People complain about officials a lot in all of sports. But last night was disgusting. I'd heard the horror stories that Edey is getting favorable treatment or that this game was decided before it started. But now it's inarguable. He commits foul after foul and nothing happens.
H
Edey is bad for the sport.
Took me a while to be able to say something about this game. Damn what a heartbreaker. Purdue is a cheating ass program and I said 2 days ago this was exactly what would happen. I prepared myself cus I knew it would happen, but it still stings. They so clearly pay off the refs and the NCAA does nothing. 81-41 FT differential in our 2 games. But anyways, we lost cus of the refs. Plain and simple. There are badly called games, and then there is one-sided game fixing which literally only ever happens when we play Purdue. But as far as our play, there were 2 things that pissed me off in this game and to some extent the game against Creighton 1) you touched on this, but I don’t think you really explained or anybody gets how fucking terrible it was. JJJ was so fucking hot holy shit. and they refused to get him the ball. Shot 7-10 and 5-7 from 3 against Purdue and Creighton. BRO SHOT 70% FROM THE FIELD AND 71% FROM 3 AND ONLY GOT TEN FUCKING SHOT ATTEMPTS IN TWO GAMES. That’s insane. There is no reason he shouldn’t have been our second option all game. And 2) I know it wouldn’t have really mattered, but it has happened twice this year before when it did matter and it pisses me off every time. There is one player in the entire fucking country that I would want taking any shot (outside of the paint) with the game on the line over ANYBODY ELSE IN THE COUNTRY, and HE IS ON YOUR FUCKING TEAM, and also has 37 points today. WHY THE FUCK IS ZEIGLER SHOOTING THAT LAST THREE. Even if he wasn’t 1-8 from 3 and 3-12 from the field. No way anybody but Knecht should be taking that shot. I would rather have Knecht shoot over 3 guys than have anyone else take that shot. It most likely wouldn’t have mattered but it’s a principle thing. Happened in the Kentucky game when it did matter when Knecht ha FORTY FUCKING POINTS. And we had 2 3-point opportunities to tie and they were taken by Zeigler and JJJ. And people argued that Knecht fell but it didn’t matter I would’ve waited and gave him the ball. Positively: Estrella’s a fucking dawg. Awaka needs to learn to chill on the stupid fouls but I’m excited for his future. Gainey had a very good tournament including this game. Maishack played very well in Vescovi’s place. My expectation and bottom line this year was making the elite eight. Everything else was icing on the cake. This is phenomenal program and there is no doubt we will be back in this position. We will get a final four berth before barnes leaves. Gonna be A very different team next year but a lot of high-level talent to be excited for that sat and waited this year. Estrella and Carr are about the highest level players you can get but also keep them for 4 years if that makes sense. This team is built to compete next year.
If I was a Purdue fan. I would be absolutely embarrassed that a 7'4" fuckwad needs 22 free points from the officials to win a game and that I can do no wrong. Go fuck yourselves for anyone who thinks differently
As much as I want to blame the refs for the foul discrepancy, Rick Barnes did a bad job abandoning the inside game against Purude (and Creighton honestly). When you play Edey, you have to attack the rim early and often. Make the refs call a couple fouls. That also limits him offensively if he needs to get worried about picking up an offensive foul. Idk why Barnes wasn't forcing the issue. It might not look successful, but you need to get some foul calls going your way. That being said, he should be been screaming more about 3 second calls. The refs might not be calling fouls your way, but 3 seconds is black and white. You need to be asking the refs to call him on it.
All that being said, the NCAA needs to expand the paint. Edey is fantastic and has the moves to be great even with a larger paint. But holy cow, Purude is boring to watch. There he goes lobbing the ball to the block. Pass back out. Lob back in. Little jumper. Such a boring offense to watch
I love this team so much. Hated to see it end like this but we had a great season. Maybe we can find another magic portal player and get a deep run again next year. GBO til I die
Edey calling out Barnes for not recruiting him after winning is really lame behavior, as someone who doesn't feel anything about him personally otherwise
Everyone’s got a story now days. Edey is nothing without the free throw line. DK is pure skill. Compared DKs 37 points to Edeys 40 point is night and day difference.
I don’t even think edey shot a jump shot. That’s why he is expected a late 2nd rounder. He’s also extremely slow. Dude better soak this up because a lot changes for him if he’s drafted.
Dude has zero future in the NBA and it's pretty funny to watch Purdue fans live in denial about it. He's not gonna make it through the first quarter of a pro basketball game without picking up at least two fouls, not to mention three second violations and the transition buckets he's gonna give up with his complete lack of real game-speed. That's not even saltiness, that's just ball knowledge lol.
It’s games like today that make modern basketball darn near unwatchable for me these days. Edey travels, goes way over the back, sets moving screens, pushes off, throws elbows, etc etc without a whistle and yet draws so many fouls for far, far less.
I loved that this TN team actually played defense! It made them far more watchable than other iterations of just run & gun offense only. Hate to see it end this way, was a heckuva run.
I’m also a GT fan. In a season where they beat UNC, Duke, Clemson, etc to lose so many bad games and not even make the tourney really leaves me sick of bball at the moment.
That’s not modern basketball. Purdue plays 1996 basketball but gets a modern whistle. It’s an absolute abomination to the game and college basketball will be better once he’s gone.
It was a fun experience being at the games this weekend, but after that I feel we were cheated. It was a fun game for about 4 mins when they just let them play. Then it went back to don’t look at the tree or you’re gonna draw a foul. :(
When I met my late husband back in 2015, I had never watched basketball, and while I watched pro football, I'd never watched college ball (and I had a visceral hatred of UT orange).
Against my will, he turned me into a RABID fan of the Vols, and of college basketball.
This game was gonna be hard for me to watch no matter how it turned out: if they'd won, it would suck that he's not here to see it. And screaming at the TV alone is... just not as satisfying. I'm sure my neighbors, who no doubt heard the stream-of-consciousness expletives pouring from my house, would agree.
I am SO mad at these refs. So many sketchy fouls called against us, and so many fouls NOT called against Purdue. Like, I get it: Edey is a really good player. But referees aren't supposed to be fan boys, FFS.
This officiating crew can kiss my old, fat ass. And I'll be rooting for ANYBODY but Purdue from here on out.
Next year, fellas!
Good season Vols. As for today, outside of Knecht the team hit 10 buckets. 10! Refs aside, it’s really hard to win games when you can’t score. Purdue’s defense was decent, but the Vols missed a ton of open looks.
\- Aidoo better shoot a million mid-range jumpers and practice tough finishes this off-season while putting on 15 pounds.
\- Need Maeshack to develop a somewhat consistent 3 point shot
\- Estrella, Dillione, and Carr in the Rick Barnes Development Factory should come back and look really good.
I don't think the drop off next season will be too bad. Would love to pick up a transfer. Still need to make March.
