There Is No Blueprint

What has grown since November comes to an end in March. While there will be only one champion, the entire field can hope for a moment. Just one moment to lead to the chance to make just one more. The last days of the season are the best, as long as you keep winning.

While I don’t want to find out what it’s like to lose to a 14 seed, this season is already safely in the “best” category for Tennessee. I’ve got the t-shirt to prove it. And this is still the same year that started in 13th place in the media poll. Many didn’t think we’d be playing today at all, nevermind as a three seed.

You couldn’t script this season. And it’s really hard to script this team:

  • The Vols are 19-3 when shooting at least 33.3% from three. But they also beat Florida, Texas A&M, and won at Rupp Arena shooting less than that.
  • The Vols are 17-0 when holding their opponent under 40% from the floor. But they also beat Kentucky twice when the Cats shot above that.
  • The Vols are 14-0 when assisting on at least 64% of their made shots. But they beat Purdue and Kentucky when assisting on less than half of their makes.

Who makes this team go?

  • Grant Williams has scored 20+ eight times, but the Vols lost two of those games. Meanwhile one of their best performances of the year was at Mississippi State, when he had eight.
  • Admiral Schofield has scored 20+ seven times, but only two of those came against tournament teams (Kentucky twice). Meanwhile the Vols beat nine-seed NC State in the Bahamas when Schofield had zero.
  • The Vols are 13-2 when Jordan Bowden scores double digits, but just annihilated Arkansas in the SEC Tournament when he had two points.

(All these stats come from the fine folks at Sports Reference)

There was no blueprint for a season like this one in November, and there is no detailed blueprint for what Tennessee does well in March. The Vols play inside-out and defend well enough to give themselves a chance to win every night, but have enough diversity offensively to get that win in a number of different ways. They won the deepest SEC in history, won eight games against tournament teams, and went to the wire with a one seed and a two seed. They ran past Arkansas with 84 points and won in Rupp Arena by holding Kentucky to less than 60. I’m not even sure what a bad match-up would look like for this team, but I know no one will look forward to playing them.

I don’t know what’s going to happen from here. But I do know, whoever we’re facing, Rick Barnes and his staff will give these players a chance to win, one way or another.

Let’s dance.

The 2018 Hoops Recruiting Landscape: While we Wait

After a thrilling SEC Tournament run that ended in a fun to watch but hard to take 77-72 loss to Kentucky, the Vols will kick off what could potentially be a magical NCAA Tournament run on Thursday against Wright State.  And while Rick Barnes and the entire Tennessee basketball program are no doubt focused on the task at hand, one eye is always on the future and recruiting.  As we went over in depth here, the immediate future is incredibly bright as not only are twelve of the thirteen scholarship players on this conference champion roster scheduled to return and nine of those thirteen sophomores and freshmen but the level of talent Barnes and Co. are recruiting is already clearly at a higher level than since he’s been in Knoxville.  So while we wait for Thursday’s tipoff, let’s take a quick look at some interesting developments on the recruiting scene

Mark Fox Fired from UGA

As rumblings started that Mark Fox was likely to be fired at Georgia, 5-star PG prospect Ashton Hagans from the Atlanta area decommitted from the Dawgs.  Currently a 2019 prospect, there has been much discussion about whether he might reclassify to the 2018 class.  Either way, his recruitment has become much more crowded as the likes of Georgetown, NC State and others have thrown their hat into the ring.  Depending on who Georgia hires, and whether or not the new coach keeps assistant Jonas Hayes on, the Dawgs could still be a factor as well.

The Vols were in the mix before Hagans committed to UGA and one would assume they will try and get more involved now with the dynamic lead guard.  If Hagans does indeed reclassify to 2018, one would think that the opportunity to come in and immediately play for a title contending team will be attractive.  If he stays in the 2019 class the Vols will have that much more time to recruit him, and will likely be that much more of a power program, so either way Hagans will be one to watch

Tubby Smith Fired from Memphis

Although this isn’t official as of this writing, Tubby Smith will not be coaching at Memphis next season and it’s just as likely that Penny Hardaway will be.  That could have multiple implications for Tennessee recruiting in 2018:

Tyler Harris: The diminutive local high school star is thought to *currently* be a Baylor lean with the Vols trying to get him on campus.  However, though he was never signing with Memphis with Smith as coach it seems very likely that Hardaway will land him

