SB Nation User Blog: bobo_the_vol

ESPN's Pat Forde: Hottest Rivalries in 2009

bobo_the_vol — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:03:07 -0000

ESPN's Pat Forde: Hottest Rivalries in 2009

Say whatever you want about "Loudmouth Lane Kiffin" and how he's the worst coach for the job, he's vaulted a rivalry that had about 0 liters of gas in it and turned it into a bonfire. Honestly, this deal is getting hyped so much if Tennessee does manage to pull off the improbably, Florida's reputation might be completely ruined. And if Tennessee loses, it was expected, Kiffin will get a bit "smacked down" and that will be the end of it. But honestly, guys, what if...?

ESPN - Tyler Smith declares for draft, but will not hire an agent.

bobo_the_vol — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:23:11 -0000

ESPN - Tyler Smith declares for draft, but will not hire an agent.

Finally a real story with this.

ESPN: NBA Draft: Who's in, who's out

bobo_the_vol — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:49:30 -0000

ESPN: NBA Draft: Who's in, who's out

"Tyler Smith, G/F, Tennessee
Smith is an athletic, versatile, talented swingman who has been a borderline first-round pick for the past two years. While his scoring averages were up this year, his rebounding numbers slipped and his shooting percentages plummeted. Smith's struggles to be the primary option at Tennessee had big ramifications on the court for Tennessee and the team lost in the first round of the tournament.

Smith was solid, scoring 21 points in that game, but it's doubtful he did enough to propel himself into the first round. Most likely he's a second-round pick."

There's no * next to his name, which, according to the article, Tyler has hired an agent and will not be returning to the Vols next season.

Youtube Analyzes Berry From Different Angle

bobo_the_vol — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:35:52 -0000

Youtube Analyzes Berry From Different Angle

Experts Agree That When You Play Eric Berry Upside Down He's Still Amazing.

All 3 games involving SEC teams are pegged as "interesting". This tells me that people know the SEC...

bobo_the_vol — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:25:07 -0000

All 3 games involving SEC teams are pegged as "interesting". This tells me that people know the SEC is better than the reports indicate, I believe. Let's see what happens, it'd be a great statement to see all 3 SEC teams advance past the first round.

We Are Playing Better Over The Past 6!!

bobo_the_vol — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:52:59 -0000

Number Crunching (with Bostrodomus)

First off, to see my stats check it out: Tennessee Stats (yes I did make that, woo!)

A few deals with getting technicalities out of the way:

OOC - refers to the first 13 games

IC1 - refers to the next 13 games

IC2 - refers to the next (or last) 6 games

Stats of Note:

FG%: season: 46.1 IC2: 49.7

3PT%: season: 31.4 IC2: 35.3

FT%: OOC: 70.3 IC2 64.3

TO's Per Game: OOC: 14.92 IC2: 12.17

Assist/TO Ratio: OOC: 1.18 IC2: 1.45

Opponent Assist/TO Ratio: OOC: .99 IC2: .83

Rebounding Margin(!): IC1: -1.6 IC2: +9.7

That, my Volunteer Fans, is improvement.

GVX: Vols promise better results against Alabama

bobo_the_vol — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:52:22 -0000

GVX: Vols promise better results against Alabama

11:45 p.m. TAMPA, Fla. — "One round and Greyhound!" That’s what a Kentucky fan shouted in the direction of the Tennessee men’s basketball team Thursday afternoon outside of the team hotel. As if the Vols (19-11) needed any more reminders of their SEC tournament futility. UT has won the SEC tournament only once — 30 years ago in 1979.

Disecting Joe Lenardi's Big 10 Lovefest

bobo_the_vol — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:29:08 -0000

I don't understand how Joe Lunardi of ESPN could make the bracket that he has up right now and still be considered a sane man. Here are the Big 10 teams he currently has reaching the field of 64:

(note: stats taken from realtimerpi.com)

(2) Michigan State RPI Rank: 6 SOS Rank: 7 Record: 24-5 (14-3)

Obviously a lock, the Spartans have played pretty well all year with a couple of bad losses (home vs Northwestern and Penn State, neutral court vs Maryland) and good wins ("neutral court" win over Texas in Houston). Definately a top 3 seed for them.

(5) Purdue RPI Rank: 34 SOS Rank: 42 Record: 22-8 (11-6)

I don't see what the hooplah over Purdue is, to be honest, other than that they are #2 in a fairly strong conference which might (I guess) warrant a #5 seed. But they lost their only two nonconference games against the RPI top 50 (games vs Duke and Oklahoma) and are 6-6 vs the RPI top 50 which, when you factor in their strength of schedule, doesn't really match up all that well overall. They have close losses at Penn State and Northwestern on the "bad losses" column but their only win vs the RPI top 20 was Michigan State at home. Though the Boilermakers do have a big game Sunday at Michigan State to really validate this point.

