Category Archives: Basketball

The Tennessee hoops team continued its winning ways this evening with a solid 77-70 win over ACC foe Georgia Tech. Three players — Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, and Jordan Bowden — were all in double figures in points, and Kyle Alexander led the way on the boards with 11.

Tennessee seemed to have control of the game, but things got a bit dicey about midway through the second half when fouls relegated Williams, Schofield, and Alexander to the bench for extended minutes. Williams and Alexander both ended up fouling out, Wiliams with 2:57 remaining and Alexander with 1:21 left in the game. At that point, the situation was dire, as the team was scheming around the big men to take the advantage and now both of them were done.

But head coach Rick Barnes then just put the game in the hands of his guards, who drove the rest of the way home. The team was up 64-57 when Alexander left for good, and Bowden and Lamonte Turner hit 11 of their next 13 free throws as the Yellow Jackets had to resort to fouling in an attempt to catch up.

The Vols are now 6-1 with their only loss coming against No 4 Villanova. They have wins over then No. 18 Purdue and NC State, teams with a combined record of 15-4. Tennessee moves up to an RPI of 14, according to RPIForecast.com. KenPom has the Vols at No. 24 but has not yet updated with the result of today’s game.

Tennessee is off until next Saturday, when they take on Lipscomb. After that, it’s at home against North Carolina, currently ranked No. 13 with an RPI of 7 and a KenPom of 9.

 

One more reason this weekend was a great time to take a breath on the coaching search:  you can pay attention to the best thing on campus right now.

The basketball Vols are 26th in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings, a far more valid early season rating than RPI…but, hey, the Vols are currently 16th in RPI. In the December update at the Bracket Matrix, the Vols are an eight seed. So far, so good.

Georgia Tech took some of the sting out of Sunday’s contest by losing to Grambling at home on an own-goal tip-in on Friday.

Grambling beats Georgia Tech, 64-63.

According to BPI, the Tigers had a 6.1 percent chance to win the game.

That’s the second-largest upset by a Division I team this season (Milwaukee had a 5.9 percent chance to win when it beat Iowa State).

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 2, 2017

The Yellow Jackets have lived dangerously all year:  three-point loss to UCLA, three-point win over Bethune-Cookman, one-point win over Northwestern along with Friday’s one-point loss. One year ago this weekend, Tennessee played one of their best games of the season in blitzing Georgia Tech 81-58 in Knoxville. The Vols shot 52.8% from the field and 6-of-11 (54.5%) from the arc.

Georgia Tech was 4-3 at that point, but played their way onto the bubble. The Yellow Jackets were 15-10 (6-6) on February 11, but lost five of their last seven. In the NIT they played their way to New York, falling to TCU in the championship game.

The Vols so far:  defense and open threes

Tennessee has only taken 128 threes; 21.3 per game is more than last year, but the total is still only good for 274th nationally. But they are typically good-to-great looks:  Tennessee is shooting 43% from the arc, 16th in the country.

It doesn’t surprise to see Grant Williams (16.5 ppg) and Admiral Schofield (12.0 ppg) atop Tennessee’s leaderboard. What is interesting is the early separation Jordan Bowden has achieved:  10.7 points in 26.7 minutes (second-best on the team behind Williams), and 14-of-23 (60.9%) from the arc. Last year Bowden was a 31.5% shooter from deep. I’m sure he won’t shoot 60.9% all year, but key differences are already emerging:  Tennessee is successfully running more of its offense through Grant Williams inside, and getting great play from Jordan Bone (3.2 assists) and James Daniel (4.7 assists). As a result, Bowden is getting a bunch of really good looks, and he is taking full advantage.

Meanwhile, the Vol defense has ensured Tennessee can win games even when the shots aren’t dropping. When not playing Villanova, Tennessee is giving up just 36.5% from the floor. Even including the game against the Wildcats (who shot 46%), the Vols are still 36th nationally in field goal percentage defense. Rick Barnes is sure to like that.

Georgia Tech:  a three-headed attack

Freshman guard Jose Alvarado averages 14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game for Josh Pastner’s squad. Fellow guard Tadric Jackson averages 14.3 and six rebounds, and 6’10” Ben Lammers gets 14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds while playing 35+ minutes. Keep an eye on Curtis Haywood II from the arc (12-of-22 so far this year), but those three represent a majority of GT’s productivity.

Tennessee has proven they can compete and win against a number of different styles early, from Purdue’s size to Villanova’s guards and NC State’s up-tempo game. It’s the opposite Sunday in Atlanta:  Georgia Tech is 337th in tempo, averaging only 63.5 points per game.

