TN ranking streak likely to end + And it does . . . (merged thread)

[MilfordHusky]

Lady Vols players post game Press Conference:

Diamond is obviously upset with the coaching staff.

Wow! Where is Holly when Diamond is saying this?

 

[Wbbfan1]

Diamond is being honest in her assessment. Lady Vols would have lost by double digits if Diamond doesn't play in the 2nd half. Vols made their comeback when Diamond was in the game. The bigger question is why was Diamond in the post game press conference. Probably to save Mercedes and Carter from answering tough questions.

 

[Blueballer]

Wow, just when you think it couldn't get any worse. Only by 1 point 57-56 but a loss none the less. I didn't bother keeping tabs on this as I thought TENN would win easy. LUU is 9-18.

 

[calpedaler]

the refs cheated the Lady Vols

 

[hardcorehusky]

Did I hear correctly during the broadcast that Creme has them as a 5 seed? Tennessee does not pass the eye test.

 

[Adesmar123]

Did I hear correctly during the broadcast that Creme has them as a 5 seed? Tennessee does not pass the eye test.

Or the smell taste

 

[Wbbfan1]

Creme has 9 SEC team making the tournament. This I don't understand. There's only one dominant team and even they are struggling and the more the SEC teams beat up on each other. The more experts think its a great conference this year. They can't be watching the games.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Holly's post game Press Conference:

 

[calpedaler]

Wow, that's an ugly shirt.

 

[Vowelguy]

The more experts think its a great conference this year.

Massey ranks it the #2 conference.
Sagarin ranks it the #2 conference.

It is not biased experts; it is the result of the data.

 

[Wbbfan1]

SEC is like the B12 used to be. Every time an SEC team beats another SEC team the conference RPI is going up. If SEC had two or three dominant teams instead of just one, the RPI wouldn't be as high as it is. Because the Stats say its a good conference, doesn't make it so. They don't pass the Eye test.

Massey ranks it the #2 conference.
Sagarin ranks it the #2 conference.

It is not biased experts; it is the result of the data.

 

[Kevin G]

They haven't been a Top 25 team for weeks. Finally those voters cannot give anymore excuses to place them in the poll.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

DD had a decent game 8-13 for 19 point put the ending of this game will be the poster child for silly play for a long time.
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400831666

This is the end of the era. Holly Wharlick is gone either within the next couple of days, or by the end of the season. The team has been spectacularly inconsistent, beating ranked teams, but losing to unranked teams. Staying close to top teams, but then losing to an LSU. And inconsistency is the fault of the coach. Further, her inability to integrate DeShields is also her fault. This kid was the #1 player in high school, and followed up that ranking with the #1 freshman in the country designation. Now she's two years older, yet isn't even starting? She might have poor shooting percentage, and committing turnovers. But given her abundant talent, it's up to the coach to iron out any kinks. Amazing that while playing a losing team, Tennessee's top scorer not only didn't start, but only played 24 minutes.

Wharlick's departure will mark the official end of the Pat Summitt era.

Oh, and Tennessee will receive no points in either poll this week. No more clinging on to the 25th spot. It's the end of the era.

 

[Kevin G]

lol... Diamond comes across like "not my fault we lost, coach took me out of the game."

Was that Diamond or her father?!

 

[Vowelguy]

They haven't earned a spot in the tournament.

I would be curious to see the 40 teams with better resumes than the Vols.
Before today, their last 4 losses were to top 20 teams by a total of 14 points.
I don't like the Vols, but the evidence easily supports them making the tournament.

 

[Vowelguy]

SEC is like the B12 used to be. Every time an SEC team beats another SEC team the conference RPI is going up. If SEC had two or three dominant teams instead of just one, the RPI wouldn't be as high as it is. Because the Stats say its a good conference, doesn't make it so. They don't pass the Eye test.

Neither Massey nor Sagarin are RPI ratings. They are computer power ratings. The Massey & Sagarin conference ratings are unaffected by intra-conference games.