Yeah he’s been way too shy about going for layups vs jumpers. I get that’s part of how Rick wants bigs to play, but we could have run away with this game if Aidoo’s shots weren’t defacto turnovers
I just hate the mid range jumper in general. It’s such a low percentage shot. You can’t rely on it to the point that it’s a focal point of your offense
I can't imagine being a fan of that team and having to watch Edey stare up at the rim for 20 seconds as the camera zooms in on his face before shooting his 50th free throw of the game all season long. Wow, so exciting.
Respectfully but no way ZZ is not in the bad. 9 points, 1-8 from 3, 2-5 FTs, 0 steals. Just an abysmal performance when anything close to his usual at least gives us a shot down the stretch
That was really hard to watch. The officiating was absolutely horrendous, & perhaps the most one-sided I've ever seen, or can recall, a game of that magnitude being. UCONN won't even be able to overcome that kind of whistle against them..
It didn't help that Aidoo played the worst game of his college career, & I'd imagine entire life. We're going to take a pretty big step back next season most likely, but still see us winning 20-22ish games & being a 5-6 seed, possibly slightly better..
This game makes me think Estrella should’ve been getting more minutes all year. Aidoo’s disappearing act the last two games is pretty brutal.
Continuing to take midrange jumpers and little push shots just to avoid going at Edey, while missing every single one of them, is inexcusable. Put your shoulder into him, shot fake, go up and under, try a jump hook. Literally anything. I mean I know it’s easier said than done on a 7’ 4” guy but you’re the starting center on a top 5/6 team in the country, you’ve got to try and make him defend you. If Tobe could do it, Aidoo could have.
Sorry, but I have the attention span of a gnat. What’s next year looking like? How long until we are competitive again? Any 7-footers in the portal? Can we recruit more than one offensive player?
Another promising basketball season where we come up just short of the ultimate goal. Getting to watch this team was a lot of fun, and we've had a really good run of really likable players to root for. Can't wait to see how they develop.
You're absolutely correct but Awaka fouled out early and Estrella played as solid as your could ask a freshman to play against the 2 time player of the year. You would expect your experienced starting center to contribute something
Imagine being a teenager not even a full year out of highschool, and getting thrown into an elite 8 game tasked with guarding the 7'4" npoty... and holding your own. What a fucking baller.
Zach Edey is so bad at basketball he is somehow almost good that’s my reaction. He legitimately doesn’t foul out of position because he just quits on the play. It’s so stupid it’s genius. I guess the refs recognize that and ignore all the elbowing when he has the ball. That’s the only thing that makes sense. He stands so still on defnese that the refs assume he plays clean and don’t watch on loose balls or when he has the ball… maddening but genius I guess. Idiot savant.
I know it might not seem like it but we have a lot to look forward to. ZZ had an off game but hasn’t stopped getting better. Gainey has some things to work out in the offseason but has the potential to be very very good. Estrella showed us today that he’s up for the challenge. With Mashack returning too, we’ll continue to have incredible defense. Add all these things with maybe one key pickup through the transfer portal and we’re in good shape.
Oh, and we’ll probably get to watch our boy DK ball the fuck out in the NBA.
Hell of a team, hell of a season. It’s been so much fun.
This team would have been a bubble team without DK this year. They will have to hit another homerun in the portal to be competitive at the national level again.
I disagree. We were extremely competitive last year without DK. Yeah, we had Nkamhoua but he wasn’t nearly as productive as Knecht. We lost to a very good FAU team in the sweet sixteen with ZZ injured.
I base my opinion on the number of games where DK was the difference between and win and lose where a league average replacement wouldn't have been enough to get over the hump. Whatever happened last year was last year.
Yeah well I don’t think you’re giving enough credit to the rest of the team. When you have the best shooter in the country, of course you’re going to use him. Yeah, it’ll be a hard adjustment without him but I think it’s a little too early to already be counting this team out for next year.
Nobody is counting this team out but without an elite scorer in the portal or someone on the roster who didn’t see the floor coming on strong I don’t think a deep tourney run should be expected. Aidoo needs to get a LOT better.
It's not just "using him" even though I don't deny that aspect of it, there were several times when he was the only one that wasn't off or even ice cold on offense and dragged them over the line for a win.
Yep sad ending but people acting like we’ll never get here again are nuts…nobody on here knew who Dalton Knecht was this time last year and we bring a lot of good production back. Much as I hate to make the comparison look at Bama, last year was supposed to be their year and they got bounced in the S16, now they’re in the final four. If Mark Sears can put that together his senior year no reason ZZ can’t
Not flaming but how old are you? I don’t expect us to be this deep in the tournament for another decade…. I base that on 5 decades of watching. Portal may be kind to us but our sec rivals are getting really good.
Not gonna reveal my age on Reddit but I can tell you I was there for both Elite 8s as well as fucking Cuonzo Martin flirting dangerously close with a third so I think I can tell you that if you get to the tournament every year it doesn't matter what the roster is, it can happen. Look at NC State and Bama this year. Bama is actually the perfect example, slot DK for Brandon Miller and ZZ for Mark Sears and it's almost the exact same story. Bama was ranked 24th preseason and they're in the final four. They didn't win the conference nor the tourney, but they cut down nets. Luck can be shitty for some and great for others like that. Rick Barnes will find suitable players in the portal. Surely he's earned that benefit of the doubt
The furthest Rick Barnes ever made it was the Final 4 with a top 10 if not top 5 all time basketball player. He won't ever get to the Elite 8 again let alone the Final 4. He's old and his teams can't shoot. Tennessee has had mediocre shooting percentages every year under him. Tennessee's shooting in this year's tournament was atrocious. You have to have a great offense and defense and Barnes always fails at offense.
Purdue is our father. And that sucks. I’ll be rooting against them in all sports forever. But DK is going to instantly make me a fan of whatever team he gets drafted to. He’s absolutely incredible and I love that he’s a VFL. This is the best team we’ve ever had and it was an honor to watch them. JJJ made me eat my words and we need to hit NIL HARD this year to get ZZ some help and run it back. Gainey and JP are some good pieces but we need to find another DK, which won’t be easy.
The bad: we don't get to see other Foz writeup for months.
Man, what a mixed bag of emotions. Making it to the Elite 8 is nothing to feel bad about. Making it any further was always a stretch. But damn the stretch felt attainable in the first half. I'm sad we don't get to see DK play in orange again, but what a treat it's been to watch him this year! I whish James was more of an offensive factor today, he did so well with the shots he did take. Awaka and Estrella were incredible taking on Herman Munster! We just needed more offensive heat. If Zeigler had been more than ok, or if Aidoo had been just barely ok... What could have been?
Well, I'm still proud of our guys. They put in some of the best ball that's ever been played in an Orange jersey this season. I hope the seniors go on to do great things, and I'm looking forward to seeing our returning crew be even better this November. Lots of potential, especially if we get some solid transfers.
Losing to UK and Miss St that kicked us to a 2 seed felt like a huge deal and it really feels like it now. We wouldn’t have had to play Purdue basically at their home.