It’s a big chance to continue the early season momentum, and getting through the Yellow Jackets would leave only Lipscomb between now and a showdown with North Carolina on December 17. For that to be a big day in Knoxville in two weeks, the Vols need a big night in Atlanta tonight.

6:00 PM ET, ESPNU. Go Vols.

 

This preview brought to you by, “I can’t just keep refreshing the message boards.”

Tennessee had a good enough week in the Bahamas to enter the also receiving votes portion of both polls:  34th in the AP, 46th in the Coaches’, plus 34th in KenPom. The Vols are also 34th in RPI, which doesn’t mean much this early in the year, but are currently projected to end the season with an RPI of 52 by RPI Forecast. That projection is fluid too, it’s noteworthy that their projections also include the Vols going just .500 in the SEC and still flirting with the RPI Top 50.

The league is much, much stronger this year, with eight teams in the KenPom Top 50 right now. Again, RPI is fluid this early, but right now the SEC is the best conference in college basketball by their ratings. Going 9-9 in this SEC will be a much bigger challenge and a much better accomplishment (also, much more entertaining to watch over 18 games).

We’ll get to all that later, I point all this out simply to show how the conversation has already changed after Tennessee’s wins over #18 Purdue and NC State, plus a close call with #5 Villanova. One-sixth of the way through the regular season, and it’s less about, “Can Tennessee be a bubble team?” and more of, “How can this team play its way above the cut line?”

That blueprint not only includes .500-or-better ball in the SEC and probably splitting the major non-conference games remaining (at Georgia Tech this Saturday, vs North Carolina December 17, at Wake Forest December 23, at Iowa State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge). It also includes taking care of the mid-major business you should take care of…and the toughest of those challenges will be tonight.

Mercer is 85th in KenPom, the best team in the Southern Conference by a healthy margin in those ratings. They have a pair of nine-point losses to Central Florida and Colorado around five low-ranking victories. Last year they disappointed at 15-17, but returned four of their five leading scorers.

The name to know tonight is Ria’n Holland, if he plays after missing the last game with an ankle injury. The 6’0″ guard averages 20.2 points per game and is 21-of-37 (56.8%) from the arc this year. The next leading scorer averages nearly 10 points less per game.

This is an experienced Mercer bunch, but so are the Vols. This game should be as much about Tennessee’s fight against complacency and inconsistency as Mercer – if the Vols are going where they want to go, they’ll go through Mercer in Knoxville.

7:00 PM ET, SEC Network+ online.

There is no chalk in Atlantis. The seventh-place game features #2 Arizona and #18 Purdue. #5 Villanova won’t see either of them this trip (not that their tournament resume should need the help). And Tennessee, who was supposed to lose to Purdue then face a pair of mid-major foes, will leave the Bahamas with three power conference opponents on their resume.

As such things go, it was always going to be better for the Vols to beat Purdue and lose to Villanova and in the third place game than lose to Purdue and beat two mid-majors. Now, with Wednesday’s quality win checked off the list and the strength-of-schedule boost from facing Villanova added to it, Tennessee gets one more chance to improve their standing in facing NC State.

1. Mark Gottfried -> Kevin Keatts

Last year NC State went 11-2 in non-conference play, then 4-14 in ACC play. Thus ended Mark Gottfried’s time in Raleigh: six years and a pair of Sweet 16’s in the first four, but sub-.500 seasons the last two years. Kevin Keatts is in after three years at UNC-Wilmington and three CAA titles.

Also new is graduate transfer Allerik Freeman, a two-year starter at Baylor. The 6’3″ guard was a 38.9% three-point shooter last year, and is an instant impact scorer for the Wolfpack this season with 16.2 points per game despite shooting just 26.7% from the arc so far. He had 24 in their upset of Arizona in the first round. NC State is 5-1 and 89th in KenPom.

2. Run Run Wolfpack

Tennessee played a 40 minute slugfest with Purdue to get it to overtime, then beat the Boilermakers at a much faster pace to win the extra five minutes. Against Villanova the Vols scored 46 points in the first half. Tennessee’s early returns suggest a team capable of winning a number of different ways.

Today we’ll see how they handle a faster tempo. NC State is 57th on this young season in pace of play, and averages 85.1 points per game. Northern Iowa didn’t slow them down so much as play good defense: in their 64-60 win yesterday, the Wolfpack shot just 33.8% from the floor, 8-of-30 (26.7%) from the arc, and 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the line. It has to feel like a game they should have won from NC State’s perspective.

