Tennessee basketball: 5 keys for Vols in Sweet Sixteen match-up against Purdue

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COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 22: Lamonte Turner #1 celebrates with Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half against the Colgate Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019, in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

No.1 – Keep Lamonte hot

This is not a drill; I’m saying something positive about Lamonte Turner. If you’ve read anything I’ve written over the past weeks, you know I’ve been critical of the junior guard. It’s not because I don’t think he’s a good player. Because I do. It’s because he wasn’t playing within the offense. He was hurting the Vols more than he was helping.

Remember when I said Lamonte Turner wasn’t playing within in the offense and it was hurting his three-point shooting percentage?

In losses (excluding Auburn SEC Tournament):

2-9

0-7

1-7

1-8,12.9 percent

In tournament games:

0-1

1-4

4-6

2-7

3-7, 40 percent

He’s taken six fewer three-point shots but shooting 27.1 percent better. That’s what I have been preaching the whole time. Turner is a really tough guard for opposing teams when he isn’t playing hero ball, and the stats prove my point.

Next. 5 reasons Vols are a lock for the Final Four. dark

Another thing Lamonte is doing well is finding a way to get to the rim which is opening up the outside jumper for him. Since the Mississippi State game during the SEC Tournament, Turner is 10-for-25 from deep, 40 percent. If Turner’s hot, Tennessee is a threat not only to be Purdue but to win the National Championship.

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