Anfernee Simons: Simons is the Vols #1 target and is an elite player who would make the Vols a preseason darling and maybe even Top 5 type team.  Simons is eligible for the NBA Draft and very likely could go that route. With Hardaway’s hiring it is rumored that Simons, who is named for and whose family has some sort of relationship with Penny, the Tigers could become a factor here.  All that of course is dependent on Simons passing on the opportunity to declare for the NBA Draft, which seems less and less likely.  His next chance to impress NBA scouts will be the Jordan Brand Class on April 8th in Brooklyn and he will have to make a final decision one way or the other soon after

Myreon Jones: An interesting prospect who had limited offers (Colorado State and Wofford) before committing to the Tigers despite being ranked by 247 Sports as the #91 ranked player in 201 class.  He’s considered more of a combo guard who at 6’3, 170 can handle and distribute the ball but is known for his shooting/scoring ability.  He’s also an outstanding student which would likely fit the kind of character mold that Barnes looks for. Where his commitment stands once Smith is forced out is still to be determined, and there has been no interest from Tennessee to-date.  However, the Vols might take another look once the season is over if Jones opens his recruitment back up

Gaines Continues State Title Run

The lone Tennessee high school commitment is 2019 Davonte Gaines, who has had an outstanding senior year leading his Buffalo-area team this season.  That continues as he is now making a run in the NY State tournament before leaving to take a 5th year at Hargrave Academy.  Gaines is an exciting prospect who can do a bit of everything and will spend the year at Hargrave bulking up his wiry frame and improving his overall game against competition that is miles above what he’s faced in Buffalo

More Coaching Changes to Come, More Options Likely to Emerge

While Fox and Smith are two of a handful of firings that have taken place so far, there is likely to be more shakeup in the coaching ranks once the season officially ends.  This will likely cause more players in the 2018 class who are currently committed/signed elsewhere to become available, and at the same time make more players who have the option to take a 5th-year graduate transfer jump at that chance.  Tennessee is going to look like a really good option for someone, especially considering how much publicity the program is getting in March and what kind of team the Vols project to return in 2018-19, not to mention the positive experience James Daniel III had as a 5th year transfer on this team.  So while the pickings look relatively slim right now (after Simons) for that one spot in the 2018 class, expect Barnes and Co. to have a lot of options to add a meaningful piece when it’s all said and done

Join the Gameday on Rocky Top Bracket Challenge

A bracket here, a bracket there. Brackets, they are everywhere.

Including here.

Join the Gameday on Rocky Top 2018 Bracket Tourney Pool, and show the rest of us how it’s done.

The prize? Bragging rights. Glorious bragging rights.

So head over and sign up now, come up with a snappy bracket name, and make your picks. We’ll update the results weekly, so you have multiple opportunities to feel good about your luck.

Have fun, and Go Vols.

Tennessee vs Wright State Preview

Wright State comes in 135th in KenPom; that’s the lowest 14 seed and lower than two 15 seeds. Since opening with Presbyterian and High Point, the Vols have only played two teams with a lower KenPom rating: Mercer (148) on November 29, and Lipscomb (165) on December 9. That’s what the fourth-best schedule in the nation looks like.

The Raiders know winning. After an 0-3 start including losses to tourney-bound Loyola-Chicago and Murray State, they won eight of their next ten and then started 7-0 in the Horizon League. There was an issue with guard Justin Mitchell around this time, who apparently left the team in a dispute over playing time. Mitchell averaged 11 points and seven rebounds per game.

Northern Kentucky won the conference, but Wright State swept them. Northern Kentucky is 95th in KenPom and is the best win on Wright State’s resume. They didn’t see them in the conference tournament, rolling past Green Bay by 15, Milwaukee by six, and Cleveland State by 17 in the title game.

As Northern Kentucky is the best team they’ve beaten and Loyola-Chicago is the best team they’ve played (do not – DO NOT – sleep on those guys, 41st in KenPom), Tennessee should be a step up from anything they’ve seen.

What Wright State does well:

  • Defense. Wright State is 53rd in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings. That would still be just 11th-best in the SEC, but it’s worth noting. Opponents shoot just 41.4% against them and average 65.7 points per game.
  • Getting to the free throw line. 21% of their points come at the stripe, and the Raiders are 57th nationally in free throws attempted. Three players shoot better than 81% from the stripe; leading scorer Grant Benzinger shoots 89%, 33rd nationally.
  • Can they guard Grant Williams? They’ll put 6’11” Parker Ernsthausen and 6’9″, 275 lbs Loudon Love on the floor at the same time. Seriously, this dude is a tree. So I’m not sure the ‘ol back-em-down will be option number one.

