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Tennessee basketball: 5 players to watch from the South Region

By Billy Williford

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 15: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers handles the ball in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 15, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 15: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers handles the ball in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 15, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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SYRACUSE, NY – NOVEMBER 21: Rapolas Ivanauskas #25 of the Colgate Raiders and Paschal Chukwu #13 of the Syracuse Orange battle for a loose ball during the first half at the Carrier Dome on November 21, 2018, in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY – NOVEMBER 21: Rapolas Ivanauskas #25 of the Colgate Raiders and Paschal Chukwu #13 of the Syracuse Orange battle for a loose ball during the first half at the Carrier Dome on November 21, 2018, in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

No. 5 – Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate

The Colgate Raiders are riding an 11 game win streak, and Rapolas Ivanauskas was the MVP in four of those games. During that stretch of games, Ivanauskas scored 20 points or more in six of those games with the highest coming against Lehigh with 33 points.

Ivanauskas is averaging 16.4 points per games with a 52.3 field goal percentage and a 43.4 percentage from the three-point line. He doesn’t shoot the long ball much, but he can stretch the floor. It will be interesting to see who Rick Barnes decides to put on him.

Kyle Alexander has shown us he struggles against big men that can step back and make the long-range jumper. So, maybe Grant Williams? But, that again puts Alexander guarding a smaller quicker player.

Another thing to keep an eye on is Ivanauskas’ ability to rebound the basketball. He averages right around eight per game which translates to easy buckets close to the rim.

The Patriot League Player of the Year is shooting a ridiculous 60.6 percent from inside the arc the past four games. In that same stretch, there is some good news, Ivanauskas is only averaging 35.7 percent deep.

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