[Post Game Thread] 2-seed Tennessee beats 15-seed Wofford 77-62
I can’t tell you how much I feared Wofford was going to light it up from 3 and catch Tennessee off guard. Well, they did light it up from 3 but Tennessee’s three senior guards made sure it didn’t matter. No upset this evening. Just how I like it. Thankful for Chaz. One step closer to the ultimate goal. Here we go.
The Good:
Chaz Lanier was simply exceptional. I have no issue saying that they needed every bit of his incredible shooting against 15-seed Wofford. Every time they needed a shot, he rang the bell. From three, from mid-range. All of it. Just really, really big shooting performance in a high pressure game.
ZZ. Talk about a point guard controlling a game. Dude was in complete floor general mode - elite passing, solid shooting. His defense was above average as well - not his best defensive performance, but certainly not a bad one. Congrats on being the all-time Tennessee assist leader.
They have 9 steals at the time I’m typing this. That’s pretty remarkable. Made a lot of Wofford’s rebounds not matter.
Limited turnovers - and thank God because Wofford was shooting too well from deep to help them out with turnovers.
Jordan Gainey. Think he does a really nice job playing within the game. Knows when to step up, when to contribute in pieces. I actually think he was a top two rebounder for them today, too. Nice game from him.
Shot well from the field. Can’t complain too much about the offensive execution today - even if majority of it was because of two players.
Wire-to-wire is objectively fun.
The Average:
Jahmai Mashack. I actually thought he was their best rebounder. Didn’t love his shot selection much and thought this was one of his less impressive defensive performances.
Igor Milicic. Limited minutes, not totally sure why? His defense was fine and was a threat to score from the perimeter. Wish he would just be more aggressive on the offensive end, especially when they go through lulls. Maybe they’ll get more out of him next game.
Bishop Boswell! Didn’t play enough minutes to be in the good but he actually made a move offensively and scored! That’s so fun! Good for him.
Cade Phillips. Gave a lot of effort, was a little out of position defensively on some possessions, and his low post moves weren’t great. Liked his free throw shooting tho.
The Bad:
Darlinstone Dubar put on a masterclass on how to get into the doghouse. Play absolute idiot-for-brains defense.
Felix Okpara. I’m not putting him in the average because he catches alley oops and he doesn’t even do that super well. His post moves are bad at it hurts their offensive flow when they can’t get anything inside. He owes Chaz a cheeseburger or something. And he didn’t rebound all great either.
Rebounding. Margin should never be as close as it was.
Free throw shooting. Hate when a percentage starts with a 6 or lower.
They didn’t cover.