What Tennessee can do to win:

  • More Defense. This will be true as long as we’re in this thing, but it’s especially true here: if the Vols are going to run away from this team, they’ll do it on the defensive end. Wright State is 248th nationally in KenPom’s offensive efficiency ratings. They may hang their hat on defense, but so should Tennessee. The top three seeds in the South region are ranked first, second, and fourth nationally in KenPom defense. No one is getting to or getting out of Atlanta without making things ugly. If the Vols are committed to excellence on the defense end, Wright State shouldn’t threaten the Vols even in a low-scoring game.
  • Exploit size on the perimeter. Ernsthausen and Love provide plenty of size inside, but Wright State’s guards lack length. Playing a team like Kentucky changes everything about how you get good shots, but against the Raiders the Vols should find more opportunities for productive penetration. I’m curious to see how often the Vols put their three guards and Williams/Schofield lineup on the floor against this team to create a mismatch for the Admiral.
  • Let talent prevail. Wright State is huge inside, but they’re not particularly great at blocking shots: 6.7% is the 288th worst block percentage in the nation. So while Grant Williams may not be backing down Loudon Love, he may still be able to get good shots. The Vols took care of business every single time against a mid-major this season, the first time that’s happened in eight years. With defense was the catalyst, the Vols should be able to do the same thing here.

We’ll have more on the bracket this week. The Vols go at 12:40 PM on Thursday, check your local listings for TruTV.

Tennessee Gets Michigan State Transfer Running Back Madre London

 

Tennessee needs immediate-impact playmakers all over the field, and that’s why the Volunteers are such an attractive option for graduate transfers.

A week after getting Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst, UT added another player who figures to get important touches on Sunday night when Michigan State senior transfer Madre London announced via Twitter that he’ll finish his career at Tennessee.

Just this week, I wrote for Bleacher Report that London was looking to leave the Spartans, and I predicted he’d wind up with Notre Dame, only because there hadn’t been any buzz out there on where he’d go. In that same piece, I predicted (wildly guessed) the Vols would go after and get Clemson running back C.J. Fuller. I had it right that the Vols would go after a runner, but I got the wrong one.

Instead, London wanted to go somewhere and get started. That’s why the Vols were a perfect fit.

There’s no question London wanted to go somewhere where he could get vital carries, and there’s also no doubt the Vols need a power back who can churn out yards. Just like UT wants to go to a more downfield passing attack, they also want a power running game, and with John Kelly off to the NFL, there aren’t any proven options there. Incoming freshman Jeremy Banks will serve that role in the future, but will he be ready in 2018?

That’s why London was necessary.

It appears London was wanted by the Vols all along, at least according to ESPN.com’s Adam Rittenberg:

Sophomore Ty Chandler should be the starting running back, but London brings with him valuable reps in the Big Ten. He’s not going to be a guy who can break off 40- or 50-yard runs, but he played three years in East Lansing, finishing with 924 yards and eight touchdowns in three seasons.

He looked like he may be the Spartans’ primary back as a freshman when he had more than 500 yards, but he got injured, and LJ Scott took over; he’d never relinquish the job. In that span of time, Scott had 2,591 yards and 25 touchdowns, and with him returning for his senior year, London was going to be the backup again. So, he’ll go to Tennessee where he can carve a niche for himself.

He averaged four yards per carry in his career, and at 6’1″, 218 pounds, he’s a between-the-tackles player who can move the chains in short-yardage situation. That’s exactly what UT needs; the Vols don’t need an every-down back, but they need somebody who can get tough yards.

Getting London will allow the Vols to bring Banks along slowly and also to work in Chandler and Tim Jordan. With Carlin Fils-Aime moving to cornerback this spring to work on that side of the ball, depth was an important need for the Vols at the position, and London brings it.

“They (have) been letting me know the situation I can be a part of this fall,” London told GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan recently. “They feel like I can play a big role in the offense, and they were looking for a player that is used to playing in big games and that is used to playing in front of a big crowd.”

Tennessee Basketball Nets No. 3 Seed in South Region; Starts NCAA Tournament Against Wright State in Dallas

 

Beat Kentucky on Sunday, and Tennessee could have stared down a No. 2 seed, and the Vols were hoping they’d be getting it in their back yard in Nashville.