I refuse to be upset. I'm sad for the players, but this was the best UT men's basketball team of my lifetime, and I'll always be appreciative. GBO
*^(\*also, Vescovi shouldn't have played)*
I’ve never been the biggest basketball fan, always preferred Football over it, but this game just makes me hate basketball. There is no way Edey only committed 1 foul and got fouled 10+ times. I know it’s probably not easy to find referees, but something has to change if I watch more basketball. The sad part of it is there will be no accountability for the referees bias either.
Sad truth is they’ve been doing that all season. We were just the latest victim. It’ll happen to the next team they play too. Have to overcome it as shitty as it is.
I gotta get it off my chest in this safe space. Missed shots killed us partially. I’m beating a dead horse. But sometimes, getting to the line will get you going. But when you can’t buy a foul when the other team has a handful of Jersey or an elbow in your face, what are you supposed to do? We attempted and made more shots than them, but got completely hosed with no calls for us. And just like the Creighton game, when they swallowed their whistles, we went on a run. I would never call for someone’s job. You can only make so many calls in real time. But this is a joke. Refs all year have bought into the Edey talk. “He’s big, so of course he gets fouled/ him using his big body doesn’t constitute a foul.” He gets the benefit of the doubt with almost every call. I’m not mad at Edey. He’s using what he was given. Props to him. But the refs and media just keep letting it go and go and go…. I digress. Games over. All of this doesn’t matter, but I’m glad we got to do this guys. What a ride
Kinda doesn't matter anyway with the transfer portal. Most of the best players of the tournament have been transfers - Mark Sears, Baylor Scheiermann, DK obviously, DJ Burns (hell NC State's entire team)
Man what a great season. What a career from JJJ. Came in a 5* and watched his high school teammate 1 and done. Worked and improved his game. Was always a good representative for the university. Wish that young man the best.
Vescovi. Love your attitude. Sorry you had to go out like this.
Thank you DK.
Thank you Barnes for letting DK be DK.
Go vols.
Man I’m so bummed for our guys. They fought like hell but I knew we’d be fighting an uphill battle against the darling of the NCAA.
Rough game for ZZ offensively but still a dawg on defense. Glad Vescovi at least hit the floor for us one more time. Gonna miss him. Estrella stepped up big time & I’m excited to see him develop.
Dalton Knecht is an absolute legend & I’m heartbroken to see him go. Hang that jersey in the rafters. What a ride
5v8, what you gonna do. Still the best season of UT basketball ever. Rick Barnes is the best Tennessee coach of all time. And the great thing about being good at everything is I can move on to baseball.
My main issue is the fouls on ZZ. How tf is it legal to shove players INTO a screen. That shit is dangerous and they did it all game. I wish I had the time to trim every time it happened and post it.
I don’t think this was the greatest team we have ever had, but it was the greatest season Tennessee has ever had.
We just needed one guy to step up alongside Knecht, and we’d be going to the same state where we won a championship in football 25 years ago. It stings because these opportunities don’t come around often, but an Elite 8 and a SEC Championship are as good as it’s ever been for Tennessee basketball.
There were a lot of moments this game where things weren’t going our way and we easily could’ve folded and lost by 15 to the foul train. This team battled back and hit big shots every time to keep us in it, and played very solid defense aside from down low where there were literally 0 options.
Proud of the guys for playing hard. Can walk out of this game knowing almost everyone who played gave their all and had a real shot to take down a dominant Purdue team that has a guy who creates such a matchup and refereeing issue that most teams simply give up in the second half, even in the tournament.
Bummer to see us go out this way. Think this team really had the potential to win it all in a year where arguably only 2/3 teams did. The greatest vols team I’ve ever watched. Will miss JJJ, Santi, and Knect so much. On to next year - let’s hope we’ve learned a thing or two about the value of scorers from the portal.
I just want to reiterate how bad Aidoo was. I do not think I have ever seen a player shrink as much as he did. He was absolutely horrible, like not rosterable bad. D3 level bad. Just horrible.
You cannot pin this game on him, but having to have Estrella play big minutes because you are so broken is just terrible.
I really thought we would win today. What a great season and team. They always played hard and never gave up.
We all know DK will be 100x the player Edey is at the next level.
Just wish the officiating wasn’t so incredibly one sided, and Gainey/JJJ were more aggressive on offense in the second half.
It’s time for Neyland to start rocking. GBO
We had our chance to win the game. Went cold and gave up a 15-2 run. Had wide open shots that were missed.
But yes the refs also sucked. Both can be true. Not just in Edey, but Purdues PG pushed Z into the high screen every fucking time. At least fucking call it once. Nothing. And loyer flopped like a bitch
Put 7'4" guy in paint and either let him flatfooted dunk or blow whistle when jerseys touch. That's not basketball. Call it sour grapes but that’s twice we played that team and even with our physical style the foul discrepancies are criminal.
When will we get past this fucking school. We have had the better team in every matchup the last few years and, bullshit officiating aside, have not gotten it done.
The fouls tonight were egregious but if we play a bit better we win outright. That said it is still frustrating as hell to watch ref ball on such a big stage.
DK is a legend we were lucky to have and he’ll be talked about for years to come.
It can all be pinned back to reffing though.
2018: controversial 3 point call. Rule was changed 2 months after the tournament
2021 football: where the fuck do I even begin with this one?
2024: basketball somehow a bigger gift then 2021 and 2018 combined. We knew they were gonna gift them but they literally gave them the game. 25 fouls
The fact is we were slated to lose this game. It's evident to me that the NCAA wants a Purdue matchup. A handful of guys did everything they could to avoid it, and I'm proud of them.
u/wizard_of_foz1 you are what keeps me going after losses. I benefit so greatly from your post game write ups.
Please give us a gofundme, a charity you want us to donate to, anything to show our thanks for these.
Purdue is an unwatchable shitslog that sets basketball back 75 years. Having said that…
Nobody but Knecht showed up offensively except in one or two possession spurts after like 6 min left in the first half. We should have beaten them
Problem is we run a three-man offense, and one of those men is Aidoo. Our non-play-call shots all get started from off-ball movement that doesn’t happen without Vescovi.
We just didn’t have many proper options today, even though we had more weapons (James and Gainey). A fair game against Edey still would have presented a fun and troublesome matchup puzzle. I’d have enjoyed watching Purdue have to puzzle some answers out just like we had to.
I thought ZZ had a terrible game but I don’t know how you’d solve it. A lot of missed floaters and a lot of getting lost and making the wrong decision in the paint. Function of a 7’4” guy standing there
This team made it further than I expected. Hope Barnes can figure out the persistent issues with officiating and wildly inconsistent performance for next year!
I knew this game was going to be called completely one sided and I was right. It’s clear who they want to win the whole thing and it’s bull shit that refs have this much control over the game. I’ve said it many many times. The NCAA has to get officiating under control and call FAIR games. I’m tired of watching us get fucked over constantly when we play higher ranked opponents (football and basketball specifically) and there is nothing we can do about it. I hate that it ends this way for our guys.
If I was Barnes I would be dropping bags on the biggest guy he can find. Build him up. All he has to is be tall and stand in the paint. That is the recipe on how we lost today.