3. What are we learning about Tennessee?

Take away a couple of bad stretches against Villanova – which will happen against one of the very best teams in the nation – and the Vols have played really good basketball on both ends of the floor. Turnovers led to a flurry of transition buckets for the Wildcats; Tennessee hasn’t been great in transition defense, but the Vols are also getting enough offense (and emphasizing offensive rebound enough) to not find themselves on their heels very often. We’ll see how that plays itself out at a faster pace today.

But two very good signs early for the Vols:  one, Tennessee is shooting 40% from the arc on this young season. It may never be a strength for this team, but they shot in the low 30’s last season. If a performance like 6-of-20 against Villanova can be the basement instead of the average, the Vols are going to win a lot more games this year. Lamonte Turner is 8-of-20 and Jordan Bowden 8-of-15, and they’re both getting much better looks than they saw last year due to better work inside from Grant Williams as well as John Fulkerson and Kyle Alexander.

Two, the Vols have generally played good defense. Purdue shot 37.3% against Tennessee. Villanova’s transition game fueled a stellar second half; the Wildcats finished at 46% from the floor. The Vols have also been hurt by really strong free throw shooting from the other side:  Purdue and Villanova went 54-of-62 (87.1%). That’s not going to show up every night.

How well Tennessee defends today will go a long way to determining how successful this weekend can ultimately be. The resume will be better than it was pre-Bahamas either way, and as long as Purdue gets their act together the Vols have a resume win. But going home 4-1 with a near miss against Villanova and two power conference wins would be a big step forward for this program.

Tennessee’s last day in Atlantis tips off at 2:30 PM ET on ESPN2. Go Vols.

 

Tennessee was in control for a portion of its game against the Villanova Wildcats this afternoon in the Bahamas and in the hunt for most of it, but it was lost for a short period to begin the second half and that was all it took to eventually lose 85-76.

The Vols led by 15 at one point and went to the locker room at the half up by 12, but Villanova came out on fire, erased the Vols’ lead and then built one of their own that they held the rest of the way. Tennessee did make a game of it late, climbing to within three points with less than a minute remaining, but with time running out, they had to foul, and Nova doesn’t miss free throws.

Grant Williams once again led the Vols with 20 points and eight rebounds. Admiral Schofield added 16 points, and James Daniel III had 10.

It was a disappointing finish, but the Vols have now proven that they can play with anyone, and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season shakes out.

The Vols get NC State tomorrow at 2:30, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.

Coming off a big win against No. 18 Purdue yesterday, Tennessee basketball now gets a shot at No. 5 Villanova. The game tips at 12:30 ET and will be televised on ESPN.

If you’re still catching up, check out our recap of the Purdue game and our preview of Villanova.

Go Vols.

 

I tweeted after the win over Purdue that it was Tennessee’s most valuable victory since Cuonzo Martin’s tenure. To be clear, Rick Barnes and Donnie Tyndall both won games that were big in the moment; any victory over Kentucky is better than beating Purdue on a neutral floor. But in terms of the difference it can make in Tennessee’s season, this is the most valuable win since Tennessee’s run to the 2014 Sweet 16.

We use RPI Wizard a lot on this site; you can use their up-to-the-minute RPI plus Jeff Sagarin’s power ratings to project an end-of-year RPI, plus change any game to a win or loss to see how it might affect the outcome. It’s way too early to worry about overall RPI or any fluid ratings; Sagarin projected the Vols to be around .500 before today, which will certainly change. But even keeping those early projections, it is interesting to note the projected difference in the final RPI based on different outcomes in the Bahamas:

• L Purdue, W Western Kentucky, W NC State: RPI 76
• W Purdue, L Villanova, L SMU: RPI 74
• W Purdue, L Villanova, W SMU: RPI 58

It was better for Tennessee to win today and lose the next two games than lose to Purdue and beat two lesser foes. But even if the Vols fall to Villanova and win the third place game (assuming #2 Arizona is in the finals from the other side of the bracket), the win over Purdue would ultimately create an opportunity to be 15-20 spots better in RPI by March.

There are plenty of what-ifs when you play overtime, and both teams would prefer not to turn the ball over a combined 33 times. But the Vols survived Purdue going 21-of-25 at the free throw line (while Tennessee was only 11-of-12) by grabbing a staggering 20 offensive rebounds. Nine of those came from Grant Williams and Kyle Alexander against Purdue’s tall trees.