Instead, following a 77-72 loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament Final, UT had to settle for what could wind up a pretty sweet consolation prize. Rick Barnes’ Vols wound up getting a pretty sweet draw in Dallas. No, they won’t get to play in the friendly confines of the Music City, but a glimpse at Tennessee’s bracket shows favorable matchups all the way through to the Sweet 16 and perhaps even the Elite 8.

First thing’s first with the news: Tennessee got the No. 3 seed in the South Region, playing No. 14 seed Wright State in Dallas on Thursday. The Raiders went 25-9 and finished second in the Horizon League, trouncing Cleveland State 74-57 in the tournament final to earn the automatic bid.

So, what does Tennessee know about the Raiders?

Yep. That’s about as much as we all know, but let’s look a little deeper at them and the Horizon League.

Northern Kentucky won the regular-season title, but Wright State was the best team throughout the season. The Raiders beat the regular-season champions both times it played them, by narrow margins each time. They also beat Georgia Tech, 85-81 in Atlanta back in December. There were some bad losses throughout the year, too, but Wright State is a well put-together team that thrives defensively but is inconsistent scoring the basketball.

The Raiders are led by senior guards Grant Benzinger and Justin Mitchell, as well as 6’9″, 275-pound freshman sensation  Loudon Love, who averages 12.9 points and 9.8 boards per game. But they have just two players over 6’7″, and they don’t pose much of a match-up threat for UT. They are 27th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 65.7 points per game, though they score just 72.1 (225th).

For what it’s worth, 5Dimes’ early line says the Vols are a 13.5-point favorite.

After going 12-3 over their last 15 games, the Vols finished with their highest seed since 2008. They unquestionably wanted to get that elusive SECT title with a third win over Kentucky on Sunday, but the the focus now shifts toward five days of rest and preparation for Wright State.

If the Vols get past the Raiders and the winner of the Miami-Loyola (Chicago) winner in the round of 32, they’ll be rewarded with a near-home trip to Atlanta for the regional finals where No. 2 seed Cincinnati could await in the Sweet 16 and a date with top-ranked Virginia could be the draw in the Elite 8.  While Loyola would be a tough out as an 11 seed, the Vols surprisingly match up well with all of those teams. Cincinnati is arguably the team the Vols could have unseated as a two-seed had they won Sunday, so, in my opinion, that’s the worst No. 2.

While Virginia is arguably the best team in the country, the Hoos aren’t going to embarrass anybody with their offense. So, that could be a rugged showdown if the Vols were to make it that far. Also, Virginia must get past Kentucky and Arizona in its half of the bracket, so that’s no guarantee, either. Is it possible the Vols could play Big Blue Nation for a FOURTH time?

Boy, wouldn’t that be fun?

Heck, this is the NCAA tournament. You have to know you’re going to have some very tough games against very good opponents, but the bottom line is this really worked out well for Tennessee. This isn’t where the Vols wanted to be (in Nashville), and while it’s a seed lower than they wanted to be, it’s where we all expected.

Now, it’s time to take this positive step forward, run with it and close the year on a high note.

As far as the other SEC teams, it goes like this. Tennessee earned the best seed because it was the best team from the jump, even if Kentucky is arguably hotter (and inarguably more talented) right now.

Kentucky is with Tennessee in the South, earning a No. 5 seed and a first-round tilt with Davidson, which beat Rhode Island and knocked Notre Dame out of the tournament. If the Wildcats win, they’ll perhaps have to face one of the nation’s hottest teams in the Arizona Wildcats for the opportunity to play Virginia if the seeds hold. Man, that’s a tough draw.

Auburn landed as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest after dropping its quarterfinal game to Alabama in the SEC tournament. The Tigers are an enigma with the short bench and all the injuries, but they play No. 13 seed Charleston in the first round. Win that one, and it could mean a date with Clemson before getting to No. 1 seed Kansas. It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Bruce Pearl to have his team in the Sweet 16 going up against the Jayhawks.

Over in the East, Florida rebounded from a tough start to play much better down the stretch, and the committee rewarded the Gators with the No. 6 seed, and they don’t have an awful draw, either. They’ll play the winner of the No. 11 play-in game between the St. Bonaventure Bonnies and UCLA. The Bruins would be a tough match-up for the Gators, but it’s winnable. Win that game, and it’s a possible Texas Tech and Purdue track to reach the Elite 8, so those aren’t unwinnable.

