All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball: Vols look for a first round win against Colgate

By Billy Williford

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

It’s basketball time in Tennessee. Well, technically the Tennessee basketball team opens the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Here is the preview for the game against Colgate.

The first day of the 2019 NCAA Tournament is in the books, and the Tennessee basketball is gearing up for their first-round game against Colgate.

The Vols were able to win one game in last year’s tournament with their win over Wright State but fell in the second round to Loyola-Chicago. Will something like that happen again? Or will Tennessee come out ready to prove they are for real?

After losing four of their final ten games, the Vols have to get back on track to make a deep run in the tourney. To be fair, the schedule was a bit tough, but Tennessee has to win those types of games to win a National Championship.

Before we break down both teams, below is all the information you need to turn into the game.

No.15 Colgate Raiders vs. No.2 Tennessee Volunteers

When: Friday, March 22 at 2:45 p.m. E.T.
Where: Nationwide Arena; Columbus, OH
TV: CBS
Live Stream: NCAA.com
Line: Tennessee -17.5
Over/Under: 148

VIEW OF THE VOLS

Record: 29-5 (15-3 SEC)
Last 5: 3-2
Last 10: 6-4

One thing that could scare you is how much love Tennessee is getting by the national media. Sure, it’s nice to be the talk of the town if you are a Vol fan, but scary to be such a favorite. Tennessee hasn’t played well this season when they are expected to win.

The first game with the No.1 ranking Vanderbilt took the Vols down to the wire and should have won that game. A few weeks later, Tennessee took a 19-game win streak into Rupp Arena and got embarrassed by Kentucky.

Jordan Bowden is going to be a huge factor in the NCAA Tournament. When he’s scored at least 12 points this season, the Vols are 13-1. His impact even dates back to last season when Tennessee went 10-2 in games Bowden scored at least 12 points. That is 23-3 in two seasons.

Colgate is trash when it comes to interior defense so getting Grant Williams going early will be important. There isn’t anyone on the team that can stop him from dropping 30 points. Look for a Peanut Butter, and Jelly show all game long.

VIEW OF THE RAIDERS

Record: 24-10 (13-5 SEC)
Last 5: 5-0
Last 10: 10-0

I thought the Golden State Warriors played in the NBA? Truthfully, it’s hard to tell the difference in Colgate because they shoot the three-point shot so effective. The Raiders are shooting near 40 percent from deep, which ranks tenth in the nation. There are only three teams in the NCAA Tournament that shoots better from three than Colgate which include Wofford, Virginia, Virginia Tech.

The Raiders have three guys that average over 40 percent from the three-point line. And, two of them ranks inside the top-100 in the nation.

Rapolas Ivanauskas: 43.3%

Will Rayman: 44.8%

Jack Ferguson: 41.4%

Colgate doesn’t do anything on defense particularly well. They don’t force a lot of turnovers, they don’t protect the rim very well, and they don’t really guard the three-point line.

PREDICTION

Truthfully this game shouldn’t be close. It is March, and anything can happen. We saw Michigan State struggle with Bradley until the final three minutes of the game, but the Vols should handle Colgate with ease.

dark. Next. 5 keys to help Vols have success in NCAA Tournament

Look for a big game from the big three in Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, and Jordan Bone. If Tennessee can get out to a quick start, the game will be over before it starts. Tennessee 87 Colgate 62.

Home/Vols Basketball