (MD) 70-64, Manhattan 81-68, Canisius 70-59, Siena 63-52, Siena 75-53, Iona 59-53, Mount St. Mary’s (MD) 70-65, Marist 69-60, and Manhattan 89-57.
MAAC Tournament- Rider 50-48, Quinnipiac 62-60, and Fairfield 68-63.
Losses to Seton Hall 59-70, FDU 70-71, University of Mass-Lowell 61-69, Rutgers 40-71, Duquesne 59-68, Fairfield 67-76, Rider 57-62, Niagara 59-68, Marist 52-63, Quinnipiac 73-84, Fairfield 62-64, Rider 56-61 and Quinnipiac 74-89.
| NCAA | St Peters | | UT | |
| Points Per Game | 65.3 | 343 | 79.5 | 49 |
| Opponents Points Per Game | 63.4 | 12 | 67.9 | 66 |
| Points Differential | +1.9 | 173 | +11.5 | 18 |
| Field Goal % | 39.7 | 353 | 44.4 | 191 |
| Opponents Field Goal % | 41.4 | 46 | 38.9 | 6 |
| 3 Point Field Goal % | 33.2 | 228 | 34.2 | 170 |
| Free Throw % | 71.3 | 214 | 74.9 | 63 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 35.6 | 151 | 38.8 | 39 |
| Rebounds Differential | +2.8 | 94 | +3.5 | 70 |
2022-23 Overall 14-18 Conference 7-13 (Home 8-6 Away 4-11 Neutral 2-1) Preseason Ranked 10th out of 11 teams in the MAAC
- WHO TO LOOK OUT FOR: Corey Washington— 6’6” 180 Sophomore
| Field Goals | 136 | Field Goals Attempted | 292 | Field Goal % | 46.6 |
| 3 Point Field Goals | 24 | 3 Point Field Goals Attempted | 75 | 3 Point Field Goal % | 32.0 |
| Free Throws | 116 | Free Throws Attempted | 148 | Free Throw % | 78.4
(8th MAAC) |
| Rebounds Per Game | 6.6
(6th MAAC | Points Per Game | 16.5
(4th MAAC) | Average Minutes | 28.6 |
2023-24: Preseason All-MAAC 3rd Team 2022-23: All-MAAC Rookie Team
| SEC/MAAC | UT | | St Peters | |
| Points Per Game | 79.5 | 5th | 65.3 | 9th |
| Assists Per Game | 16.8 | 3rd | 10.8 | 11th |
| Field Goal % | 44.4 | 9th | 39.7 | 9th |
| Free Throw % | 74.9 | 6th | 71.3 | 7th |
| 3 Point Field Goal % | 34.2 | 6th | 33.2 | 9th |
| Rebounds | 38.8 | 4th | 35.6 | 4th |
| Blocks | 4.7 | 7th | 4.3 | 1st |
| Steals | 7.9 | 3rd | 7.2 | 5th |
Go Vols
Mark Griffin' previewing Ole Miss Baseball.
Evan Russell ... On TLD Logistics Extra Innings Talking Vol Baseball.
John Adams ... On Kim Mulkey and LSU's Draw ...
Mr C ... On Tennessee's path and the best plays in the first round.
Finally: Thanks to Tony Vitello for putting up with me yesterday as I went back for more 3 times on Tennessee's series at Alabama. Tony is greatly appreciated and always rolls with the punches quite well with us.
ICYMI from Wednesday: Brian Hartman Stops By For This Food For Thought ... This is a very thought provoking piece. Of course the Barnes-Stormers are never going to read this with an open mind while people like me that toggle back and forth on the Barnes can smell what Brian is cooking here.
Brian Hartman
'ZZ Stop and Kyle Alexander injuries impact Coach Barnes' March Perception Rick Barnes has won over 800 games during a head coaching career that dates back to the early 90s and has included stints at 5 different schools. But he's only taken one team to a Final Four. That was Texas in 2003.
Barnes' record in the NCAA Tournament is 27-26, which isn't great, but not as awful as some perceive.
He has been a March Madness participant much more often than not. However only 1 Final Four appearance out of 26 chances leaves lots to be desired.
Coach Barnes' teams are usually highly seeded. On multiple occasions they have lost to a lower seeded team much earlier in the tournament than they should have. That is a fair point to make.
It has to be pointed out that the NCAA Tournament is a random, single elimination crap shoot where lots of luck can be needed to advance real far. Lots of luck not only includes favorable bounces of the ball, but also key players staying injury free for an entire season.
