I think there is no doubt Barnes is our best coach in school history. I thought it a couple of weeks ago, but come on.
In his defense, I probably wouldn't want to vote for the guy who made my entire team his [itch bay] either.
I'm no Vols basketball historian, but I can get behind this. I'm curious to see how this team ranks. Feels like it's potentially our best team ever. Definitely feels like the most well-rounded, complete team, to me. But recency bias is a thing.
The landscape is much different than Mears’ days so idk how to compare. An elite 8 run at least and he’s done everything Pearl ever did here and more except for the cheating and philandering
You should never prefer a two seed over a one, regardless of how far you have to travel. There is a distinct advantage in being a one seed.
I agree. There is a cumulative advantage in early match-ups that is inherently there even if it is hard to measure.
Honestly I think the biggest difference is the Sweet 16. If everything goes chalk, you’re playing a three seed. That means you’re going up against a team that has spent a lot of the year either in or on the periphery of the top ten. Then you have to follow that up 48 hours later in the Elite 8 by playing one of the top 4-5 teams in the country.
Can you expand on the distinct advantage? Obviously a 16 will always be significantly better than a 15. But beyond that? Not arguing, just asking.
Fair point. On the other hand Arizona, who would undoubtedly be the 2 seed in the West should Tennessee be the #1, is 1-6 all time in regional final games played in California.
I see you expanding on it above now. I will say, this year, I'm not sure there's that big of a difference between, say, Duke, at #9 (first 3 seed) and Auburn or Kansas at #13/14 (first two 4 seeds).
This year is weird. Pretty clear dip after #3. And I'd say another pretty clear dip after #7. Personally, I think Iowa State is a bit overrated, and I think we can contend with the top 3 (even though our record is 3 games behind all of them).
They don’t math in the coal mines https://x.com/robadob92/status/1765575957014819222?s=46&t=2b6pP7oj5Clj9DJABXtJCQ