Last year the Vols would have needed to be the team shooting 25 free throws to win a game like this. We said in our season preview Tennessee needed better offense to get better shots, because the Vols struggled to win ugly last year. In their first meaningful contest today, ugly was beautiful:

• Last year the Vols were 1-11 when shooting less than 39.5%. Today they won shooting just 36.3%.
• Last year the Vols were 3-15 when they had 15 assists or less. Today they won with 14 assists and 15 turnovers.
• And in overtime, when the game got a lot prettier, the Vols kept pace. Tennessee tied Purdue in 40 minutes of regulation in a game in the low 60’s, then beat them in five minutes of overtime played at the pace of a game in the 100’s.

And they did this against #18 Purdue, a team with legitimate Final Four aspirations coming in; the Boilermakers were 11th in KenPom coming into today.

Up next: Villanova, the number one team in the nation in KenPom coming into today.

If Purdue tested Tennessee’s readiness, Villanova will test their ceiling. The 2016 champs were 31-3 last year heading back to the tournament, but were stunned by Wisconsin 65-62 in the second round. They lost first round draft pick Josh Hart and title hero Kris Jenkins, but the rest of their crew is back.

How do you go 31-3? Last year Nova was eighth nationally in field goal percentage, second in two-point percentage, and third in free throw percentage. Then they defended without fouling, allowing just 445 free throws in 36 games (12.3 per game), the second fewest in the nation despite playing extra tournament games.

The primary test with Purdue was inside, but the opposite will be true with the Wildcats. Guards Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, and Donte DiVincenzo lead the way; those three combined for 49 of their 66 points in an eight-point win over Western Kentucky. 6’9″ Eric Paschall is also a threat. And the defending without fouling thing held up again:  WKU attempted four free throws, ensuring a loss despite shooting 7-of-11 from the arc.

Take away a scoreless minute from Yves Pones, and the Vols played a 10-man rotation against Purdue. Six players did the heavy lifting, all of them veterans:  the starting five of Bone, Bowden, Schofield, Williams, and Alexander all played 26-34 minutes, and Lamonte Turner added 33 off the bench while scoring 17 points. But we saw both Schofield (team-high 34 minutes) and Bone get banged up late; Schofield returned from a shoulder scare while Bone’s ankle kept him off the floor late, and it’ll be interesting to see how ready they are 24 hours later.

Turner and Williams will get the praise, but the biggest deal today was Kyle Alexander:  13 points and 11 rebounds while dealing with two seven footers from Purdue. He had two critical buckets in overtime, one of them a three. We’ll need to see more of that before we can expect it, but if Alexander can help Tennessee win big games down the stretch? That’s a big difference between last year and this one.

Purdue was a gatekeeper game; now that the Vols are through they’ll reap the strength-of-schedule benefits in a pure opportunity test against Villanova. Another golden opportunity would presumably await against #2 Arizona if Tennessee wins…but if Tennessee beats Purdue and Villanova on consecutive days, I’m not sure the bubble is the most relevant conversation. The Vols got their quality win and have given themselves a chance to make a serious upgrade in their resume with another win on Friday. Or they could beat Villanova, and we’ll start talking about loftier things.

It’s been a long autumn around here. Today was excellent. Let’s do that again.

Go Vols.

Well that was refreshing. Tennessee basketball, picked 13th in the SEC preseason poll, just beat No. 18 Purdue 78-75 in overtime. Grant Williams led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds.

For most of the first half, Tennessee really struggled with the height of Purdue, which rotates in two guys who are 7’2″ and 7’3″. They found some room to shoot, but it wasn’t enough to get off their regular shot, as most attempts had to be adjusted to avoid the tree limbs. Eventually, though, excellent ball movement, good shot selection, and great offensive rebounding helped them find their groove, and they tied the game with an emphatic dunk just before heading into the locker room for halftime.

The Vols began the second half the same way, extending their lead to 7 before the Boilermakers began to climb back. At the eleven minute mark, the teams began trading the lead as the Vols again began having trouble finding comfortable shots.

With 18 seconds left, Purdue led by 3 and had the ball, but the Vols’ Lamonte Turner, who’d gotten hot earlier in the game but had cooled a bit by this time, dribbled around the arc using Grant Williams as a shield, found some space, and hit a three-pointer to tie the game with 5 seconds left. Purdue missed a three-point attempt of its own, and the game went to overtime.

The Boilermakers raced out to a quick 5-point lead early in the overtime period until Grant Williams decided he’d had enough.

With 2:24 to go, Admiral Schofield missed a three-pointer, but Williams got the board, missed his own put back, got it back again, and put it down. On the next three Vols possessions, Williams hit a jumper, had an impressive assist out of a double team to Kyle Alexander for a dunk, and hit another jumper to take the lead 76-75. When Purdue fouled, James Daniel III hit both free throws, and the Vols held on from there.

