In the latest AP Poll…

[Black Diamond Vol]

Certainly we’d be ranked somewhere commensurate with our seeding, i.e. the 9-12 range, right?

https://www.on3.com/news/ap-top-25-poll-released-entering-ncaa-tournament-march-madness-gonzaga-bulldogs-arizona-wildcats-kansas-jayhawks/

Oh.

But our schedule was not very…oh.

But we didn’t have enough quality wins and too many bad los…oh.

[Creek Walker]

I LOL'd as a I read this tweet from Lunardi.

https://twitter.com/ESPNLunardi/status/1503239876099067905?s=20&t=uG_FWTQbaMselIQc7CGsvQ

For someone whose job is to "just predict the field and he did it very well," he sure seems to be emotionally invested in this. And he's giving himself a serious black eye.

[PirateVOL]

I LOL'd as a I read this tweet from Lunardi.

https://twitter.com/ESPNLunardi/status/1503239876099067905?s=20&t=uG_FWTQbaMselIQc7CGsvQ

For someone whose job is to "just predict the field and he did it very well," he sure seems to be emotionally invested in this. And he's giving himself a serious black eye.

He has discovered that VOL Twitter does not suffer fools gladly

[Creek Walker]

He has discovered that VOL Twitter does not suffer fools gladly

That's not a reputation I'm as proud of as the rest of the UT fanbase. Vol Twitter is an insufferable bully pulpit. But, in this case, Lunardi is deserving everything he gets thrown at him.

This is the part that stinks so much about it. It's not an unfavorable draw for Tennessee. There's not a huge difference between being a 2 and a 3. The part that stinks is that it was pre-determined, Lunardi knew it because he was fed inside info, the whole world knows it, yet nothing changes it. It's a rigged process, and it's just one more nail in the coffin of college sports credibility.

[Black Diamond Vol]

That's not a reputation I'm as proud of as the rest of the UT fanbase. Vol Twitter is an insufferable bully pulpit. But, in this case, Lunardi is deserving everything he gets thrown at him.

This is the part that stinks so much about it. It's not an unfavorable draw for Tennessee. There's not a huge difference between being a 2 and a 3. The part that stinks is that it was pre-determined, Lunardi knew it because he was fed inside info, the whole world knows it, yet nothing changes it. It's a rigged process, and it's just one more nail in the coffin of college sports credibility.

I also used to fret over our reputation as a fanbase. But at this point we are what we are, so I just embrace it. I mean, we DO have some legit grievances. 

[SmokeyJoe]

I agree we got shizzle on... definitely should have the 2 seed over uk and/or duke, but in the end we still have to play & beat the 2 (or 3 if we were the 2), and the 1 seed assuming the seeding holds. fizzle em! Hopefully, it motivates the team. Really need to make a good showing this year! 

[VinnieVOL]

I agree we got shizzle on... definitely should have the 2 seed over uk and/or duke, but in the end we still have to play & beat the 2 (or 3 if we were the 2), and the 1 seed assuming the seeding holds. fizzle em! Hopefully, it motivates the team. Really need to make a good showing this year! 

Right.. at the end of the day what's the big difference between a 2 and a 3?  A lot also falls on the draw.. and our draw isn't terrible.  Sure we could lose early, def. possible.. but our possible first weekend matchups do not scare me.

[BanditVol]

It's a rigged process,

What does that even mean in this context? IMO UT and UK were about even prior to the SEC tourney, and if they had beaten us no one on here would have said they would not deserve a no. 2.

I think the process is only rigged to the extent that the committee is too lazy to cut it any closer on Sunday.

If by rigged you mean they want UK to go deeper in the field for ratings, then that's a big "maybe" for me.  If that's true, they have to decide on a case by case basis which teams will go deeper.  Sounds like way more work than they would be willing to put in.

If anything, the UK brand name leads to less informed committee members (I am sure there are plenty) just selecting them on name recognition/past history alone.

To suggest that a bunch of largely unaffiaited people got together and said "let's screw the Vols" seems conspiritorish to me.

[Creek Walker]

What does that even mean in this context? IMO UT and UK were about even prior to the SEC tourney, and if they had beaten us no one on here would have said they would not deserve a no. 2.

I think the process is only rigged to the extent that the committee is too lazy to cut it any closer on Sunday.

If by rigged you mean they want UK to go deeper in the field for ratings, then that's a big "maybe" for me.  If that's true, they have to decide on a case by case basis which teams will go deeper.  Sounds like way more work than they would be willing to put in.

If anything, the UK brand name leads to less informed committee members (I am sure there are plenty) just selecting them on name recognition/past history alone.

To suggest that a bunch of largely unaffiaited people got together and said "let's screw the Vols" seems conspiritorish to me.

"Let's screw the Vols"? No, I don't think there's some giant conspiracy against Tennessee. That doesn't make it any less rigged, though.

Did you watch Rece Davis grill Joe Lunardi? If you consider the evidence, I don't think there's a reasonable conclusion other than Lunardi was being fed information from inside the committee and knew that Tennessee was going to be a 3-seed. And if it was pre-determined to that degree, it's a rigged process. That doesn't mean it has to be a coordinated effort to stick the knife in Tennessee's back. It just means UT is a victim of a process.

[BanditVol]

"Let's screw the Vols"? No, I don't think there's some giant conspiracy against Tennessee. That doesn't make it any less rigged, though.

Did you watch Rece Davis grill Joe Lunardi? If you consider the evidence, I don't think there's a reasonable conclusion other than Lunardi was being fed information from inside the committee and knew that Tennessee was going to be a 3-seed. And if it was pre-determined to that degree, it's a rigged process. That doesn't mean it has to be a coordinated effort to stick the knife in Tennessee's back. It just means UT is a victim of a process.

Yes I saw the Rece Davis interview.  I posted below right after seeing. I just choose to believe Lunardi when he says that he has been doing this for, can't recall the exact number but I think it was 20 years, and he just knows that things aren't affected that much or at all by what happens on Sunday and even Saturday.  That just makes sense.

Not sure what they would be rigging?  Are you saying UK stacked the committee?  The whole "rigged" thing seems a little vague.

[Creek Walker]

Not sure what they would be rigging?  Are you saying UK stacked the committee?  The whole "rigged" thing seems a little vague.

It's really not that difficult. But I'm not going to indulge you just because you're feeling the need to argue with someone today. 

[BanditVol]

It's really not that difficult. But I'm not going to indulge you just because you're feeling the need to argue with someone today. 

mmm, okay. I was genuinely curious though

what are they "rigging" and why?

If you mean they are just having a bias towards Duke and UK due to brand recognition, that's possible or even likely.  Though in the case of Duke, it's almost certainly some sentiment for the last year of Coach K.   But if you are implying some sort of coordinated agreement among members of the committee that is deliberate I would question that.