Arkansas is another possible noise-maker in the East as a No. 7 seed playing No. 10 Butler. If the Razorbacks get past that game, they can be a match-up mis-match for Purdue in the second round with their speed and senior guard play. Could it be possible the Hogs and Gators could match up late in that bracket? They’ve got long roads before then, but the paths aren’t too gnarly.

Still in the East, Alabama is a No. 8 seed playing a very intriguing match-up in the first round against Buzz Williams’ Virginia Tech Hokies, and the winner of that game will have a huge test in the round of 32, going against Villanova, which is arguably the top overall team.

Finally in the West, Texas A&M is the seventh seed with a tough, tough first-round draw with No. 10 Providence. If the Aggies get past that game, they’ll probably face North Carolina in the second round, so that’s not easy.

Missouri feels their pain. The Tigers are the No. 8 seed in that bracket, facing Florida State. If Cuonzo Martin’s Tigers win (and they will be a bit of a wild card with Michael Porter back and shaking off some of the rest) they’ll get a chance at top-seed Xavier in the second round. The Musketeers are the worst top-seed.

It was a strong year for the SEC getting eight teams in. Only the ACC had more with nine. But we’re all focused on the Vols, who look like they could have an exciting, deep March run. If they did, it may help us get some of the bitter taste of losing to Kentucky out of our mouths.

Kentucky Outlasts Tennessee 77-72; On To The Bracket

A thrilling comeback made for a thrilling game, but Kentucky used a pair of offensive rebounds to turn a 62-61 Tennessee lead with five minutes to play into an advantage they would never relinquish. Jordan Bone’s corner pocket three cut the lead back to one with 1:26 to go, but the story of the day was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and he buried a step-back jumper in reponse. SGA had 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and the Vols had no answer for the game’s best player. He kept the Cats in front at the end, and Kentucky wins the SEC Tournament 77-72.

The Vols were dead and buried before Admiral Schofield knocked down three threes late in the first half, trimming a 17-point Kentucky lead to five at the break. Schofield, who left the game for a few minutes in the second half after a loose ball scramble knocked him to the floor, had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

But it wasn’t enough to overcome SGA and 7-of-16 from the arc from the Wildcats, who go to 23-3 when shooting better than 29% from three. This game had the feeling of a second weekend tournament affair, and both teams should feel confident about their ability to get there.

We’ll find out the path at 6:00 PM ET; Tennessee’s should still go through Nashville.

SEC Tournament Championship TV channel, tip time, and online game-watching party

The Vols will play for their first SEC Tournament Championship since 1979 at 1:00 today against Kentucky. ESPN has the broadcast.

 

Game info

Go Vols! I’ll be in the game thread as soon as I finish my pizza. 🙂

 

Vols Torch Arkansas, Face Kentucky in the Finals

On Friday, the Vols won an out-of-character contest against Mississippi State despite season highs in turnovers, missed free throws, and shots blocked. On Saturday, the pendulum swung.

Against Arkansas, the Vols hit 11-of-17 from the arc, a season-high 64.7%. Jordan Bone, James Daniel, and Lamonte Turner splashed three each, and Admiral Schofield added two others. The Vols jumped out to a 6-0 lead, then Daniel and John Fulkerson unleashed a 10-0 run at the eight minute mark to put the Vols up 17. That’s the sentence you were expecting to read, I know.

It was 19 at halftime on the strength of 19-of-25 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, an unbelievable 76%. That sort of fire can’t last, but Tennessee’s defense and excellent free throw shooting made sure Arkansas got no closer than 11 in the second half.

The win puts Tennessee in good position to earn a trip to Nashville for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Vols are eighth in RPI and putting on a good show in St. Louis, while teams from the Big Ten take the week off. And I wouldn’t rule out a No. 2 seed just yet, especially with a win tomorrow.

And tomorrow, a special piece of history will be on the table.

The Vols haven’t won the SEC Tournament since 1979. LSU won the league that year, but Tennessee beat Kentucky twice in the regular season, then took down the Cats in overtime in the tournament finals. Appropriately, it is Kentucky who will stand between Rick Barnes’ squad and a bigger slice of immortality tomorrow.

This team already has a piece of that pie, having won the SEC regular season championship. And, like everyone else, its ultimate destiny will be decided over the next few weeks. But not only does it have a chance to do something truly special tomorrow, it is also playing its best basketball in the present.

