BB: SEC teams exhibition games

Means about as much as UK beating Purdue last season.

And UT is one team Pope seems to somehow win against despite the strategy of getting down double digits in many of those.

It’s an exhibition game. Those are my thoughts.

Tennessee team this year is very overrated, I feel like we have similar players and even then I think we have the upper hand, so I have no clue why Tennessee is ranked top 3 in sec and we are like 7

Coaches use exhibitions for various reasons. Some to jell their starters. Some to just see different players play together. Some to try out new combinations. Never put too much thought into any exhibition.

Bill_the_cat said:

Coaches use exhibitions for various reasons. Some to jell their starters. Some to just see different players play together. Some to try out new combinations. Never put too much thought into any exhibition.

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What he said. A smart coach uses an exhibition to try things out. The exhibitions won't have anything like the fluidity and cohesiveness of an in season game.

Agree that the intents and purposes of an exhibition game may make the outcome mostly irrelevant. But I did think the rebounding for TN was interesting. TN was significantly outrebounded and seemed to put all the rebounding onerous on Brown. He is a good rebounder, but that won't work and it wouldn't work for UK either if Moreno is expected to be the only real rebounder. As one difference, however, I think UK's starting Guards will be better rebounders.

Love that we get real exhibitions now but they are meaningless.

I think it shows TN doesn't have the talent everyone thought. Dominant teams don't look that bad even in exhibition games IMO.

Artlaibesghost said:

I think it shows TN doesn't have the talent everyone thought. Dominant teams don't look that bad even in exhibition games IMO.

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i agree. its why i scratch my head when folks say "these games dont mean anything". they show you something like:

• kahlil whitney can't dribble, pass, or shoot
• bj boston doesnt have the physicality or athleticism needed

watching a bit of UT.....their bigs are trash and they dont have the physicality they typically have. none of that is changing 1 or 2 months from now. their guards/wings went 3-19 from three. imagine if our guards did that....everyone would say we cant shoot.

i'm sure UT will put up a better showing in the games to come and figure things out when the seasons starts, but there are some things that are noticeable about them that might not be fixable.

For the Kentucky game the only thing to pay attention to is unforced errors. How do the players fit together?

Artlaibesghost said:

I think it shows TN doesn't have the talent everyone thought. Dominant teams don't look that bad even in exhibition games IMO.

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I may be wrong but the media has them as the 4th best team in the SEC.

The folks saying these games don't mean anything will be ripping Pope if UK losses one lmao

BigBlueGuru said:

The folks saying these games don't mean anything will be ripping Pope if UK losses one lmao

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i can see uk losing 2 of the 3

BigBlueGuru said:

The folks saying these games don't mean anything will be ripping Pope if UK losses one lmao

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I think if we lose it will be more about how we do it vs losing in general. If it’s the same reasons we’ve seen the last couple years, then this board will be wild.

TTTblue24 said:

I think if we lose it will be more about how we do it vs losing in general. If it’s the same reasons we’ve seen the last couple years, then this board will be wild.

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Dude it doesn't matter how we lose they will find something. Heck if we win all 3 some will find something to make it negative.

ThreeDogNight2 said:

Tennessee team this year is very overrated, I feel like we have similar players and even then I think we have the upper hand, so I have no clue why Tennessee is ranked top 3 in sec and we are like 7

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Absolutely right! Barnes didn’t recruit to his strengths as a coach. I have a hard time seeing this team being one of the better defensive teams in the SEC.

Don't care if they are just exhibitions, or the FF, you don't work as gard as these guys do all summer long just to be okay with losing just because it's an exhibition game. I guarantee those UT players wanted to win.

Not gonna open my mouth about any other team on this planet, at least not until about 915 tonight.

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Ready to get this season started!

Most exhibition games mean exactly that - nothing.

But in Tennessee's case, wait a second....

Entire newly new team, never played together before. All hearing how good they *should be* and drinking the kool aid. Rick Barnes post game comments were scathing. If you saw the game, several things were apparent :

1 - Rebounding was shockingly poor for a Barnes team. As was defense. Zavier had similar size, TN looked small. Physically. Got outrebounded. Outhustled. Even losing multiple rebounds off missed free throws. Only 4 offensive rebounds? It was shocking.

2 - Straight line drives allowed straight to the rim? Yep. Multiple times. TN played no defense no rebounding. Barnes said it.

3 - They didn't scout nor gameplan for the other players.

Barnes said they did that intentionally to see how they responded "on the fly" ... and they needed a scouting report. They were totally unprepared. Xavier, and coach pitino jr were. A decent team, not too shabby, decent sized, but should definitely NOT have been up by 20 with less than 2 minutes remaining?!?!? In Knoxville?

Wow

Offensively, a bunch of one on one stuff and poor shots and turnovers aplenty.

It was a telling game, even in exhibition, go watch it. Go listen to Barnes post game.

Never seen a worse defensive and rebounding performance from a Barnes team. He said trhe players hadnt been listening and they had been on them about all of these things from the outset.

Little nervy, jangled? That too, to a smnaller degree, Barnes said. But absolutely no excuse once the game settled down.

Led at half a single digit lead, but then the second half they caved in. Once Zavier got some offensive momentum .... 12-2 run to tie and take the lead .... then they kept hitting shots, UT took poor shots, missed way too many, and by the 4 minute mark, and they were looking up at a double digit deficit, it seemed like they just played like, well, we will lose, but it's JUST AN EXHIBITION GAME.

They play a meaningless game @ Cameron indoors against pUKe next.

Better get them boys a scouting report, Coach Barnes. Or have you withdrawn your name for potential Coach of the Year yet again this season, before you have played your first real game?

Vols look massively overrated, smallsih and defensively/rebounding - shockingly poor. That's all on effort. All I know is if they keep playing like that, Michigan st. FSU, NC State and Maryland, and any of the other OOC games against a team with a pulse, is going to lay the woodshed beating on them. If they lose 3 or 4 games in that stretch before the first conference game vs. Vandy in Knoxville .... they are going to get annihilated in the SEC.

Looks like he got what he wanted, a lot of film to teach them before it's too late.