Tennessee basketball handled business in their first-round game against Wofford. The Vols won in dominant fashion with a 77-62 final score over the Terriers.
Now, the Vols move on to round two, hoping to repeat their efforts and earn a spot in the tournament's second weekend for the Sweet Sixteen and possibly the Elite Eight.
Tennessee will have to go through UCLA to do that. The Bruins put together a dominant performance to eliminate Utah State in the first round.
UCLA beat Utah State 72-47 in their first-round matchup as Skyy Clark and Eric Dailey Jr. scored 14 points each.
The Bruins shot 48% from the field and 41% from three-point range, with Clark leading the team's shooting efforts, making 5-of-8 from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range.
Defensively, UCLA shut down Utah State's offense. The Aggies were a popular upset pick and a possible Cinderella team as a double-digit seed, but UCLA didn't give them a chance to get going.
When you compare Tennessee's resume to UCLA, the Vols have a much stronger resume in every facet. UCLA comes into the tournament outside the top 25 and is in the top 40 in every category that determines a team's ranking, but Tennessee is in the top 10 in every category.
The Bruins are nearly identical to Tennessee offensively, in points per possession, effective field goal percentage, and turnover percentage.
UCLA's offense is ranked 36th in the country, according to KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency statistic. It is good enough to get hot and go on a run in the tournament.
Defensively, the Vols hold a much stronger upper hand. UCLA allows 0.97 points per possession to Tennessee's 0.93 while allowing a 6% higher opponent field goal percentage.
ESPN gives the Vols a 74% chance to win the second-round game, with every statistic in their predictive model leaning toward Tennessee.
The Vols and Bruins' second-round matchup will take place on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:40 PM ET on TBS or TruTV.