Tag: Show Me My Opponent

Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Arizona

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT #6 Arizona (11-0)
(17-9, fired coach 2020-21)
LOCATION Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN
TIME 7 PM ET
CHANNEL ESPN2
ANNOUNCERS Tom Hart (PBP)
Jimmy Dykes (analyst)
SPREAD Sinners: Tennessee -2
KenPom: Tennessee -2
Torvik: Arizona -0.5

Well, hopefully they play this one.

Two months ago:

“Of these six [then-Quadrant 2 opponents], the obvious best team is Arizona, who gets Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd as their new head coach and seems to be generally agreed-upon as a low-end NCAA Tournament team. That would be a good win at home and could potentially end up a Quadrant 1 victory if they just overachieve by, like, eight spots.”

Now:

Dearie me.

The TL;DR here: Arizona is legitimately great, presents serious height challenges for basically every opponent, and seems as serious a title contender as anyone right now. But: they did almost lose to Wichita State and had to battle a full 40 to escape Illinois. Let’s discuss.

Continue reading “Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Arizona” →

Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Memphis

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT Memphis (6-4)
(20-8, NIT champs 2020-21)
LOCATION Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, TN
TIME 12 PM ET
CHANNEL ESPN2
ANNOUNCERS Kevin Brown (PBP)
Jay Bilas (analyst)
Andy Jacobson (reporter)
SPREAD KenPom: Tennessee -5
Torvik: Tennessee -2.6

Rivalries are strange. Rarely do two schools agree that both are at the same level of rival; Ohio State/Michigan or similar is the exception rather than the rule. In hockey, I’m always reminded of the Detroit Red Wings being the Nashville Predators’ main rival despite Nashville probably never ranking higher than fourth on Detroit’s priority list. This relates directly to Tennessee because neither of Tennessee’s supposed main rivals, Alabama or Florida, consider Tennessee their main rival. The only team who has Tennessee #1 on their priority list is Vanderbilt, and, well, yeah.

For some reason, we are here again. Tennessee’s main rival in basketball, for them, is Kentucky. I don’t feel that anyone comes close. Memphis’s main rival is no one, but if asked, fans would name Tennessee. These two programs cannot agree on anything. The two coaches cannot agree on anything. East Tennesseans despise Memphis and vice versa. 5.5 hours separate two programs that hate each other for reasons no one can seem to articulate why they hate the other and how much they actually do hate their competition. A loss by either side turns into days, weeks of fighting online, neither side coming out on top at year’s end.

The Basketball Battle of the Somme returns, possibly for the final time this decade. Seatbelts buckled, overhead restraint firmly clamped down, hang on and enjoy the ride.

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Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: USC Upstate

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT USC Upstate (2-7)
(5-18 in 2020-21)
LOCATION Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN
TIME 7:00 PM ET
CHANNEL SEC Network+ (online only)
ANNOUNCERS Michael Wottreng (PBP)
Steve Hamer (analyst)
SPREAD Sinners: Tennessee -35.5
KenPom: Tennessee -32
Torvik: Tennessee -27.7

Another one of the “I feel bad that you’re here, but at least you’re getting paid for it” games. USC Upstate hasn’t finished above .500 in conference play in seven years; they haven’t finished above 322nd on KenPom since 2016-17. The most interesting things about them: 1. They are Tennessee’s second-straight Spartan opponent, which provides an opportunity to remind you that 300 is a terrible movie; 2. When they came to town last December, they uncorked one of the most absurd made threes of all time:

This is a look-ahead scenario where Tennessee must play Upstate before playing Memphis on Saturday, certainly. But: please no more absurd made threes.

Continue reading “Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: USC Upstate” →

Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: UNC Greensboro

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT UNC Greensboro (7-2)
(21-9, Round of 64 in 2020-21)
LOCATION Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN
TIME 4:30 PM ET
CHANNEL SEC Network
ANNOUNCERS Roy Philpott (PBP)
Mark Wise (analyst)
SPREAD KenPom: Tennessee -18
Torvik: Tennessee -15.1

Let us rejoice that this game is not in Madison Square Garden and is instead in our beloved nuclear fallout shelter with soft rims and softer basketballs.

