Ole Miss was hot. After playing future #1 seed Baylor to the wire (80-75) and then crushing Miss State and beating Vandy @ Vandy they were playing well. They have size, athleticism, quick guards and guys who can really shoot it.
Keys
1) Stay calm- after being up big in the 1st half in what seems like our last 6 games we were down. We had 9 TOs at half and Ole Miss hit a lot of really tough shots. That is okay! That is basketball and we stayed calm even when we couldn't quite regain the lead. We didn't play super clean but we kept chipping away.
2) Defense late- when it seemed we couldn't get a stop we clamped down in the last 5 minutes. We started dominating and being the aggressor playing their ball screen offense. We challenged shots and the rim and dominated the boards.
3) Hubbs and Williams close- we leaned on our studs late and they delievered. Hubbs was attacking and Grant was a beast on defense blocking shots and getting around in the post for steals (against the best big in the SEC). Also massive shot by Admiral late to get us there!
Under rated
1) Kyle Alexander. His stats tonight won't wow you but he absolutely battled on the boards and blocking shots. He is gaining more confidence and is really running the floor well (huge for bigs). Also played very solid post D all night.
2) Lamonte Turner- he had 3 really bad and unnecessary turnovers. But he was steady down the stretch. Hit a massive 3 and dished out 4 assists and was 3-4 from the field. Lamonte HAS to stop the bad TOs. Turnovers are absolutely part of the game but he seems to make too many really really bad TOs that frankly should rarely happen. We need his shooting ability going forward and he is starting to learn how to dish the ball if you look at his assist numbers 2nd half of the year.
3) Bowden- one of the most consistent players on the team. Great stroke from 3 and he hit some big ones including the dagger to put it away. 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Good defender who is learning to be a pest on defense. Going to be a really good player as he learns how to attack the basket to score and pass which will come with age.
This was a massive win. This team showed they can play a full game and make winning plays down the stretch against a good team. This is part of learning how to win and will be huge going forward this year and into next. We watched growth tonight!
Hopefully Vol fans come out on Saturday against a scrappy UGA team. It makes a difference when TBA is rocking. Unfortunately down here in Memphis I can't be at TBA but the last 6 or 7 minutes you could hear through the TV how loud it was. We win Saturday we are sitting pretty!
Great win for the Vols!
Keys
1) Stay calm- after being up big in the 1st half in what seems like our last 6 games we were down. We had 9 TOs at half and Ole Miss hit a lot of really tough shots. That is okay! That is basketball and we stayed calm even when we couldn't quite regain the lead. We didn't play super clean but we kept chipping away.
2) Defense late- when it seemed we couldn't get a stop we clamped down in the last 5 minutes. We started dominating and being the aggressor playing their ball screen offense. We challenged shots and the rim and dominated the boards.
3) Hubbs and Williams close- we leaned on our studs late and they delievered. Hubbs was attacking and Grant was a beast on defense blocking shots and getting around in the post for steals (against the best big in the SEC). Also massive shot by Admiral late to get us there!
Under rated
1) Kyle Alexander. His stats tonight won't wow you but he absolutely battled on the boards and blocking shots. He is gaining more confidence and is really running the floor well (huge for bigs). Also played very solid post D all night.
2) Lamonte Turner- he had 3 really bad and unnecessary turnovers. But he was steady down the stretch. Hit a massive 3 and dished out 4 assists and was 3-4 from the field. Lamonte HAS to stop the bad TOs. Turnovers are absolutely part of the game but he seems to make too many really really bad TOs that frankly should rarely happen. We need his shooting ability going forward and he is starting to learn how to dish the ball if you look at his assist numbers 2nd half of the year.
3) Bowden- one of the most consistent players on the team. Great stroke from 3 and he hit some big ones including the dagger to put it away. 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Good defender who is learning to be a pest on defense. Going to be a really good player as he learns how to attack the basket to score and pass which will come with age.
This was a massive win. This team showed they can play a full game and make winning plays down the stretch against a good team. This is part of learning how to win and will be huge going forward this year and into next. We watched growth tonight!
Hopefully Vol fans come out on Saturday against a scrappy UGA team. It makes a difference when TBA is rocking. Unfortunately down here in Memphis I can't be at TBA but the last 6 or 7 minutes you could hear through the TV how loud it was. We win Saturday we are sitting pretty!
Great win for the Vols!
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