Tennessee picked up a significant win over Miami (OH) 78-56 on Friday evening. With Nate Ament’s status in question after leaving the game, Ja’Kobi Gillespie put the Vols on his back scoring 29 points in the win.
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Tennessee now is faced with the task to knock off No. 3 seed Virginia, who took Duke down to the wire in the ACC Championship. The Cavaliers are an impressive 30-5 this year with wins over Miami, Louisville, and Texas.
Despite being the lower seed, Tennessee is -1.5 point favorites over Virginia. Vegas thinks the Vols are the better team in tomorrow’s contest.
How Tennessee matches up with Virginia
Despite what Vegas thinks about the Vols, this will not be an easy game for Tennessee. The Cavaliers are the No. 3 team in the country at allowing near-proximity field goal percentage. They do a fantastic job protecting the rim. Conversely, this is Tennessee's strengths as a team. Rick Barnes wants to feed the ball inside and get put-back buckets.
Speaking of put-backs, Virginia is 25th in the nation at second-chance conversion percentage. When teams rebound on them, which they do a solid job of, they don’t allow teams to finish when they get these boards.
Tennessee has to make sure it capitalizes on its chances. The best part of the Vols offense falls into Virginia’s defensive strength.
On offense, Virginia isn’t anything too crazy. They’re an efficient team that uses a slow and methodical approach to thrive in their half-court sets. They are top-25 in the nation in 3-point shooting and mid-range shooting percentage. Where they struggle is inside but they can be lethal is with their jumpers. Gillespie and Bishop Boswell will need to be on their game guarding the perimeter tomorrow evening.
I don’t love the matchup for the Vols especially if Ament doesn’t play, but this Vols team can definitely win, but it won’t be an easy contest.
There is a reason the lights shine bright in Vegas. They are right much more often than not, so Vols fans should feel excited, but don’t get it twisted. This will be a battle.