Ahead of the Sweet 16 matchup on Friday night, Rick Barnes met with the media to discuss the matchup with Iowa State. Barnes raved about Tennessee's team chemistry and how he always believed a second weekend was in play for this group of guys.
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When Rick Barnes was asked about what he saw from Iowa State on film he said:
“Toughness, defense, well-coached, really terrific point guard play. I think they really, as a team, they’re connected. They know who needs to be shooting it, when they need to be shooting it, and just play extremely well together. But really excellent defensive team. Excellent.”
Playing against a defense like Iowa State's, the Vols will have to be prepared to make good decisions, and that starts with point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie. The Cyclones are No. 4 in the country at forced turnover percentage, as they hedge guards on screens and make ball handlers panic.
Rick Barnes talked about how much Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s feel for the game has grown since he got to Tennessee, and he said:
“I mean, he’s a totally different player from that aspect. We’ve put a lot on him. We’ve talked about that. I mean, he’s played probably more minutes than we thought he would. We knew he was gonna play a lot, but as many (as he has), probably not. But he has grown from a basketball IQ point tremendously.”
Tennessee needs Ja'Kobi Gillespie more than ever
Gillespie's feel for the game will be needed more than ever on Friday night. Iowa State might be down Joshua Jefferson, but they proved that even without their star player, they can dissect an offense as they did to Kentucky. Iowa State forced an astounding 20 turnovers as its aggressiveness forced Kentucky's lack of ball-handlers into panic.
There's no question that Tennessee has had its turnover troubles this year, and on Friday night, the rubber meets the road. If Gillespie and Bishop Boswell don't take care of the ball, then Tennessee likely will go home. If they do? Then, Tennessee has a chance to knock off the No. 2 seed Cyclones.