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March Madness: Five keys for Tennessee Vols’ Round of 32 matchup vs. Michigan

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee forward John Fulkerson (10), Tennessee forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (2), and Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James (30) react on the bench during the NCAA Tournament first round game between Tennessee and Longwood at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Tennessee defeated Longwood.Kns Ncaa Vols Longwood Bp
Tennessee forward John Fulkerson (10), Tennessee forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (2), and Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James (30) react on the bench during the NCAA Tournament first round game between Tennessee and Longwood at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Tennessee defeated Longwood.Kns Ncaa Vols Longwood Bp /
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Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi (25) attempts a three-pointer during the NCAA Tournament first round game between Tennessee and Longwood at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Thursday, March 17, 2022.Kns Ncaa Vols Longwood Bp
Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi (25) attempts a three-pointer during the NCAA Tournament first round game between Tennessee and Longwood at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Thursday, March 17, 2022.Kns Ncaa Vols Longwood Bp /

Tennessee basketball won’t be able to replicate its game plan that led to a flawless performance in its March Madness opener when it faces the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Juwan Howard’s team is built in almost the exact opposite way Griff Aldrich’s Longwood Lancers were built.

That’s to say nothing of the actual talent disparity between the two teams either. As a result, if the No. 3 seed Vols are to get back to the Sweet 16, they’ve got to figure out how to handle a dangerous No. 11 seed Michigan that dominated the Colorado State Rams in the second half of their first round matchup.

The last time Rocky Top was a No. 3 seed, they lost in the second round to a No. 11 seed. Obviously, they’ll want to avoid that again. Let’s take a look at how they can do that. Here are the Vols’ five keys in their second March Madness matchup of 2022.

5. Maintain elite three-point shooting

Although they can win without shooting the three if necessary, when the Vols are on from outside, they are unbeatable. Recently, they have been unbeatable. They have shot better than 40 percent from three in every game dating back to their Senior Day win against the Arkansas Razorbacks, including all three SEC Tournament games.

Against Longwood, Rocky Top shot 14-of-24 from beyond the arc. Santiago Vescovi was the star, going 6-of-8, but Kennedy Chandler and Josiah-Jordan James each had three, and Zakai Zeigler came away with two off the bench. This is what made it a blowout.

Given how Michigan wants to dominate under the basket, the Vols can shut everything down by continuing their red-hot streak from outside. It’ll run out eventually, particularly James’ shooting, as he is off and on with this, but it would be ideal for that to not happen in this game. Otherwise, Michigan has an advantage.

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