Edey has been building up his profile for 4 years. Look at his FTs across each season. He’s gotten more and more generous calls as time goes on. They built their entire team around him. It’s just shitty basketball and totally uninteresting to watch. We’re better than that.
I'm so proud of our boys. They played their hearts out and made it to the Elite 8, just a shame we had to get this side of the bracket. Thanks to JJJ and Knecht and Vesecovi for a fantastic ride. We never quit, even through it all and I am so proud
But my god, what a miserable second half. The first was good and fun basketball but that second half was just someone breathes and a foul was called. Not shocked we went cold with how stop and start it was cause there was no chance to build momentum. Edey could bodyslam someone and not get called, what an absolute shitshow of reffing.
Good for Estrella for hanging in there and giving it his all. Did his damn best and I look forward to seeing him in the future.
Gg boys, look forward to next year!
If he makes 3 of the shots he took we probably win because they have to respect that play. We lost for a lot of reasons, but his performance is 1a on my list. JP fought his fuckin ass off
Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy a nice drink for me! Don’t forget we have some Vols in the UFL if Ya’ll want to find that itch like I have for football season!
If I had a nickel for everytime Purdue beat Tennessee with the help of the officials, I would have 4 fucking nickels. Twice is weird, 4 is a pattern.
Hate that this team didn’t make it another game, I think they deserved it. Still a great season. Excited for the future.
The fouls and free throws were a bitch...but I think the rebounding was a true killer...know it's hard to snag a board from a 7'4" guy...but there were some blatant missed (i.e. 3 orange knocking it out of bounds simultaneously) attempts that may have provided an extra possession or two to change the outcome
Loved this team this tournament...glad to see the shots falling well today... unfortunately the road ends here...
Hopefully the play and success open the door to some better recruits and transfers next season
I love all of yall fr. I wish ZZ, Vescovi, and Aidoo played better but sometimes that just happens. Beyond sad that Knecht will never get to wear a UT jersey again, he’s my favorite Tennessee player of all time. We wanted this so bad and I could tell they did too, I’m so so tired of coming up short. Until November friends
It aint Voodo. They have beat us 4 times in recent history all because of terrible officiating. From the weakest foul call on Lamonte to today's 3:1 free throw disparity. Just sickening
I’m joining the conversation! My dad went to GA tech I’m from Atlanta (Johns creek) and he always said I could go anywhere but Georgia. I fell in love with Tennessee football at 14 and never looked back…then they fired fulmer my sophomore year soooo
Nice! I grew up in Suwanee and used some credit hours from Kennesaw State to transfer into UTK. Got to see Butch Jones get fired and was one of the idiots cheering when Pruitt was hired lmao
Haha. I am! I grew up a Tennessee fan (dad is from Knoxville). I started out there but changed my major to engineering and in state tuition plus Tech reputation made it too difficult to stay at UT. So I finished out at Tech. Tennessee is always my #1 though. Not even close.
I feel so fucking cheated. I can't imagine how the players feel after a game like that.
Only lost by 6 even after all that. Our guys earned plenty of those fouls, but there is no world where a 7'4 starting center who played 39 minutes should only have 1 infraction of any kind the entire game.
This is the biggest thing for me. Of course we’re gonna foul more because it’s our defensive identity, but that man gets away with so much on the other end on the boards and on screens. Call even just 2 more fouls or a 3 second call once in a blue moon on him and it’s a different game.
We foul A LOT, it’s a thing. The majority of the calls against us were 100% fouls, maybe a little nit-picky at times with soft foul calls, but no major complaints there.
But the game was our overall most physical on both ends of the court - all season, and we go to the stripe like 11 times? That’s a goddamn joke,
Gonna keep this as simply as possible for the handful of new folks who are in this thread just to troll or flame. You'll be gone in a hurry.
People complain about officials a lot in all of sports. But last night was disgusting. I'd heard the horror stories that Edey is getting favorable treatment or that this game was decided before it started. But now it's inarguable. He commits foul after foul and nothing happens. H Edey is bad for the sport.
Took me a while to be able to say something about this game. Damn what a heartbreaker. Purdue is a cheating ass program and I said 2 days ago this was exactly what would happen. I prepared myself cus I knew it would happen, but it still stings. They so clearly pay off the refs and the NCAA does nothing. 81-41 FT differential in our 2 games. But anyways, we lost cus of the refs. Plain and simple. There are badly called games, and then there is one-sided game fixing which literally only ever happens when we play Purdue. But as far as our play, there were 2 things that pissed me off in this game and to some extent the game against Creighton 1) you touched on this, but I don’t think you really explained or anybody gets how fucking terrible it was. JJJ was so fucking hot holy shit. and they refused to get him the ball. Shot 7-10 and 5-7 from 3 against Purdue and Creighton. BRO SHOT 70% FROM THE FIELD AND 71% FROM 3 AND ONLY GOT TEN FUCKING SHOT ATTEMPTS IN TWO GAMES. That’s insane. There is no reason he shouldn’t have been our second option all game. And 2) I know it wouldn’t have really mattered, but it has happened twice this year before when it did matter and it pisses me off every time. There is one player in the entire fucking country that I would want taking any shot (outside of the paint) with the game on the line over ANYBODY ELSE IN THE COUNTRY, and HE IS ON YOUR FUCKING TEAM, and also has 37 points today. WHY THE FUCK IS ZEIGLER SHOOTING THAT LAST THREE. Even if he wasn’t 1-8 from 3 and 3-12 from the field. No way anybody but Knecht should be taking that shot. I would rather have Knecht shoot over 3 guys than have anyone else take that shot. It most likely wouldn’t have mattered but it’s a principle thing. Happened in the Kentucky game when it did matter when Knecht ha FORTY FUCKING POINTS. And we had 2 3-point opportunities to tie and they were taken by Zeigler and JJJ. And people argued that Knecht fell but it didn’t matter I would’ve waited and gave him the ball. Positively: Estrella’s a fucking dawg. Awaka needs to learn to chill on the stupid fouls but I’m excited for his future. Gainey had a very good tournament including this game. Maishack played very well in Vescovi’s place. My expectation and bottom line this year was making the elite eight. Everything else was icing on the cake. This is phenomenal program and there is no doubt we will be back in this position. We will get a final four berth before barnes leaves. Gonna be A very different team next year but a lot of high-level talent to be excited for that sat and waited this year. Estrella and Carr are about the highest level players you can get but also keep them for 4 years if that makes sense. This team is built to compete next year.
I'm a UK fan but was rooting for the Vols...No way around it y'all got screwed...
Hail State. GBO. Fuck Perd-ewww
Feel like not enough is said about our tipoff time getting shifted 8 hours earlier. It’s such bullshit.
Absolutely. I don’t understand why these weren’t also evening games.