Case in point: The Vols were a 3 seed in 2018. They shared an SEC regular season title with Auburn, swept Kentucky in the regular season before losing to the Cats in the SEC Tournament championship game. The #1 seed in their region was Virginia, who became the first 1 seed in tournament history to lose in the first round to a 16 seed, who was Maryland-Baltimore County. Whatever and whoever that is. The 2 seed was Cincinnati, who blew a huge lead before losing to 7 seeded Nevada in the second round. The Vols easily dispatched 14 seed Wright St in the first round. They looked ready to make a serious run, right?
At the end of the Wright St game, Kyle Alexander sustained an injury that didn't look to be too serious. Not much was made about it by the TV crew. But his hand injury was serious enough to keep him out of their second round game vs 11 seeded Loyola Chicago. Loyola knocked out 6 seed Miami in the first round on a 3 pointer in the final seconds. You know what happened vs the Vols.
If Kyle Alexander plays, the lack of a rim protecting center versus Loyola would not have been an issue. As that's what came back to bite the Vols in that game.
13 seed Buffalo knocked out 4 seeded Arizona, paving the way for 9 seed Kansas St to meet Loyola in the Elite 8 game. Kansas St took advantage of 1 seed Virginia's absence in the second round. K St upset 5th seeded Kentucky in the Sweet 16.
That bracket opened up nicely for the Vols. Their loss to Loyola by 1 point will always sting and bring out the what if Kyle Alexander had been healthy question.
Fast forward to 2023. Last season. Point guard Zakai Zeigler tore an ACL vs Arkansas during the second to final game of the regular season. He wouldn't play again until November. The Vols earned a 4 seed, which enabled them to get past Louisiana in the first round. Tennessee was a slight underdog to 5th seeded Duke in the second round due to no Zakai. But they dispatched Duke pretty easily by 13 points, bullying them around in the process.
The 1 seed in this region was Purdue, who became the second #1 seed in tournament history to lose to a 16 seed in the first round. Both times that's happened, Tennessee was in the same regional. Wild. 9th seeded Florida Atlantic was fortunate to beat Memphis in round 1 before taking advantage of 16 seed Fairleigh-Dickinson in the second round. You know what happened in the Sweet 16 vs the Vols. The Vols would have only needed to win over a very beatable 3 seed in Kansas St in the Elite 8 to make it to a Final Four. With Zeigler healthy, they might have been favored to do just that. I should also point out that 2 seed Marquette got upset by Michigan St in the second round. This bracket also opened up favorably for the Vols. But without Zakai, they were not equipped to take advantage.
What if at least 1 if not both the 2018 and 2023 teams had made it to a Final Four? How would coach Barnes' history in March have been looked at differently?
That question needs to be asked in fairness to Coach Barnes. Unfortunately, both seasons will have to remain giant what ifs. Around these parts what ifs can be sometimes the best we can do.
Just my two cents
Through The Glass
Brian Hartman
Producer TB Show'
Here's Matt Dixon who was on hand for Tennessee's win over Xavier with more.
Matt Dixon
'Tennessee got back in the win column on a long and cold Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium with a 10-2 victory over Xavier.
The Volunteers improved to 19-3 (1-2 SEC) on the season and a perfect 16-0 at home.
After Christian Moore led off the bottom of the 1st with a walk, Blake Burke blasted his 8th home run of the season to right center field to give Tennessee an early 2-0 lead.
It was Burke’s 38th career home run, tying him with baseball hall of famer Todd Helton for 3rd-most in school history.
Zander Sechrist made his usual midweek start. The lefty went three innings, allowing a walk while striking out three.
Xavier used a 2-out, pinch hit double, a wild pitch and then an infield single to the left side to plate their first run in the top of the 4th and cut the Vols’s lead to 2-1.
Tennessee responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning after back-to-back hits to lead off the frame. Reese Chapman had a sac fly, another runner scored on a Charlie Taylor grounder to shortstop and an RBI groundout by Moore made it 5-1 after four.
The Musketeers scored a run in the top of the 5th to make it 5-2 but that was as close as they got.
Veteran lefty Kirby Connell left a runner stranded at 3rd base to end the 5th, then pitched two scoreless innings in relief to earn the win.
Dylan Dreiling's RBI double down the left field in the bottom of the 7th was the Vols’s first 2-out hit of the game and made it 6-2.
Three straight walks made it 7-2 but the Vols would leave the bases loaded after a strikeout ended the inning.
After three walks loaded the bases in the bottom of the 8th, Cannon Peebles brought all three runners home with a line drive double to left field that got past the diving fielder to make it 10-2.
Notes: —
Right-handed pitcher Marcus Phillips left in the 8th inning after throwing just nine pitches and recording one out. Not good development for a team that currently lacks dependable bullpen arms, especially from the right side.
— Tuesday night’s game was the start of an 8-game home stand for the Vols. Tennessee hosts Ole Miss in a 3-game series this weekend, plays Tennessee Tech next Tuesday and hosts Georgia next weekend.
@Mattdixon3'
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