CNNSI: v. Tennessee for #12?

by bluestreet on Feb 25, 2008 9:42 AM PST

Luke Winn (CNNSI) thinks it will be us v. the Vols for banner number 12:

I liked Bruce Pearl's admission that he wasn't sure coming into Saturday's game -- and still might not be sure -- that Tennessee is the nation's best team. He said that all he kept telling his Vols was, "I don't know if we're the best team in the country, but can you believe we're 40 minutes away from being No. 1?"

Now that Tennessee has dethroned Memphis 66-62 and is less than 24 hours away from officially being named No. 1 in The Associated Press and Coaches' Polls, it's worth revisiting the subject: Should the Vols now be considered the favorites to win the national title?

There's only a small pack of legitimate title hopefuls: Tennessee, UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Memphis and Texas. Our national champion won't come from outside that group, because the drop-off to the crowd that includes the rulers of the Big East (Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, and UConn) and Big Ten (Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana) is too big. Of the seven contenders, none has the mix of athleticism and quality depth that the Volunteers do. But if I were to fill out a bracket today, I'd be inclined to set up a Tennessee-UCLA title game with the Bruins winning, for three reasons:

Much of UCLA's roster already has either one or two Final Fours under its belt ...
Florida, the only team the Bruins have ever seemed to cower and hide from, is finally out of the picture
The lone UCLA starter without Final Four experience, Kevin Love, gives them an interior dimension that the Vols simply do not have.

I wasn't all that impressed from what I saw from the Vols on Sat. night. Not sure either Vols or Tigers would finish in the top-3 of the Pac-10. SEC is having a down year and as for Conference USA (or whatever it is that Memphis plays in) I don't need to go there.

Lets hope our boys take care of business on the road this week. If we can get it done this week, we are going to be set to make a run.

Go Bruins!!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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I wasn't that impressed either

they have some pretty freaky athletes though and that can always be dangerous...The final that I would leave to see is UNC UCLA i mean i think we match up well, that game features a couple of POY post guys, a couple of Cousy quility pointgaurds...two great suporting casts that are fairly athletic and skillfull...then more history than you can handle haha...i'd love a shot at Psycho T

O.A.

by Ollie on Feb 25, 2008 11:20 AM PST reply actions

As I said before

The two Tennessee teams didn't seem very impressive to me. It was streetball first and foremost.

by Fox 71 on Feb 25, 2008 1:28 PM PST reply actions

Need To Hit Some 3's

Everyone scares me until the Bruins get a little more consistent with outside shooting.

On a positive note, the recent shooting slump does emphasize one of Howland's basic coaching philosophies; defense doesn't take a night off. When a player's shot is not falling they can still play great defense. That gives the Bruins a chance in every game, regardless of their offensive output.

by Bruin77 on Feb 25, 2008 4:19 PM PST reply actions

You said it

if we keep shooting the way we have been since the Washington St. game, we may be hard pressed to get out of the second round. All teams have to do is start sagging towards the middle and daring us to beat them from the outside. Tennessee did it to Memphis, who also struggles to shoot the ball.

Kansas, UNC, and Texas are the best all around teams I've seen play. I'm not including us in that group until we start shooting better.

"I just think, at the end of the day, UCLA is not a great job." Brian D'Oh!n, 12/07

by godblesstyus95 on Feb 26, 2008 9:38 AM PST up reply actions

I've seen more than enough bad games

out of your three "best all around teams" to say that they aren't above us, Tennessee, Memphis, etc. Don't kid yourself. There is no separation among the top 6 to this point.

by Tydides on Feb 26, 2008 9:42 AM PST up reply actions

Exactly

Those who seem to have other teams on a pedestal but criticize UCLA for not being in the same class clearly have UCLA's bad games in mind but don't remember or haven't seen these other teams play similarly poorly against similarly inferior opponents.

Tennessee lost to an average (at best) Kentucky team. Memphis barely beat the likes of UAB. KU lost to Oklahoma State. Texas lost to a bad Missouri team. There is no team head and shoulders above the rest of the pack this year. Every one of these top teams have weaknesses and they are having these weaknesses exploited by inferior teams, not just other top teams.

by Raisin on Feb 26, 2008 10:41 AM PST up reply actions

Kansas

Seemed to scare me the most in previous years (other than Florida)...I was really proud of our win in the tourney last year...They're scary this year too

O.A.

by Ollie on Feb 25, 2008 5:40 PM PST reply actions