Tennessee has a big game on Friday night in Chicago, where Rick Barnes will prepare to take on Iowa State in the Sweet 16. It's the fourth straight year that Rick Barnes has led Tennessee to this point, and the Vols will look to make a Final Four push. To do this, they have to get past a very good Iowa State team with a deep roster of talented players.
Bishop Boswell’s breakout changes everything for Tennessee’s March run
Let's take a look at three thinsg Vosl fans should klnow about Iowa State.
1. Star forward Joshua Jefferson is hurt
Iowa State's best player, Joshua Jefferson, left the Tennessee State game on Friday with an ankle injury. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward averages 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists this year. Plus defensivcely he averages 1.6 steals a game. Evan Miaya has him rated as the No. 6 overall player in college basketball regardless of position.
If he is out, it would be a big loss for the Cyclones, but they have proven they can win without him, as they pummeled Kentucky by nearly 20. Jefferson leads Iowa State in usage, and despite his absence, they've shown their offense can adapt.
2. Iowa State forces a lot of turnovers
Under head coach TJ Otzelberger, the Iowa State Cyclones have adopted a defense-first mentality that enables them to play all night aggressively. They hard hedge on screens and are active in passing lanes. Right now, they are No. 4 in the country in forced turnover percentage at 22.5%.
This is not the most ideal thing for the Vols, as Tennessee has struggled at times to take care of the ball and is No. 223 in the country in turnover percentage. Taking care of the ball on Friday night will be difficult, but needed if Tennessee has any shot at winning.
3. Milan Momcilovic is the best 3-point shooter in the nation
Another stat from Evan Miya's website that he has is projected three-point percentage, and Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic has the best projected three-point percentage in the country at 42.8%. He is fourth in the county in three-pointers made per game at 3.7. Tennessee has done a nice job defending the three-point line this year, only allowing 30.5% of them to fall, good for No. 20 in the country.
While not a perfect comparison, it's pretty similar, and that's the fact that Tennessee held Vanderbilt's Tyler Nickel to 4-16 from beyond the arc in three games. Tennessee has proved they can stop this archetype, and if they allow Milicic to get hot, it could be a long night on Friday.