MBB OGT: #1 UcheaT at #8 FLORIDA -- January 7, 2025 -- 7 PM [ESPN2]

Yep. We'd have won by double digits even if UT had a good shooting night.

 

Credit the bigs for denying all those assists on the lobs at the rim.

 

I think we have an argument for the best team in the country. Seriously.

Offensive scoring
Offensive rebounding.
Defense.
Size.
Athleticism.
Depth.
Coaching.

Hard to claim anyone is better.

 

I was floor level just a couple of rows up. Despite the score, it was a hard fought game. Tennessee defends the whole court. There were many times where we struggled to inbound the basketball. They impose their will on the defensive side of the ball. We really responded to their physicality and we made shots and they shot poorly. As far as the officiating is concerned, it seems they got a lot more calls than we did. They were in the double bonus nearly midway through the second half. Fortunately they shot poorly at the free throw line also.

 

Not sure, I didn't look that far into it. But the other two teams that did beat the #1 teams by more points were both ranked higher that we are/were (#8) last night. One of the teams were ranked #2, but I forgot what the other one was ranked.

 

As was said by the tv cast, we are a final four type of team.

 

Yes, despite the 30 point win, we are not 30 points better than UT. The film will show how many wide open looks that UT had from 3 and just continued to clank one after the next. Plus all the missed free throws. They had a terrible shooting night and it wasn't all Gator D, it was just about missing shots. I still think we win even if they make their open 3s and hit their free throws, but probably by 6 to 10, not 30.

 

I think we are a good team, but Auburn looks pretty amazing.

 

Actually, I was wrong. Golden said that it was mostly Martin and Aberdeen on him. Clayton had him some, but it was the other two who were on him and were staying long to deny him those lobs.

 

That's what Auburn fans are saying about the Gators!

 

In the old Astrodome. Set attendance records and if I recall correctly, "most watched" college basketball game at the time.

Hayes won round one by a couple of points, (Lew was recovering from a serious eye injury).

Arguably, the two games were the biggest college basketball games of the era.

 

Maybe my fault. I sit right behind the Moose Man and just before then during a stoppage in play Doug Shows was within ear shot. I yelled at him something like "Lots of illegal screens out there. I watched you in the North Carolina game and you missed a lot of them in that game as well." He heard me and gave me a look like "You may be right." It wasn't a "shut the F up and I'm in charge" look.

Right away illegal screens called on both teams and play was cleaned up a bit.

The funniest time I yelled at a ref was a long time ago when Gerald Boudreaux was reffing a game and really scoping out one of the Dazzlers during a TV time out. I yelled at him "Boudreaux. Watch the game that closely." He heard me and turned and gave me a sheepish grin.

 

It is going to be a lot harder than last night when we travel to Knoxville. We caught them on a truly off night shooting the ball.

UT really was over-rated at #1 but maybe should have been rated #2. The Rowdy chant of over-rated was lame. Auburn is scary good and to my mind is the team to beat in conference and in The Dance. Broome has a "trick" shoulder and that is their only weakness. If he doesn't reinjure his shoulder they will be extremely hard to beat.

As an Illini alum I hate Bruce Pearl with a red hot passion going back to his sleaziness as an Iowa assistant coach.

 

Report from the Belly of the Beast AKA Knoxville: Many, many comments of "Wow" and "Didn't see THAT coming" "You guys are good", etc, etc.

I'm wearing my traditional post-game (regardless of sport) leather belt with the big Gator buckle.

 

this coach believes the length of the Gator defenders really set the tone for the game. Vols were unable to get anything going off their ballscreen game. I paused one defensive possession where the Vols had a good ballscreen action until the roller ran into Haugh who had helped off his man to tag the roller, who probably would have gotten an open layup without the rotation. And this was not an isolated incident. How many contested shots did the Vols have to take? the defensive effort and energy were things to behold.
Being able to shut down the #1 team when your best offensive player has 7 points is a tremendous showing.
Zel made me shake my head a couple times with his shot selection but his length and aggressiveness really shone through.

This sets the bar high for the future. The one thing the Gators cannot do is have a letdown with the next couple games on the schedule.

 

so you think we shot well? We were 15 to 20 pts better know matter what last night..Clayton and Will had off nights, we missed a ton of easy shots too. Vols got away with muggins last night..tapes will be sent in about this game. We play them again in what 4 weeks and it may be more physical then this. Refs better be ready to blow the whistles on both ends instead of just on our end.

 

Games like yesterday do happen over the course of the year, cold shooting. Even a good defense can't always secure a win. UT had a really bad shooting night but their D wasn't horrible as they held us way below our average. But really good teams have fewer stinker games.
Winning games this year on the road is going to be really really hard.

 

What defense does for ya. Nice to see us bounce back defensively. Coach was not real happy about giving up 106 against UK. What a team defensively last night.