Multiple national media members threw shade at Tennessee Vols on Saturday
The Tennessee Vols advanced to the Sweet 16 after beating the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday
The Tennessee Vols advanced to the Sweet 16 on Saturday afternoon via a 65-52 win over the Duke Blue Devils.
Tennessee's physical style of defense limited Duke to its lowest point total in an NCAA Tournament game since 1980.
The Vols will play the winner of Florida Atlantic vs Fairleigh Dickinson in the Sweet 16.
Tennessee made a statement against Duke — nothing is going to come easy for the Vols' opponents in the NCAA Tournament. That's not to say the Vols are going to win it all — it would be foolish to make a prediction for how this tournament will play out — but if they lose, it won't be a pretty game. Tennessee is going to make their opponents earn every point.
Not everyone, however, has been impressed by the Vols' old-school physical approach.
Several members of the national media took shots at Tennessee on Saturday.
Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde called Vols center Uros Plavsic a "hack" during Tennessee's win against Duke.
Taking personal shots at college athletes is usually off-limits for media members so you can debate the professionalism of that tweet. I think it's in poor taste for what it's worth.
Forde wasn't the only one who threw shade at Tennessee on Saturday.
Fox Sports' Doug Gottlieb got in on the shade-throwing with some tweets directed at Tennessee.
That was probably a legit foul on Plavsic, but Duke's Kyle Filipowski also sold it pretty well. Ultimately, that's just physical basketball — you know, the way it used to be played.
Gottlieb also called Tennessee "dirty".
I guess playing tough defense these days is "dirty". Who knew?
Someone should inform Hall of Famer Charles Barkley because he walked away from Tennessee's win over Duke impressed by the Vols.
"They physically dominated the game on the defensive end…man, Tennessee was awesome," said Barkley late Saturday night.
There seems to be a disconnect between the national media and some of the guys who actually played the game at a high level.
I don't know about you, but I'm going to roll with the basketball Hall of Famer on this one — the Vols' physicality was impressive and a joy to watch.