Unless you saw the game, you can’t really appreciate how much bigger Purdue’s players were than Tennessee’s, and it’s not like they’re just tall, either. They can play. And yet, Tennessee out-hustled, out-played, and yes, even out-rebounded an incredibly tall and really, really good basketball team.

The jury was still out on the Vols after two dominating wins over lower-level competition to start the season, but no more. Now, Tennessee’s put everyone on notice that they are not the 13th-best team in the SEC. Nowhere near it. They’re good, they’re going to make some real noise this season, and they’re going to be fun to watch.

Next up: Western Kentucky or No. 5 Villanova tomorrow at either 12:30 or 7:00.

Go Vols.

The Tennessee Vols are in the Bahamas today for the Battle 4 Atlantis. Their opening game features a great opportunity to see what they’re made of against No. 18 Purdue. The tip’s at noon Eastern and will be televised on ESPN2.

 

Opportunity knocks, and she is a lot taller than us.

Tennessee will open the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday at 12:00 PM ET (ESPN2) against #18 Purdue. The Boilermakers have been busy: wins over SIU-Edwardsville, Chicago State, and Fairfield by a combined 132 points. More importantly, they won at Marquette (#55 KenPom) 86-71.

1. Seriously, these dudes are tall.

Purdue was a four-seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, playing their way to the Sweet 16 before getting obliterated by Kansas. They lost power forward Caleb Swanigan to the first round of the NBA Draft, but all the other contributors are back. That starts with 7’2″ Isaac Haas, averaging 13.5 points and six rebounds in just 18.8 minutes per game so far this year. 6’1″ guard Carson Edwards is shouldering some of Swanigan’s scoring load, getting 18.5 per game so far. And Dakota Mathias makes Purdue an inside-out nightmare: you can double-down on Haas, but Mathias shot 45.3% from the arc last year and is 13-of-16 (81.3%!) so far this year.

Add in 6’8″ Vincent Edwards (averaging a 15-9) and senior guard P.J. Thompson, and you’ve got five guys averaging double figures. And no worries:  when Haas comes out, they replace him, impossibly, with someone even taller in 7’3″ freshman Matt Haarms of the Netherlands.

2. Purdue runs one of the most effective offenses in college basketball.

It’s a small sample size, but as of Monday night the Boilermakers were fifth nationally in field goal percentage, seventh in three point percentage, 11th in blocked shots, and fourth in points per game. But don’t count on it being a fluke:  last year Purdue was 28th in field goal percentage and ninth in three point percentage (40.3%). They are currently seventh in Ken Pomeroy’s offensive ratings. The Vols are currently 34th in those same defensive ratings. But the task, if you will, is tall.

In two games, the Vols have nine players averaging 15+ minutes. One of them is Kyle Alexander, who is of course the only player in orange who can even attempt to look this Purdue front line in the eye. Tennessee did play great basketball on the offensive end at an extreme size disadvantage at Chapel Hill last year, but were still largely undone by 22 offensive rebounds from the Tar Heels.

Tennessee is currently 38th in KenPom and looked as good as you can against the low-level competition they’ve faced. Purdue is a great opportunity, especially with #5 Villanova probably awaiting the winner, but a bad match-up for the Vols on paper. A victory could be a gold mine in RPI and tournament resume. But even if it’s defeat, we’ll learn a lot more about how Rick Barnes wants his rotation to look.

3. …but Tennessee has the makings of their own effective offense.

The Vols have their own inside-out game working in the early going, and would really like to do a younger, smaller version of the Boilermakers’ offensive identity. Tennessee’s most important player is also inside; Grant Williams is averaging 11 points and 9.5 rebounds in 23 minutes, and is 10-of-14 at the free throw line. Admiral Schofield leads the team in scoring so far and is 8-of-9 at the line. And so far, the Vols have been hot from three at 45.2%. Schofield is 4-of-7, Jordan Bone 3-of-4, Jordan Bowden 5-of-7, and Lamonte Turner 4-of-9. The early returns show a much better shooting team; it won’t be so easy against Purdue, but getting good shots through a more effective offense continues to be one of the most important steps this team can take.

Tennessee will need all of that and more to beat Purdue. But even if the Vols fall here to a Final Four contender, continuing to play this well on the offensive end can take the Vols where they want to go this season. It’s a golden opportunity where victory puts you several steps closer to the tournament, but should be educational regardless of outcome. The winner likely gets #5 Villanova, the loser likely gets Western Kentucky.