Continue reading “Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: UNC Greensboro” →

Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Texas Tech

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT Texas Tech (6-1, #19 KenPom)
(18-11, Round of 32 in 2020-21)
LOCATION Madison Square Garden
NYC
TIME 7:00 PM ET
CHANNEL ESPN
ANNOUNCERS Dan Shulman (PBP)
Jay Bilas (analyst)
HOLLY ROWE! (sideline)
SPREAD Sinners: Tennessee -2.5
KenPom: Tennessee -1
Torvik: Tennessee -2

One of the strange things about following a program who has overseen a significant rise in stature and quality of play in the last five years is getting used to playing these neutral-site games in cities that do not match the teams involved whatsoever. Tennessee has somehow managed to become part of the Jimmy V Classic, an event that takes place in mid-December and typically involves the Dukes and Villanovas of the world but has graciously opened its doors to Tennessee for the first time since 2000.

Their opponent, Texas Tech, has been one of the few teams outpacing Tennessee in the “here’s how much Tennessee’s offense has changed compared to other schools” charts I’ve been posting on Twitter. They kept it in-house with Mark Adams after Chris Beard left. Tech has played seven games; they are 6-1 and the one loss is to the only team they’ve faced in the KenPom Top 200, Providence. I hope you’ll understand why I still can’t confidently tell you just how good they are. Let’s find out together on national television.

Continue reading “Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Texas Tech” →

Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Colorado

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT Colorado (6-2, #57 KenPom)
(23-9, Round of 32 in 2020-21)
LOCATION CU Events Center
Boulder, CO
TIME 2:00 PM ET
CHANNEL FOX Sports 1
ANNOUNCERS Jacob Tobey (PBP)
Sed Bonner (analyst)
SPREAD KenPom: Tennessee -3
Torvik: Tennessee -5.1

As part of a hastily-scheduled trip to Knoxville last season, Colorado gets to welcome Tennessee to the CU Events Center for the second time ever and the first time since 1981. Next year, they’ll play again, but it’ll be one of those neutral-site games that is very much not a neutral site (Bridgestone Arena in Nashville). These are the things you do when you have to figure out a quick fix for a COVID-induced hole in your schedule.

Colorado is coming off of a season that I would genuinely describe as possibly their best ever: a 23-9 record (T-most wins in the last 50 years), a Round of 32 appearance, and the #8 ranking in KenPom. Because good things unfortunately don’t last long for them, they’ve had to replace a ton of scoring and talent and appear to be in a transitional year. I suppose this is a nice time for Tennessee to figure out how they react to playing way above sea level.

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Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Presbyterian

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT Presbyterian (5-2, #258 KenPom)
(7-15 in 2020-21)
LOCATION Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN
TIME 7:00 PM ET
CHANNEL SEC Network
ANNOUNCERS Tom Hart (PBP)
Dane Bradshaw (analyst)
SPREAD KenPom: Tennessee -22
Torvik: Tennessee -18.7

Firstly, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was pretty good; I got to see a bunch of people I never get to see and I went to Tennessee’s surprisingly-stressful fixture on Black Friday. And uh this happened.

Oh right! Basketball. Tennessee draws the Presbyterian Blue Hose (yes that is their team name, yes it is apparently a reference to socks?) on what should be a chilly Tuesday night affair in Knoxville. Presbyterian is 5-2, but all five wins are over opponents ranked 206th or worse on KenPom; the two top 100 opponents they’ve drawn have resulted in 64-53 (#45 Clemson) and 79-45 (#76 Cincinnati) losses. This team is actually markedly improved from the last two, which finished 326th and 335th on KenPom. Please take care of business and keep up this sub-2 hour game streak.

