'Planet Basilio:



Random musings and short shots as we hope the Basketball Vols stay focused and take care of business tomorrow against the worst team in the league:



BEANO TOUCHED OFF an interesting debate on the value of the SEC basketball regular season championship in the age of 64-team NCAA Tournament fields. Those of us whose UT basketball fan span dates far back before the expansion of the NCAA field and the revival of the SEC tourney in 1979 remember how a single spot for the SEC in the small tourney boiled down to the league championship.



IN STUDYING THE HISTORY of the expansion of the tourney, it has been an interesting process. The field ranged from 22-25 from 1953 to 74. It went to 32 in 1975, to 40 in '79, to 48 a year later, to 53 in 1983 and finally to 64 in 1985. It has always been a lament among longtime Vol hoops fans that the tourney was so restricted during the Mears era. The teams in the late Sixties could have gone on some good runs and certainly the King and Grunfeld Era teams could have fared differently playing lower seeded teams back in the day.



YOUR CORRESPONDENT thinks it is important and a point of pride that all of our men's and women's teams compete and win their share of SEC championships but it is far more important to play for the national championship. Alabama ain't giving back this year's natty in football even though it didn't win the league.



AUBURN WILL BE TOUGH to catch after hammering Alabama at home on Wednesday. Bruce Pearl's Tigers just keep winning. The Vols are looking good to nail down second place in the SEC and wouldn't meet Auburn until the championship game in the SEC Tournament if both get that far. There is a six-team logjam for third place in the league at 8-7: Mississippi State, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri, Florida and Alabama. The State Bulldogs are making a late-season surge and Rick Barnes takes his team to Starkville Tuesday night.



FLORIDA HC MIKE WHITE must have some animal photos on ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who had the Gators seeded #7 after Wednesday's loss to the Vols. CBS' Jerry Palm had the Gators had the Gators as a tenuous #11 having to appear in the "play-in" game before the loss to UT, and we would expect Palm's updated bracketology today will have Florida out of the tournament. We would also expect to see Texas A&M hanging by a thread after losing at home to State on Tuesday night.



JEREMY PRUITT is chasing grad student transfer QB Gardner Minshew from East Carolina but Alabama has the inside track because the native Mississippian is moving closer to home. The Tide needs a backup because Jalen Hurts is a flight risk.



Orange Throat

IGYTH'

'Griffin’s 3 Pointers- Ole Miss


1. “ Rebels With A Cause”- How long can Ole Miss go playing with emotion and what is inspiring this team after the loss of head coach Andy Kennedy? Whatever Acting Head Coach Tony Madlock drummed up during their last game worked by defeating Missouri on the road 90-87 in OT. You can bet the Rebels will have plenty of motivation against the Vols after their last meeting in which Tennessee played its most complete game of the year by winning 94-61.



2. As A Team- 12-16 (5-10) Home 10-6 Non conference notable win- Louisiana 94 76

Losses- Va Tech 80 83, MTSU 58 77, and Texas 72 85.

SEC ranked 6th Scoring 76.1 UT ranked 9th 74.7

SEC ranked 4th Assists 14.7 UT ranked 2nd 16.0

SEC ranked 6th Free Throw % 73.4 UT ranked 2nd 75.2

SEC ranked 9th Three Point % 32.9 UT ranked 3rd 37.9

SEC ranked 5th Rebounding 37.7 UT ranked 10th 36.1



3. Watch Out For: Deandre Burnett 6’2” Senior Guard and 2012 Parade All- American.

Minutes Per Game- 29.4, Field Goal %- 106 271 39.1, Three Point %- 51 135 37.8,

Free Throw %- 124 153 81, Assists- 112, Turnovers- 56, and Points Per Game- 14.3

Leads the team in Three Point Field Goal %, Free Throws Made, Attempted and Free Throw %, Assists, and Points Per Game.

Look for Deandre to bounce back from a poor performance against the Vols on 2/3 shooting 2-13 from the field and 1-7 from the three totaling 7 points.

SEC ranked 6th Assists 4.1

SEC ranked 14th Free Throw % 81

SEC ranked 15th Scoring 14.3



Enjoy the game and we'll talk about it with you when it's over.

Mark Griffin'

Tony,

This is the penultimate weekend of the regular season for most of college basketball. The race for positions in the field of 68 is near the finish line.

1. It is hard to know exactly what Tennessee is walking into tomorrow at Ole Miss. The Rebels certainly looked like a resurgent team in upsetting Missouri earlier this week.

2. Officiating continues to be a major concern for anyone who cares about the health of college basketball. Referees are far too often the focus of the action these days.

3. Baylor and TCU square off in a game of teams that could both use a resume boost. The loser will be in serious danger of landing in the NIT.

4. Kansas travels to Texas Tech with a chance to all but wrap up another Big 12 title. A win in Lubbock would give the Jayhawks a two game lead with two to play.

5. St. Bonaventure goes to VCU seeking to keep their winning streak going. The Bonnies are well positioned to capture an at large bid.

6. Gonzaga faces the last real roadblock on their way to yet another WCC title at BYU.The Cougars are never an easy out in Provo.

