Tennessee basketball: Vols 3 keys to victory vs. Georgia Bulldogs
By Ian McBride
With a shot at the regular season SEC title, Tennessee basketball hosts the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday night. Here are the Volunteers three keys to win.
Tennessee basketball gets its rematch against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday evening. The Vols lost the previous contest between the two, which was in Athens, 73-62.
The stage will be set a little different this go around. The Vols’ final regular season game will be in front of a friendly sell out crowd in Thompson-Boling Arena on senior night at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network. James Daniel III will be honored as Tennessee’s lone senior.
Tennessee basketball has a lot on the line Saturday evening. The Vols will be competing for a share of the SEC regular season crown and to maintain/improve their standing with the NCAA selection committee. Let’s see what it will take for them to close out the season on a high note.
1. Contain Yante Maten, own the paint
This was my number one key the last time the Vols faced Georgia, and it certainly wasn’t executed. Maten managed to put in 19 points and grab 5 rebounds. Those aren’t devastating numbers, but it took a lot of the Vols’ defensive focus to keep him under 20 and limit him to 5 boards. In fact he took so much of their defensive focus that Derek Ogbeide snuck in and put up a huge double-double with 16 points and 11 boards. Georgia also out hustled the Vols to the glass in the previous match, outrebounding them 40-33.
This time, Tennessee basketball must manage to contain Maten and not let anyone else sneak up on the inside. Grant Williams and company really need to own the paint and win the rebounding battle. If the Vols can dominate inside, they win. It is just that simple.
2. Play Vol Basketball
Anyone that has followed this team throughout the season knows that its accomplishments have been driven on the defensive side of the basketball. The Vols rank 4th in adjusted defensive efficiency according to kenpom.com. Most of the time they give up big points, it has nothing to do with their defense. It is almost always the result of offensive faux pas leading to transition buckets for the other team.
Georgia is the league’s least productive offense. Tennessee simply needs to do what Tennessee does and play strong, smothering defense. The Vols have an opportunity to use their strength to exploit Georgia’s weakness.
3. Be deliberate on offense, limit mistakes
Tennessee basketball is coming off a beautiful offensive performance against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Half of the Vols’ baskets came off assists while shooting 56% from the floor. However, they have struggled to put together a string of games playing good offense against good opponents. If they can accomplish the first two keys and keep the offensive side controlled, they will certainly win this game.
Prediction
The Vols seem to have found their stride in their past few outings, and the last time they played Georgia it was far from a stellar performance. They shot just 34.9% from the floor that game, and it was more about the Vols than the Georgia D. If not for the inexplicable 27% shooting against Bama, the 34.9% would be a season low. Add to that, the Volunteers committed 27 fouls against UGA. Two players fouled out and others got into foul trouble. I can’t imagine Georgia being so lucky this time.
Admiral Schofield and the rest of the squad should have a little extra motivation beyond title aspirations due to the fact that not one player on the current UT roster has ever defeated Georgia. Mark Fox is 5-0 against Rick Barnes since he joined the Tennessee basketball program.
"“When they come to Knoxville, I want to make a statement.”-Admiral Schofield"
I see UT finishing strong to do their part to claim a share of the regular season title. They will ride their signature D and couple it with good shooting in front of the sell out crowd. The Tennessee basketball team will run away with this one, 79-65.