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Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Tennessee Tech

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT Tennessee Tech (5-22 in 2020-21)
LOCATION Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN
TIME 3:00 PM ET
CHANNEL SEC Network+ (online)
ANNOUNCERS Andy Brock (PBP)
Steve Hamer (analyst)
Kasey Funderburg (sideline reporter)
SPREAD Sinners: Tennessee -24
KenPom: Tennessee -25
Torvik: Tennessee -20.3

Tennessee Tech is a school in Cookeville, TN; you have probably heard of them if you’re from Tennessee and you have absolutely heard of them if your major was in the field of engineering. They have a Popeyes closer to their downtown (exit 287 on I-40) than Knoxville has to its downtown, which is really depressing to type, but alas. Tennessee Tech’s last three years of basketball: 8-23, 9-22, 5-22. Uh…yeah. The good news: when this game ends, you get to go home and eat leftovers.

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Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: North Carolina

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT #18 (#48 KenPom) North Carolina
(18-11 in 2020-21, Round of 64 appearance)
LOCATION Mohegan Sun Barstool WynnBET MGM Caesars Made an App Yall Arena
Uncasville, CT
TIME 3:30 PM ET
CHANNEL ESPN
ANNOUNCERS Jon Sciambi (PBP)
Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
SPREAD Sinners: Tennessee -4.5
KenPom: Tennessee -5
Torvik: Tennessee -3.1

Tennessee lost a game yesterday. The sky is falling. It is three games in and there are 30 or so more to go, but the season is over. Hate to inform you of this!

Kindness-boosting-editor logging in…

Oh my! Let’s fix this up.

Tennessee lost a game yesterday, but it’s a long season. Games like the Villanova loss are discouraging in the moment, but you can use those as learning lessons, and it seems particularly helpful for a roster that’s led by a true freshman with precisely one senior in the starting lineup. It wasn’t ugly, but Tennessee did do some good things. Villanova really didn’t have a great offensive day; Tennessee has continued the trend of improving their shot selection from the first six seasons of the Rick Barnes era; Santiago Vescovi apparently re-discovered his ability to drive the basketball.

The good thing about silly tournaments like these is that you get multiple tries at a win. Tennessee gets to draw North Carolina, which is in a coaching transition and has featured a very good offense and a horrible defense. The defense is so horrible, that

Kindness-boosting-editor logging back in!

Oh my! I don’t think this one will be fixed. 

The defense through four games ranks 333rd on Torvik when you remove all preseason baselines. That’s bad! Villanova’s defense had holes in it, but they played what might be their best game all year while Tennessee had an outlier of a three-point shooting affair happen. Both optimists and pessimists must remember: it’s a long season.

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Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Villanova

by Will Warren, posted in Tennessee Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
OPPONENT #5 Villanova (18-7 in 2020-21, Sweet 16 appearance)
LOCATION Mohegan Sun Barstool WynnBET MGM Caesars Made an App Yall Arena
Uncasville, CT
TIME 1:00 PM ET
CHANNEL ESPN News (yes, seriously)
ANNOUNCERS Jon Sciambi (PBP)
Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
SPREAD KenPom: pick ’em
Torvik: Villanova -0.1

After a year mostly bereft of preseason tournaments due to COVID-19, they have returned in full force for the most part. Tennessee is participating in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, which is confusingly not being held where the Basketball Hall of Fame is (Springfield, MA) or the College Basketball Hall of Fame is (Kansas City, MO) or even where the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is (Knoxville) but in a casino in Connecticut for…reasons.

To the credit of the tournament organizers, this is the strongest field the BHoFTOT has ever produced. All four participants are ranked among the nation’s top 18 teams in the AP Poll, and pretty much any possible game you could think of is a good one. Tennessee/Villanova is the marquee game of the semifinals: two of the most consistently good programs of the last five years, but with teams that are getting it done in different ways. This is Tennessee’s highest-profile non-conference game since 2018 Kansas; fans are quite reasonably excited about this matchup.

The results produced by both so far are fairly good. Tennessee has two blowout wins over overmatched opponents; Villanova blew out one overmatched opponent, struggled with the other for 30 minutes before winning by 20, and lost to the #2 team in America in overtime, which is one of the most acceptable losses you could have. It’s going to be an excellent basketball game.

Continue reading “Show Me My Opponent, 2021-22: Villanova” →