7. Kentucky tries to keep their resurgence going against Missouri. The Tigers could gonna long way towards wrapping up an NCAA bid by winning in Lexington.

8. Florida desperately needs to pick off SEC leader Auburn in Gainesville. The Gators have struggled mightily in the last two weeks.

9. Arsenal gets the opportunity to salvage something out of an otherwise dreary domestic campaign in the League Cup final on Sunday. A win over Manchester City at Wembley would at least allow the Gunners to claim some hardware.

Clancy's is Knoxville's authentic Irish Pub. Stop in and enjoy one of the city's best atmospheres.

Sapphire's revamped cocktail list and food menu are top flight. Do yourself a favor and give them a try.

The Blankenship Field renovation project coffers are growing at a steady pace. Go to blankenshiplegacy.org to donate.

Keith

'Thoughts on the Florida game:

— Important win. Tennessee couldn’t afford to lose at home.


— This team is finding ways to win when they don’t play great. That hasn’t been the case for Tennessee teams since at least Cuonzo’s last year.


— Tennessee controlled the game throughout. I never thought they were in danger of losing. Florida kept it close, but every time they cut the lead to less than 5 points, the Vols answered.


— Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield took over the game in the 2nd half getting the ball in the paint and scoring.


— I’d love to see Schofield get the ball down low or aggressively attack the basket off the dribble. There are not many players who can matchup with his size and strength. He played one of his best games against the Gators.


— It seemed like Jordan Bone played as many minutes in the game as he had all year. He had a nice first half offensively, but didn’t do much in the 2nd half.


— We only shot 3-of-10 from three-point range, but Schofield and Turner’s back-to-back 3s after Barnes called a timeout early in the 2nd half put Tennessee up 33-23 after Florida took advantage of Williams’ 3rd foul 30 seconds into the 2nd half.


— Jordan Bowden scored all nine of his points in the 2nd half. His dunk was the highlight of the night for him.


— It was really humid in TBA. I think that contributed to the number of loose balls and players slipping.


Big Picture

— Tennessee is now 20-7 (10-5 SEC) on the year. The win over Florida plus Auburn’s victory over Alabama gives the Vols a 2-game lead for 2nd place in the SEC with only three regular season games remaining.. That nearly guarantees Tennessee a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.


— Tennessee should go at least 2-1 to close out the regular season. That would put them at 22-8 (12-6 SEC) heading to the SEC Tournament.


— It was awesome seeing Ron Slay, Bobby Maze, Jordan McRae, Josh Richardson and Chris Lofton all recognized during a TV timeout. They were the best five on the court all night.


From The Hill.....

Matt Dixon'

LEAGUE TITLE OR NOT IT'S A GOOD YEAR VOLS MAY BE SPUTTERING BUT THEY'RE FINDING Ws

FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY

WHAT AM I MISSING ON AN SEC REGULAR SEASON CHAMPIONSHIP? On Monday’s show I made what I thought was an aside comment about not really caring about winning an SEC Regular Season Championship and was somewhat surprised by the reaction. Several callers -and I appreciate you greatly- found this to be offensive and borderline treasonous....

CLOSING IN A DIFFERENT MANNER: A lot has been said -including right here in the Beano Blog- about Rick Barnes first two Tennessee team’s failure to close out the regular season....

VOL HOOPS:

GEORGIA

FLORIDA

FINAL FRIDAY THOUGHT:...[more]

'I’m back, and I’ve got beef with college hoops officiating!

I traveled to Murfreesboro this weekend, and while I was there I stopped by the glass house to catch a college basketball game. The game went pretty well, but I called Tony to express a frustration that he’s recently expressed on the air.



3 separate times play was stopped. I’m not exactly sure why the third time, so I really won’t comment on that, but as for the other two? There’s where the problem lies.



Twice in the game, play was completely stopped in order to go to the monitor and review a potential foul. While there may be a place for reviews in today’s game, we’ve gone overboard.



Here’s what happened:

On the first play that made me shake my head, there was a dead ball but no foul called. One player that was on offense, held her face as if she had gotten hit in some way. No official called a foul, and the player didn’t appear very upset as she tried to get ready for the ball to be thrown in. Seeing her holding her face, her coach asked her if she got hit. Just after that, the coach started to make a scene as if he had seen some egregious play take place. If you had seen a play like that take place, would you have needed to ask if she got hit in the first place?


So, at that point the coach gets the attention of an official. Once the coach told the official about the foul, the official stopped everything to have a meeting between the three officials. None of the officials saw it happen, so of course they decide to further delay play by going to…you guessed it, the monitor.


After being there for a minute or two, they came out and resumed play without making any additional foul calls or adjustments. I’ll say that I was sitting in the first row of seats on the section nearest the baseline where the action took place. That’s how I had such a good look of the player, coach, and officials as all of this took place.


Later on in the game, there was a similar situation with the other team. The coach complained about some sort of foul, I’m thinking an elbow but I don’t recall for sure. The officials again stopped the game to go to the monitor, and AGAIN nothing came of the review.