(5) Illinois RPI Rank: 21 SOS Rank: 25 Record: 23-8 (11-7)

Illinois' SOS certainly doesn't come from the out-of-conference slate which only saw two games against the RPI top 50 in a loss to Clemson and win against Missouri. I think this team still deserves a higher seed than Purdue, having only two bad losses to Penn State and are 7-6 against the RPI top 50.

(9) Minnesota RPI Rank: 32 SOS Rank: 44 Record: 20-8 (9-8)

At 10-8 in the conference and with an out of conference victory vs Louisville (#9 RPI) one would have to expect to see Minnesota in the field. Buuut their out of conference schedule is hardly tough, with only one other game barely falling into the RPI top 100 (#96 v Northwestern State). They are 5-6 vs the RPI top 50. Still, I like the nice out of conference win coupled with the conference schedule to get them in if they win Saturday v Michigan. They are just 5-7 in the last 12 games which is really not good for them.

10 Wisonsin RPI Rank: 31 SOS Rank: 5 Record: 17-11 (9-8)

The curious case of the Wisconsin Badgers. In many ways they resemble our Tennessee Vols in that they've played a toughish OOC schedule save for one tiny difference: they haven't beaten anybody good. Seriously, I don't know how a team with a 4-9 record vs the RPI top 50 gets into the dance, especially when you throw in the stat that they had a 6 (six!) game losing streak in the middle of the year (they won 5 straight after that) but their best win is at home vs Illinois and they have a bad loss against Iowa to more than offset that. They are also just 6-6 in their past 12 with one one of those wins against an RPI top 25 team (and 3 vs the TPI top 50.)

10 Ohio State RPI Rank: 39 SOS Rank: 31 Record: 19-9 (9-8)

I really don't understand how these guys are in it. They have a decentish OOC win vs Butler (#20 RPI) for their plate but they are just 5-8 vs the RPI top 50 (two of those coming against #45 RPI Michigan. Suck it, Wolverines.) and are also 6-6 in their past 12. So I just don't see how these guys get in based on the schedule they play.

11 Penn State RPI Rank: 58 SOS Rank: 79 Record: 21-9 (10-7)

I'm actually more okay with the Nittany Lions getting in than the Buckeyes. I know their RPI and SOS isn't as good but they've got no losses outside the RPI top 50 and have claim to wins against Michigan State and a season sweep of Illinois and are 6-9 vs the RPI top 50. Boost PSU up to a 10 seed and kick Ohio State out imho.

12 Michigan RPI Rank: 45 SOS Rank: 9 Record: 17-12 (8-9)

The "We won one big game so we're in"verines have no business in the Big Dance. Absolutely none. They have a homecourt win against #2 RPI Duke to their credit but are still just 4-9 vs the RPI top 50, with those wins coming home vs Duke, home vs Illinois, home vs Purdue, and home vs Minnesota. Notice something there? Yeah, I did to: they have no road resume worth boasting about. You'd think a 5-7 record in their past 12 (and 5-9 of their past 14) would be enough to kick them out of the NCAA but apparently not. Look, honestly, no team with a losing conference record should even be in the running for an at-large berth in the NCAA. Period.

Overall I think the Big 10 deserves 6 spots in the tourney at this stage. At most. A majority of their RPI, I think, comes from the fact that they have Michigan State in their league and that their teams just upset each other a lot. They have one good team in their entire league, I think. Only Michigan State has the sort of resume to really think they've got a good shot at reaching the elite eight.

And before people start rippin me about how Big 10 > SEC. You know what? The numbers say they are, and I won't argue the point a whole lot (though I will mention that the SEC is very competetive and I think you'll see 3-4 teams in the Sweet 16 from the SEC) but I will argue till I am blue in the face that the conference is not better than the Big East or ACC, both of which deserve as many or more than as many bids compared to the Big 10.

Bracketology - ESPN

bobo_the_vol — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:21:38 -0000

Bracketology - ESPN

Is Joe Lunardi stupid? Does he really expect the Big 10 to get eight teams into the field of 64? That's dumb just to think. And to think that the SEC will only get 3 teams in? How do you justify that one, especially with the way Auburn is playing recently? (LSU, UT, And SoCar are the only three SEC teams included in the field of 64)

I see the SEC getting 5 teams in at a minimum (assuming the winner of the UK / UF game tomorrow doesn't get upset in round 1) and I'd go as far to say Auburn is a lock to make it in.

I'm going to do a fanpost here in a bit running through the Big 10 and evaluating their NCAA resume in comparison with the SEC ..

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Tennessee junior forward Tyler Smith revealed for the first time this season...

bobo_the_vol — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:36:41 -0000

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Tennessee junior forward Tyler Smith revealed for the first time this season that he's considering returning to the Vols for his senior year.

"Sunday could be my last game (at Thompson-Boling Arena), and it might not be,'' Smith said. "It's 50-50 right now.''

GVXtra: Tyler Smith considering returning to UT for senior year