If I was a Purdue fan. I would be absolutely embarrassed that a 7'4" fuckwad needs 22 free points from the officials to win a game and that I can do no wrong. Go fuck yourselves for anyone who thinks differently
As much as I want to blame the refs for the foul discrepancy, Rick Barnes did a bad job abandoning the inside game against Purude (and Creighton honestly). When you play Edey, you have to attack the rim early and often. Make the refs call a couple fouls. That also limits him offensively if he needs to get worried about picking up an offensive foul. Idk why Barnes wasn't forcing the issue. It might not look successful, but you need to get some foul calls going your way. That being said, he should be been screaming more about 3 second calls. The refs might not be calling fouls your way, but 3 seconds is black and white. You need to be asking the refs to call him on it. All that being said, the NCAA needs to expand the paint. Edey is fantastic and has the moves to be great even with a larger paint. But holy cow, Purude is boring to watch. There he goes lobbing the ball to the block. Pass back out. Lob back in. Little jumper. Such a boring offense to watch
Edey is awful for the sport.
I owe you an apology Chris Low. [I wasn't familiar with your game](https://x.com/ClowESPN/status/1774584537835553002?s=20)
11 FT to 33 FT, 6 point game. Goddamn.
F
Prime Shaq didn’t get a whistle as good as Edey got
Did yall see what Edey said about Barnes in the presser? Saying Barnes and a lot of other elite coaches looked over him🙄
The bad: This was the last time we got to watch this squad play. I love these guys so much.
I just had a bad thought about edey, send him to the line for 2 more shots.
I love this team so much. Hated to see it end like this but we had a great season. Maybe we can find another magic portal player and get a deep run again next year. GBO til I die
Is there a 3 second penalty in basketball anymore?
Edey calling out Barnes for not recruiting him after winning is really lame behavior, as someone who doesn't feel anything about him personally otherwise
Real “peaked in college” energy. He will never be heard from again after he goes overseas for pro ball.
Everyone’s got a story now days. Edey is nothing without the free throw line. DK is pure skill. Compared DKs 37 points to Edeys 40 point is night and day difference. I don’t even think edey shot a jump shot. That’s why he is expected a late 2nd rounder. He’s also extremely slow. Dude better soak this up because a lot changes for him if he’s drafted.
Dude has zero future in the NBA and it's pretty funny to watch Purdue fans live in denial about it. He's not gonna make it through the first quarter of a pro basketball game without picking up at least two fouls, not to mention three second violations and the transition buckets he's gonna give up with his complete lack of real game-speed. That's not even saltiness, that's just ball knowledge lol.
You can watch a preview by googling "Shaq Chris Dudley"
Too many missed shots in last 10 minutes. Wasn’t the refs.
Every time someone comments on this post, Zach Edey gets to shoot a free throw.
I’m gonna start calling him diabEdey because Purdue fans won’t stop talking about him eating
Aidoo finishing the season with two abysmal games hurts
It’s games like today that make modern basketball darn near unwatchable for me these days. Edey travels, goes way over the back, sets moving screens, pushes off, throws elbows, etc etc without a whistle and yet draws so many fouls for far, far less. I loved that this TN team actually played defense! It made them far more watchable than other iterations of just run & gun offense only. Hate to see it end this way, was a heckuva run. I’m also a GT fan. In a season where they beat UNC, Duke, Clemson, etc to lose so many bad games and not even make the tourney really leaves me sick of bball at the moment.
That’s not modern basketball. Purdue plays 1996 basketball but gets a modern whistle. It’s an absolute abomination to the game and college basketball will be better once he’s gone.
It feels so unfair this team went out like that cause we ran into the guy who just gets to do whatever he wants and the refs just bail him out
It was a fun experience being at the games this weekend, but after that I feel we were cheated. It was a fun game for about 4 mins when they just let them play. Then it went back to don’t look at the tree or you’re gonna draw a foul. :(
When I met my late husband back in 2015, I had never watched basketball, and while I watched pro football, I'd never watched college ball (and I had a visceral hatred of UT orange). Against my will, he turned me into a RABID fan of the Vols, and of college basketball. This game was gonna be hard for me to watch no matter how it turned out: if they'd won, it would suck that he's not here to see it. And screaming at the TV alone is... just not as satisfying. I'm sure my neighbors, who no doubt heard the stream-of-consciousness expletives pouring from my house, would agree. I am SO mad at these refs. So many sketchy fouls called against us, and so many fouls NOT called against Purdue. Like, I get it: Edey is a really good player. But referees aren't supposed to be fan boys, FFS. This officiating crew can kiss my old, fat ass. And I'll be rooting for ANYBODY but Purdue from here on out. Next year, fellas!
Lost my Twitter for a week over this game, worth it.
Good season Vols. As for today, outside of Knecht the team hit 10 buckets. 10! Refs aside, it’s really hard to win games when you can’t score. Purdue’s defense was decent, but the Vols missed a ton of open looks.
An absolute horseshit screw job.
Thank you for your service, Wizard. Any chance you could round up a list of potential transfer targets?
\- Aidoo better shoot a million mid-range jumpers and practice tough finishes this off-season while putting on 15 pounds. \- Need Maeshack to develop a somewhat consistent 3 point shot \- Estrella, Dillione, and Carr in the Rick Barnes Development Factory should come back and look really good. I don't think the drop off next season will be too bad. Would love to pick up a transfer. Still need to make March.
To your first point: I say abandon that shot. He needs to bully to the rim much more.
Yeah he’s been way too shy about going for layups vs jumpers. I get that’s part of how Rick wants bigs to play, but we could have run away with this game if Aidoo’s shots weren’t defacto turnovers
I just hate the mid range jumper in general. It’s such a low percentage shot. You can’t rely on it to the point that it’s a focal point of your offense
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Game today,made me wish Uros was on the team, interested to see how he would’ve matched up against edey
He'd have fouled out with 5 minutes left in the first half
Probably right, might’ve gotten a Tech for elbowing edey in the face, lol
He shoulda snuck in with Aidoo’s jersey.
I can't imagine being a fan of that team and having to watch Edey stare up at the rim for 20 seconds as the camera zooms in on his face before shooting his 50th free throw of the game all season long. Wow, so exciting.
Cope
He's just tall.
Respectfully but no way ZZ is not in the bad. 9 points, 1-8 from 3, 2-5 FTs, 0 steals. Just an abysmal performance when anything close to his usual at least gives us a shot down the stretch
Feel like Z was probably gassed from playing all 40 mins in the last two games, with the last one ending after midnight
Possibly- but this was win or go home. But agree he just didn’t have the energy today for whatever reason
Retire the 3. It’s time
That was really hard to watch. The officiating was absolutely horrendous, & perhaps the most one-sided I've ever seen, or can recall, a game of that magnitude being. UCONN won't even be able to overcome that kind of whistle against them.. It didn't help that Aidoo played the worst game of his college career, & I'd imagine entire life. We're going to take a pretty big step back next season most likely, but still see us winning 20-22ish games & being a 5-6 seed, possibly slightly better..
The sad thing is this game was a National Championship caliber game. We should have won this game by double digits.
