Tennessee basketball is preparing for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. In the past three seasons, Tennessee has progressed one round further, coming off an Elite Eight run last year.
That trend, along with the Vols' trend as a 2-seed, is setting up the Vols for another deep run, possibly competing for a spot in the Final Four and National Championship.
Before Tennessee fans get excited to buy Final Four tickets, Tennessee has to get past its first opponent. The Vols will face the 15-seed Wofford Terriers in round one to open their tournament run.
The Terriers are 19-15 on the year and finished 6th in the Southern Conference before going on a tear in the conference tournament to earn their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Wofford swept its conference tournament as a 6-seed, starting off with a 72-60 upset over 3-seed ETSU in the first round of the SoCon Tournament, then beat 7-seed VMI 85-65 to earn a spot in the title game and upset 5-seed Furman 103-85 in the championship game to win the SoCon title.
Senior guard Corey Tripp leads the team in scoring and assists with 14.3 points and 3.2 assists per game while shooting 43.9% from the field this year.
The Terriers are not a great offensive team, but their offensive efficiency ranks similarly to Tennessee's. They average 1.1 points per possession with a 53.3% effective field goal percentage. They hold a slight edge in offensive rebounding percentage, with 33.7% compared to Tennessee's 33.6%.
Wofford's three-point shooting is one of its bright spots. Four players have made at least 50 three-pointers this year, and 38.8% of Wofford's points come from three-pointers. If the Terriers get hot, they could become a dangerous offense with March Madness magic on their side.
Defense is Wofford's bigger issue. They rank inside the top 200 in only one category: opponent offensive rebound percentage. They average 24.2% in that category, which is good enough for 36th in the country. Everything else is outside the top 200, and it's not close.
Wofford's defensive struggles hold them back from being labeled an upset pick in the first round. As a result, ESPN's matchup predictor gives Wofford a measly 3% chance to win the game.
Statistically, the Terriers will be one of the worst teams Tennessee has played since fellow SoCon team Western Carolina. The Catamounts only won eight games this year and lost to Tennessee 84-36 in December. Wofford also dominated WCU with a 90-67 win in the final week of the regular season.
While Wofford won its conference tournament, it is not the best team in the Southern Conference. However, the NCAA Tournament's automatic bid format allowed the Terriers to play the Vols in Lexington, Kentucky, for round one of the tournament.
Tennessee and Wofford's matchup is scheduled for 6:50 PM ET on Thursday. The game will be broadcast on TNT, following VCU vs. BYU and Utah State vs. UCLA. The winner of that game will face Tennessee in the second round.