Now, as I mentioned at the top of the blog there is a place for replay in today’s game. However, we’ve gotten to a point where something has to give. By all means, if someone throws a dirty elbow the foul needs to be called. However if a coach begs for a replay, putting the game totally on pause while everyone’s time is wasted, all for a false claim there HAS to be some sort of accountability.


In football coaches have the right to challenge, but losing challenges can lose you timeouts. Why can’t there be a similar system for going to the monitor in basketball games? I don’t have the exact answer of what needs to be done, but what I do know is that something must be done. It’s not fair to opposing players or the fans to have everything put on pause, just so the officials can go and not see something that they already didn’t see in the first place. As a coach, what’s there to stop you from doing this a time or two a game to get your players a quick rest without using a timeout?


I hope this provokes some thought on this subject, as a game I love dearly has some issues at the moment. If you have any ideas that you’d like to see implemented, tweet me @AlexMyersTV and share! I’d love to hear.


Until Next Time,

Go Vols!

Alex Myers (@AlexMyersTV)'

A New Direction At TonyBasilio.com: Here at Tonybasilio.com we’re creating a series of programming with little to mostly zero commercial sponsorship. In other words, you will be digesting the following programs in coming days with almost no interruption. This is unprecedented in the history of my business. Nobody has ever done this. Here are the offerings coming your way.

Our Family Of Offerings:

‘X-Cast: A Recruiting Podcast’: Featuring Tony Basilio & ‘X’ where we discuss the latest moves, behind the scenes machinations and all the intrigue from the world of recruiting. This will hopefully be offered twice monthly with lengths varying. If this takes off perhaps we can even do some live offerings of this show. THIS IS BEING OFFERED COMMERCIAL FREE!!!


Fifth Quarter Fan Reaction: Back for season 4. Sponsored by Marcos Garza. This year with NO OTHER SPONSORS. This will be pure content for you. I’m taking a chance here but I know you will reward me for not bombarding you with messages Vol Network style. This program will run for at least 3 hours following Tennessee Football Games. We will have new visual presentation of this feature as well that we’re investing in. Thanks to Jayson Swain for helping me with the technical side of our visual presentation.


Southeastern Sunday Night: 7p to 9p on Sunday Nights airing on Periscope/Facebook Live and other platforms including your Tony Basilio Show App. This will be a regional program that aims to keep it real. We will tell the truth on us, them and all with you. This could be a lot of fun if you help me spread the word across the region. This hopefully will turn into a free for all that is free for all. ZERO SPONSORS. COMMERCIAL FREE OFFERING.


Vol-Scars: A podcast featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly and Eric S where we go back in time and commemorate the painful losses in UT football history that left a mark. These shows are extremely time intensive to put together. I’ve worked all summer on these offerings and am really proud of what we’ve compiled thus far. I think you’ll really enjoy this. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Gate Twenty Won: A podcast Featuring Vol Historian Tom Mattingly where we celebrate the greatest wins in UT history in time capsule form. These are a breath of fresh air and the type of programming I’m aiming to bring to you . COMMERCIAL FREE


Chill Cast: Tell Me A Story: A podcast where I grab folks from the sports world and our community and allow them to share their stories with us. This will be done in the spirit of the recent re-launch programs that I did. We’ll aim to go deeper here. Stay tuned. COMMERCIAL FREE.


Tennessee Basketball Overtime: Back for year 5! Immediately following Tennessee Basketball Games. A Tennessee Basketball Call-In show featuring ONLY ONE SPONSOR…GARZA LAW FIRM. Therefore we keep the conversation going without bombarding you Vol Network style. What a concept!!!!


Garza On The Law: A Podcast dealing with the legal issues that invade the sports world featuring the great Marcos Garza. We will go deeper here. I promise that you will find this interesting. Presented by Garza Law Firm.

FAQ's Asked Of Tony Per Our Relaunch Announcement:

Q: Tony, you didn't say anything about your daily show yesterday. Will you continue to do this?

A: Absolutely. I'm looking forward to year #24 with you.


Q: Tony, you used the word 'subscribe'. What Am I subscribing too?

A: Great question. 'Subscribe' is a misnomer. What you actually are doing if you choose to help us monthly (and we need this for budgeting reasons) is actually acting as a patron. The goal is to keep the content (ALL CONTENT, from postgame offerings to various podcasts) free for all.


Q: So, if I'm not subscribing and I'm already reading this, why give?

A: Because you value the content and our contribution to the market and you want to help us keep this stuff free for everybody.


Q: Are you going to beat us up for money all the time here?

A: Absolutely not. I will bring this up a few times heading into the football season as we attempt to meet our financial goals and create new programming. I'll also mention it in the post-game format as well as the regional programming. I will not however wear you out with this. Either you feel the need to help us or you don't. This is why I'm taking today to field some question I received after day one.


Q: What happens if this doesn't generate the revenue you're seeking?

A: We will scale back our online offerings accordingly. The blog itself could even disappear. I really don't want this to happen but will be forced to spend my time in the most profitable way necessary. That's why we're having the conversation. All my cards are on the table here.


Q: Where can I find these new podcasts, like that X-Cast?

A: Click on "Podcast" wherever you see it on the site, and it will take you to our Podcast page.