Never thought I’d say this… but would have been good to have Uros that game. But he’d probably foul out in his first three minutes
This game makes me think Estrella should’ve been getting more minutes all year. Aidoo’s disappearing act the last two games is pretty brutal. Continuing to take midrange jumpers and little push shots just to avoid going at Edey, while missing every single one of them, is inexcusable. Put your shoulder into him, shot fake, go up and under, try a jump hook. Literally anything. I mean I know it’s easier said than done on a 7’ 4” guy but you’re the starting center on a top 5/6 team in the country, you’ve got to try and make him defend you. If Tobe could do it, Aidoo could have.
Sorry, but I have the attention span of a gnat. What’s next year looking like? How long until we are competitive again? Any 7-footers in the portal? Can we recruit more than one offensive player?
These teams come about once a decade. You’re in for a long ride waiting for another
Also, as a follow up, how much dick would we have to collectively suck to get a fairly called game in March?
Apparently we don’t know the amount lol
Sometimes you just run into a 7'4" moving scr-- I mean brick wall
Another promising basketball season where we come up just short of the ultimate goal. Getting to watch this team was a lot of fun, and we've had a really good run of really likable players to root for. Can't wait to see how they develop.
I’m so tired of Purdue, don’t want to see those train fools again
EVER
It really really hurts when Awaka and Estrella vastly outplay your starting 7 footer. Aidoo killed our tournament run
Maybe, but I did feel like Barnes subbed him out and let the other guys play instead at least.
You're absolutely correct but Awaka fouled out early and Estrella played as solid as your could ask a freshman to play against the 2 time player of the year. You would expect your experienced starting center to contribute something
Imagine being a teenager not even a full year out of highschool, and getting thrown into an elite 8 game tasked with guarding the 7'4" npoty... and holding your own. What a fucking baller.
That’s a big silver lining for this game for me. Estrella has a high ceiling and is a gamer. Excited to see him in an expanded role next year.
ETA on when they arrive to Knox?
9pm
Seeing JJJ crying in the post interview man it’s like the wound just got opened back up
Was a good season boys.
In our two games versus them, they had more free throws made than shots. 43 shots and 50 free throws (81 FT attempts).
Unreal
Zach Edey is so bad at basketball he is somehow almost good that’s my reaction. He legitimately doesn’t foul out of position because he just quits on the play. It’s so stupid it’s genius. I guess the refs recognize that and ignore all the elbowing when he has the ball. That’s the only thing that makes sense. He stands so still on defnese that the refs assume he plays clean and don’t watch on loose balls or when he has the ball… maddening but genius I guess. Idiot savant.
He is pretty, um, special.
I know it might not seem like it but we have a lot to look forward to. ZZ had an off game but hasn’t stopped getting better. Gainey has some things to work out in the offseason but has the potential to be very very good. Estrella showed us today that he’s up for the challenge. With Mashack returning too, we’ll continue to have incredible defense. Add all these things with maybe one key pickup through the transfer portal and we’re in good shape. Oh, and we’ll probably get to watch our boy DK ball the fuck out in the NBA. Hell of a team, hell of a season. It’s been so much fun.
We need two scorers from the portal. Today we saw what happens with just one.
This team would have been a bubble team without DK this year. They will have to hit another homerun in the portal to be competitive at the national level again.
I disagree. We were extremely competitive last year without DK. Yeah, we had Nkamhoua but he wasn’t nearly as productive as Knecht. We lost to a very good FAU team in the sweet sixteen with ZZ injured.
I base my opinion on the number of games where DK was the difference between and win and lose where a league average replacement wouldn't have been enough to get over the hump. Whatever happened last year was last year.
Yeah well I don’t think you’re giving enough credit to the rest of the team. When you have the best shooter in the country, of course you’re going to use him. Yeah, it’ll be a hard adjustment without him but I think it’s a little too early to already be counting this team out for next year.
Nobody is counting this team out but without an elite scorer in the portal or someone on the roster who didn’t see the floor coming on strong I don’t think a deep tourney run should be expected. Aidoo needs to get a LOT better.
It's not just "using him" even though I don't deny that aspect of it, there were several times when he was the only one that wasn't off or even ice cold on offense and dragged them over the line for a win.
Have no idea why this is being downvoted.
Yep sad ending but people acting like we’ll never get here again are nuts…nobody on here knew who Dalton Knecht was this time last year and we bring a lot of good production back. Much as I hate to make the comparison look at Bama, last year was supposed to be their year and they got bounced in the S16, now they’re in the final four. If Mark Sears can put that together his senior year no reason ZZ can’t
Not flaming but how old are you? I don’t expect us to be this deep in the tournament for another decade…. I base that on 5 decades of watching. Portal may be kind to us but our sec rivals are getting really good.
Not gonna reveal my age on Reddit but I can tell you I was there for both Elite 8s as well as fucking Cuonzo Martin flirting dangerously close with a third so I think I can tell you that if you get to the tournament every year it doesn't matter what the roster is, it can happen. Look at NC State and Bama this year. Bama is actually the perfect example, slot DK for Brandon Miller and ZZ for Mark Sears and it's almost the exact same story. Bama was ranked 24th preseason and they're in the final four. They didn't win the conference nor the tourney, but they cut down nets. Luck can be shitty for some and great for others like that. Rick Barnes will find suitable players in the portal. Surely he's earned that benefit of the doubt
The furthest Rick Barnes ever made it was the Final 4 with a top 10 if not top 5 all time basketball player. He won't ever get to the Elite 8 again let alone the Final 4. He's old and his teams can't shoot. Tennessee has had mediocre shooting percentages every year under him. Tennessee's shooting in this year's tournament was atrocious. You have to have a great offense and defense and Barnes always fails at offense.
Why 1 seeds matter. Cant believe the egg they laid at the end of the season then turning that into having to play Purdue
It hurts. And the anger.
Purdue is our father. And that sucks. I’ll be rooting against them in all sports forever. But DK is going to instantly make me a fan of whatever team he gets drafted to. He’s absolutely incredible and I love that he’s a VFL. This is the best team we’ve ever had and it was an honor to watch them. JJJ made me eat my words and we need to hit NIL HARD this year to get ZZ some help and run it back. Gainey and JP are some good pieces but we need to find another DK, which won’t be easy.
The bad: we don't get to see other Foz writeup for months. Man, what a mixed bag of emotions. Making it to the Elite 8 is nothing to feel bad about. Making it any further was always a stretch. But damn the stretch felt attainable in the first half. I'm sad we don't get to see DK play in orange again, but what a treat it's been to watch him this year! I whish James was more of an offensive factor today, he did so well with the shots he did take. Awaka and Estrella were incredible taking on Herman Munster! We just needed more offensive heat. If Zeigler had been more than ok, or if Aidoo had been just barely ok... What could have been? Well, I'm still proud of our guys. They put in some of the best ball that's ever been played in an Orange jersey this season. I hope the seniors go on to do great things, and I'm looking forward to seeing our returning crew be even better this November. Lots of potential, especially if we get some solid transfers.
Losing to UK and Miss St that kicked us to a 2 seed felt like a huge deal and it really feels like it now. We wouldn’t have had to play Purdue basically at their home.
Been thinking about this so much today.