 

[FairView]

I would be curious to see the 40 teams with better resumes than the Vols.
Before today, their last 4 losses were to top 20 teams by a total of 14 points.
I don't like the Vols, but the evidence easily supports them making the tournament.

That might be true if the tourney featured the top 64 teams, but it does not. Teams that are not among the top 64 make the dance by winning their conference tourney. There are 32 bids for individual Conference tourney winners and one for the Ivy league, which does not have a tourney. That leaves only 31 at-large bids. There are at least two AAC teams. other than the Conference-Tourney winner, better than Tennessee. That leaves 29 bids. Tennessee is in ninth place in its own league -- that means seven non-tourney winners are ranked above them. That leaves 22 at large bids. If two of the other P5 conferences have 5 teams better than Tennessee and the other two have six, Tennessee is out. That doesn't even take into account leagues like the Big East and Big Sky, which could have more than one team make the Tourney. It looks like Tennessee could be toast.

On another note, as much as I dislike Tennessee, I always hate seeing players put through difficult pressers after losing. I feel for them.

 

[Blueballer]

lol... Diamond comes across like "not my fault we lost, coach took me out of the game."

To her credit she did say she wished she could have played more but her own mistakes had her on the bench.
When the presser begins she looks so bummed out I thought she was going to "Cam Newton" the thing but she stayed and answered the questions. I never ever thought I would feel bad for her but I do.

 

[Sonny44]

If they are an 8 or 9 seed and the committee sends them to Storrs, we can be gracious hosts. Maybe we can even arrange for the team to visit the ESPN studios!

That would be the highlight of their season.

 

[Gate81]

Massey ranks it the #2 conference.
Sagarin ranks it the #2 conference.

It is not biased experts; it is the result of the data.

#2 is not #1.

 

[Vowelguy]

That might be true if the tourney featured the top 64 teams, but it does not.

The lowest seeded at-large team is typically an 11 seed, so roughly you need to be one of the top 40 teams to make the tournament.

Tennessee is in ninth place in its own league

They also are 1 game out of 4th.

 

[Blueballer]

Now there's a petition on Volnation to fire Holly. I guess desperate times call for desperate measures. One of the sigs on the petition is M. Cornelius. Somehow I doubt that's real.

 

[Adesmar123]

The lowest seeded at-large team is typically an 11 seed, so roughly you need to be one of the top 40 teams to make the tournament.

They also are 1 game out of 4th.

They are also 10 games away from being undefeated.

 

[UcMiami]

The lowest seeded at-large team is typically an 11 seed, so roughly you need to be one of the top 40 teams to make the tournament.



They also are 1 game out of 4th.

And one game above of tenth place.

 

[toadfoot]

LSU is the worst team in the league - even worse than Ole Miss - coming into the game at a robust 8-18, they pulled off the "upset" beating Tennessee by 1 point. LSU made 2 FT's in the last 3 seconds to seal the win and a last second 3-point launch by Tenn missed the mark.

NOW can we all agree Tennessee is not a top 25 team? Looking forward to seeing the meltdown by the fans and for both services to have them outside the top 25 for the first time in about a century. I'm thinking about an 8 or 9 seed, if they are even in the tourney as of right now...

I said several weeks ago, when Charlie Creme was slotting Tennessee as a #4, that I could see them falling to #8, but short of losing their last 2 games to Alabama and Georgia they should be in. The kicker could be how much the committee looks at how they arrived at their record. They had a very easy SEC schedule, playing only Vanderbilt and Alabama twice while playing the likes of SC, aTm, Missouri, Mississippi St., etc. only once. In addition, they've played 11 road games and 16 home games. The game against Georgia will be huge. A loss to them would almost certainly doom them to 9th place in the SEC. At that point the only thing that would keep them off the bubble is the name on their jersey. I think the committee would be loathe to keep Tennessee out no matter how much it might be justified.