NCAA Tournament: Five reasons Tennessee basketball could lose to Oregon State

2. Oregon State plays elite perimeter defense.

Beyond just being red-hot from the three-point line, the Oregon State Beavers play elite perimeter defense. This is the exact formula needed to beat Tennessee basketball, by the way. Play an aggressive, attacking style of defense to get them out of their rhythm offensively, and then take over with a bunch of three-pointers.

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We know, as evidenced by our first reason the Vols could lose, that Rocky Top has a tendency to have long, dry spells in games. That includes turning the ball over a lot of times, but it also includes missing a ton of shots and a complete inability to score. Such weaknesses are not to desirable when you are entering the NCAA Tournament.

Part of that inability is poor shot selection. Even if UT is hitting well from the outside, the Vols will take difficult midrange shots at times, and that only further fuels teams that play solid perimeter defense. If they are struggling at all from the outside, Oregon State will be able to exploit that even more, and that could create for a massive three-point shooting disparity.

A big reason for Oregon State’s perimeter defense is Warith Alatishe, who is dominant down low but can also guard on the perimeter, similar to Yves Pons. With him and Ethan Thompson, UT could have trouble taking the right shots, and that could be disastrous.