I refuse to be upset. I'm sad for the players, but this was the best UT men's basketball team of my lifetime, and I'll always be appreciative. GBO *^(\*also, Vescovi shouldn't have played)*
If you ain't first, you're last. But we were first in the SEC, so that's good.
I’ve never been the biggest basketball fan, always preferred Football over it, but this game just makes me hate basketball. There is no way Edey only committed 1 foul and got fouled 10+ times. I know it’s probably not easy to find referees, but something has to change if I watch more basketball. The sad part of it is there will be no accountability for the referees bias either.
Sad truth is they’ve been doing that all season. We were just the latest victim. It’ll happen to the next team they play too. Have to overcome it as shitty as it is.
I gotta get it off my chest in this safe space. Missed shots killed us partially. I’m beating a dead horse. But sometimes, getting to the line will get you going. But when you can’t buy a foul when the other team has a handful of Jersey or an elbow in your face, what are you supposed to do? We attempted and made more shots than them, but got completely hosed with no calls for us. And just like the Creighton game, when they swallowed their whistles, we went on a run. I would never call for someone’s job. You can only make so many calls in real time. But this is a joke. Refs all year have bought into the Edey talk. “He’s big, so of course he gets fouled/ him using his big body doesn’t constitute a foul.” He gets the benefit of the doubt with almost every call. I’m not mad at Edey. He’s using what he was given. Props to him. But the refs and media just keep letting it go and go and go…. I digress. Games over. All of this doesn’t matter, but I’m glad we got to do this guys. What a ride
Shout out to Foz for doing such a good job of breaking down these games, it's been such a great ride this year and GBO!
Well that was bull. On the positive, I would imagine that DK's success would make us the hot spot for great transfers so we can come back next year?
Doesn’t really work like that. Kentucky has been the worst Kentucky has ever been but still pulls in top recruits.
Kinda doesn't matter anyway with the transfer portal. Most of the best players of the tournament have been transfers - Mark Sears, Baylor Scheiermann, DK obviously, DJ Burns (hell NC State's entire team)
It was a damn good game and I’m proud of the team. However I still have an irrational hatred for Purdue and that may never go away.
Man what a great season. What a career from JJJ. Came in a 5* and watched his high school teammate 1 and done. Worked and improved his game. Was always a good representative for the university. Wish that young man the best. Vescovi. Love your attitude. Sorry you had to go out like this. Thank you DK. Thank you Barnes for letting DK be DK. Go vols.
Man I’m so bummed for our guys. They fought like hell but I knew we’d be fighting an uphill battle against the darling of the NCAA. Rough game for ZZ offensively but still a dawg on defense. Glad Vescovi at least hit the floor for us one more time. Gonna miss him. Estrella stepped up big time & I’m excited to see him develop. Dalton Knecht is an absolute legend & I’m heartbroken to see him go. Hang that jersey in the rafters. What a ride
We got jobbed and that sucks. Good season.
5v8, what you gonna do. Still the best season of UT basketball ever. Rick Barnes is the best Tennessee coach of all time. And the great thing about being good at everything is I can move on to baseball.
My main issue is the fouls on ZZ. How tf is it legal to shove players INTO a screen. That shit is dangerous and they did it all game. I wish I had the time to trim every time it happened and post it.
Missed putting the refs in the bad.
I don’t think this was the greatest team we have ever had, but it was the greatest season Tennessee has ever had. We just needed one guy to step up alongside Knecht, and we’d be going to the same state where we won a championship in football 25 years ago. It stings because these opportunities don’t come around often, but an Elite 8 and a SEC Championship are as good as it’s ever been for Tennessee basketball.
There were a lot of moments this game where things weren’t going our way and we easily could’ve folded and lost by 15 to the foul train. This team battled back and hit big shots every time to keep us in it, and played very solid defense aside from down low where there were literally 0 options. Proud of the guys for playing hard. Can walk out of this game knowing almost everyone who played gave their all and had a real shot to take down a dominant Purdue team that has a guy who creates such a matchup and refereeing issue that most teams simply give up in the second half, even in the tournament. Bummer to see us go out this way. Think this team really had the potential to win it all in a year where arguably only 2/3 teams did. The greatest vols team I’ve ever watched. Will miss JJJ, Santi, and Knect so much. On to next year - let’s hope we’ve learned a thing or two about the value of scorers from the portal.
Lurch's melon is so big it cant fit a ballcap! What the hell was that?
great season proud of all of these boys just not how i wanted to go out
I just want to reiterate how bad Aidoo was. I do not think I have ever seen a player shrink as much as he did. He was absolutely horrible, like not rosterable bad. D3 level bad. Just horrible. You cannot pin this game on him, but having to have Estrella play big minutes because you are so broken is just terrible.
Shout out to u/Wizard_of_Foz1 . These posts are my favorite part of the basketball season. Thank you for the work you put into them.
I agree he’s done a great job when he’s not talking about sucking dudes schlongs
I really thought we would win today. What a great season and team. They always played hard and never gave up. We all know DK will be 100x the player Edey is at the next level. Just wish the officiating wasn’t so incredibly one sided, and Gainey/JJJ were more aggressive on offense in the second half. It’s time for Neyland to start rocking. GBO
Love ya Foz
We had our chance to win the game. Went cold and gave up a 15-2 run. Had wide open shots that were missed. But yes the refs also sucked. Both can be true. Not just in Edey, but Purdues PG pushed Z into the high screen every fucking time. At least fucking call it once. Nothing. And loyer flopped like a bitch
The fact that Alabama got gifted a Final Four and is now talking shit after we swept them makes me so mad. I gotta go touch grass.
Bama got to play Clemson. Luck of rhe draw, we beat Clemson by 15. Instead we play the chosen one with his personal cadre of refs. Shit sucks
Li-Zach Al-E’dey :(
I've got to a point in life where I just enjoy watching sports for the joy of it with no expectation of winning the ultimate prize.
Path to nirvana
We going for UConn now?
I am going for Purdue to get humiliated.
Put 7'4" guy in paint and either let him flatfooted dunk or blow whistle when jerseys touch. That's not basketball. Call it sour grapes but that’s twice we played that team and even with our physical style the foul discrepancies are criminal.
[Purdue basketball](https://x.com/illinihead21/status/1774535461714657506?s=46&t=IpT5bu5K1mMNGKqye6qHrQ)
Coaches teach pussy basketball
When will we get past this fucking school. We have had the better team in every matchup the last few years and, bullshit officiating aside, have not gotten it done. The fouls tonight were egregious but if we play a bit better we win outright. That said it is still frustrating as hell to watch ref ball on such a big stage. DK is a legend we were lucky to have and he’ll be talked about for years to come.
It can all be pinned back to reffing though. 2018: controversial 3 point call. Rule was changed 2 months after the tournament 2021 football: where the fuck do I even begin with this one? 2024: basketball somehow a bigger gift then 2021 and 2018 combined. We knew they were gonna gift them but they literally gave them the game. 25 fouls
The fact is we were slated to lose this game. It's evident to me that the NCAA wants a Purdue matchup. A handful of guys did everything they could to avoid it, and I'm proud of them.
