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NCAA Tournament 2021: Five players for Tennessee basketball to watch first weekend

By Caleb Calhoun

Feb 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Ethan Thompson (5) gestures on the court during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Ethan Thompson (5) gestures on the court during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Jarod Lucas (2) walks on the court during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 27, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; Oregon State Beavers guard Jarod Lucas (2) walks on the court during the first half against the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament puts Tennessee basketball in a bracket with three other red-hot teams. Two of them won their conference tournaments, including the Cinderella story of their first opponent, the Oregon State Beavers, and the highest seeded team in the bracket, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, were the Big 12 Tournament runner-ups.

Simply put, Rocky Top, as a No. 5 seed, has a tough road ahead in its quest to reach the Sweet 16. What makes things more difficult is all three of the other teams are constructed differently. With the knowledge that they will face Oregon State and the possibility that they face Oregon State or the Liberty Flames, there are plenty of elite players they could go up against.

In this post, we’re going to take a look at the key players Rick Barnes should keep an eye on. Obviously, Oregon State takes precedence since they are a certain opponent, but the other teams have key players on here as well. Let’s break them down. These are the five key players UT needs to watch out for in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Sophomore; 6’3″ 195 pounds

Although he is not the leading scorer for Oregon State, Jarod Lucas’ emergence has been the driving force for the Beavers winning six of their last seven. He’s averaging 12.9 points on the season, but in those seven games, he has averaged just over 15 points a game. In the Pac-12 Tournament, he averaged over 14 points a game.

Crucial to his play has been three-point shooting. Lucas is shooting 39.4 percent from the field on the year and hits nearly two and a half a game. In the Pac-12 Tournament, he shot 41.7 percent and hit over three a game. Over the past six games, he has hit 17 of 38 three-pointers, good for 44.7 percent, an incredible level of efficiency.

If Lucas gets red-hot on Friday, the Vols could have some real trouble. They have to contain him at all costs. He’s not their go-to scorer, but when he starts hitting from the outside, Oregon State can beat anybody. That’s evidenced by their red-hot run to reach the NCAA Tournament at 17-12.

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