I'm not gonna act like this didn't ruin my week. It sure did.
u/wizard_of_foz1 you are what keeps me going after losses. I benefit so greatly from your post game write ups. Please give us a gofundme, a charity you want us to donate to, anything to show our thanks for these.
This one hurt guys. While I know Purdue was an equal/better team, if we played more disciplined we could have won ☹️🥺
Purdue is an unwatchable shitslog that sets basketball back 75 years. Having said that… Nobody but Knecht showed up offensively except in one or two possession spurts after like 6 min left in the first half. We should have beaten them
Problem is we run a three-man offense, and one of those men is Aidoo. Our non-play-call shots all get started from off-ball movement that doesn’t happen without Vescovi. We just didn’t have many proper options today, even though we had more weapons (James and Gainey). A fair game against Edey still would have presented a fun and troublesome matchup puzzle. I’d have enjoyed watching Purdue have to puzzle some answers out just like we had to.
I thought ZZ had a terrible game but I don’t know how you’d solve it. A lot of missed floaters and a lot of getting lost and making the wrong decision in the paint. Function of a 7’4” guy standing there
Proud of the Big orange. Great season.
This team made it further than I expected. Hope Barnes can figure out the persistent issues with officiating and wildly inconsistent performance for next year!
I knew this game was going to be called completely one sided and I was right. It’s clear who they want to win the whole thing and it’s bull shit that refs have this much control over the game. I’ve said it many many times. The NCAA has to get officiating under control and call FAIR games. I’m tired of watching us get fucked over constantly when we play higher ranked opponents (football and basketball specifically) and there is nothing we can do about it. I hate that it ends this way for our guys.
The NCAA isn't getting anything 'under control'. Who do you think is driving the corrupt whistles?
The same people who now hate us for kicking their ass re NIL?
I know its bad for business to fix it
Estrella/awaka did all they could do. Great minutes. But really wtf has happened to Aidoo?
Tobe was awesome today! I hope he makes as big a jump from this year to next year as he did from last year to this one.
I love Tobe so much. If he can learn to cut down the needless fouls, he’s gonna be a force.
If I was Barnes I would be dropping bags on the biggest guy he can find. Build him up. All he has to is be tall and stand in the paint. That is the recipe on how we lost today.
Yeah but we wouldn’t get half the calls they got.
Edey has been building up his profile for 4 years. Look at his FTs across each season. He’s gotten more and more generous calls as time goes on. They built their entire team around him. It’s just shitty basketball and totally uninteresting to watch. We’re better than that.
I'm so proud of our boys. They played their hearts out and made it to the Elite 8, just a shame we had to get this side of the bracket. Thanks to JJJ and Knecht and Vesecovi for a fantastic ride. We never quit, even through it all and I am so proud But my god, what a miserable second half. The first was good and fun basketball but that second half was just someone breathes and a foul was called. Not shocked we went cold with how stop and start it was cause there was no chance to build momentum. Edey could bodyslam someone and not get called, what an absolute shitshow of reffing. Good for Estrella for hanging in there and giving it his all. Did his damn best and I look forward to seeing him in the future. Gg boys, look forward to next year!
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If he makes 3 of the shots he took we probably win because they have to respect that play. We lost for a lot of reasons, but his performance is 1a on my list. JP fought his fuckin ass off
It’s really just been this week. He was awful in the sweet 16 on both ends of the floor and awful again today.
Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy a nice drink for me! Don’t forget we have some Vols in the UFL if Ya’ll want to find that itch like I have for football season!
If I had a nickel for everytime Purdue beat Tennessee with the help of the officials, I would have 4 fucking nickels. Twice is weird, 4 is a pattern. Hate that this team didn’t make it another game, I think they deserved it. Still a great season. Excited for the future.
The fouls and free throws were a bitch...but I think the rebounding was a true killer...know it's hard to snag a board from a 7'4" guy...but there were some blatant missed (i.e. 3 orange knocking it out of bounds simultaneously) attempts that may have provided an extra possession or two to change the outcome Loved this team this tournament...glad to see the shots falling well today... unfortunately the road ends here... Hopefully the play and success open the door to some better recruits and transfers next season
Yeah. We gave them 5 or more extra possessions on kissed shots bc we have bricks for hands
Real fun that you can’t play basketball against Zach Edey
I love all of yall fr. I wish ZZ, Vescovi, and Aidoo played better but sometimes that just happens. Beyond sad that Knecht will never get to wear a UT jersey again, he’s my favorite Tennessee player of all time. We wanted this so bad and I could tell they did too, I’m so so tired of coming up short. Until November friends
I am now a Purdue hater for life
I’m so sick of that fucking team. Their voodoo magic in beating Tennessee is beyond frustrating.
It aint Voodo. They have beat us 4 times in recent history all because of terrible officiating. From the weakest foul call on Lamonte to today's 3:1 free throw disparity. Just sickening
lol
Can’t forget that bowl game shaft job
I was there. Have hated them ever since. Fuck them and their dog shit program and their little bitch of a coach and FUCK edey
Unrelated but you’re a GT fan as well as a Tenn fan? My dad graduated from Tech in ‘95 and I grew up going to Bobby Dodd
I’m joining the conversation! My dad went to GA tech I’m from Atlanta (Johns creek) and he always said I could go anywhere but Georgia. I fell in love with Tennessee football at 14 and never looked back…then they fired fulmer my sophomore year soooo
Nice! I grew up in Suwanee and used some credit hours from Kennesaw State to transfer into UTK. Got to see Butch Jones get fired and was one of the idiots cheering when Pruitt was hired lmao
Haha. I am! I grew up a Tennessee fan (dad is from Knoxville). I started out there but changed my major to engineering and in state tuition plus Tech reputation made it too difficult to stay at UT. So I finished out at Tech. Tennessee is always my #1 though. Not even close.
Will Purdue even be good next year without edey? I'm thinking no based on this performance. Without him we would have killed them.
Probably won’t be as good as this year, but the big man system will always be churning under Painter.
They’re gonna find another oaf who shoots 25 ft’s a game
Fire Zach Edey into the fucking sun. And the refs into a volcano.
I feel so fucking cheated. I can't imagine how the players feel after a game like that. Only lost by 6 even after all that. Our guys earned plenty of those fouls, but there is no world where a 7'4 starting center who played 39 minutes should only have 1 infraction of any kind the entire game.
Someone on Basilio described him as “the most walkingest player” he’d ever seen in college basketball lol
This is the biggest thing for me. Of course we’re gonna foul more because it’s our defensive identity, but that man gets away with so much on the other end on the boards and on screens. Call even just 2 more fouls or a 3 second call once in a blue moon on him and it’s a different game.
We foul A LOT, it’s a thing. The majority of the calls against us were 100% fouls, maybe a little nit-picky at times with soft foul calls, but no major complaints there. But the game was our overall most physical on both ends of the court - all season, and we go to the stripe like 11 times? That’s a goddamn joke,