I thought we might have seen it the last time we faced Kentucky at Rupp Arena. Then I thought we saw it in Starkville two weeks ago. You can’t expect to shoot 76% every night or 65% from the arc, no doubt. But Rick Barnes’ team is relentlessly committed to improvement. The Vols have won 16 of their last 19 games. They are up to 11th in KenPom. They just keep getting better.

And they will need to in order to earn a three-game sweep of Kentucky. The game in Rupp Arena was as even as any I’ve seen, both in the box score and in its flow. The entire contest was played within one possession other than a four-point Tennessee lead that lasted 10 seconds. Tennessee won because they made the plays at the end of the game, including two of their nine steals on the night. The Vol defense was opportunistic against Arkansas today as well.

Kentucky isn’t a complicated animal: they’re 22-3 when shooting better than 29% from the arc, 1-7 when they don’t. We’ve seen both sides of that coin: they were 3-of-14 (21.4%) at Rupp, but did shoot 7-of-19 (36.8%) in Knoxville and still lost.

The Vols will need to dodge the kind of shooting performance we saw from Kentucky and Wenyen Gabriel today, and keep Kentucky’s size off the offensive glass and away from the foul line. Rick Barnes, who is 4-2 against Kentucky at UT, always uses undersized bigs like Armani Moore and Admiral Schofield to attack Kentucky; Schofield’s 16 shot attempts were the most for any Vol at Rupp, and I would expect something similar again tomorrow.

There is already so much to celebrate with this team, and so much still ahead of it no matter what happens tomorrow. This one will get to stand on its own, as Kentucky stands in their way one more time.

1:00 PM ET, ESPN. Wear your orange to church.

Go Vols.

SEC Tournament Semifinals: Tennessee vs Arkansas Preview

If last night felt weird, that’s because it was:

  • 33.3% from the field was Tennessee’s second-lowest shooting performance of the season.
  • 60.7% from the free throw line was Tennessee’s second-worst performance of the season, barely beating a 6-of-10 night against LSU. Eleven missed free throws were a season high.
  • Twenty offensive rebounds was a season high, by far. The Vols had 16 against Purdue and North Carolina (a good sign that the Vols can hang on the offensive glass when playing teams with tremendous size).
  • Seventeen turnovers tied a season high (Wake Forest).
  • Mississippi State had one assist. One. That’s unheard of, and is obviously a season high for Tennessee’s defense. The fewest assists for a previous opponent was six…also from Mississippi State.
  • Eight blocked shots for Mississippi State is the most any team has scored against the Vols this year. The Bulldogs’ size again clearly affected Grant Williams, and this time Tennessee wasn’t nearly as clean in running the rest of their offense.

But…we won. And today’s game should be much more pleasing to the eye.

Way back on December 30, Tennessee played 36 of its best minutes of the year. The Vols led Arkansas 70-61 in Fayetteville with 3:53 to go. Twenty seconds later, Grant Williams picked up his fourth foul. And then, chaos.

Arkansas scored 61 points in the game’s first 36 minutes, then 34 points in the last four minutes of regulation and five minutes of overtime. A frustrating component in several of Tennessee’s losses – a preventable turnover in the final minutes – really sparked the Arkansas rally: splashing a three, getting a steal, and getting a layup turned an eight point game into a one possession affair. The Vols still had a chance to win with 18 seconds left in regulation, but Jordan Bone only hit one of two free throws and the game went to overtime. Williams fouled out at the end of regulation and Admiral Schofield followed in the first minute of overtime. With Tennessee’s defense fundamentally altered by foul trouble, Arkansas exploded. Daryl Macon finished with 33 points, Jaylen Barford with 28.

Offensively, the Arkansas game was Tennessee’s best scoring performance from its guards: 21 from Jordan Bone, 17 from James Daniel, and 10 from Lamonte Turner. But that’s not Tennessee’s best basketball: we should see the Vols again try to play more through Williams and Schofield inside-out today.

As advertised, Arkansas has an incredibly efficient offense. The Razorbacks shoot 40.1% from the arc, 12th nationally. And they only turn it over on 15.2% of their possessions, 17th nationally, this despite playing the 28th-fastest pace in college basketball. Tennessee dictated the tempo for those first 36 minutes of the previous encounter, Arkansas for the last nine.

The Razorbacks struggle to keep teams off the glass because they want to get out and run, so offensive rebounds are there for the taking (Arkansas is 295th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage). They also foul a lot, 27th nationally, which means Tennessee needs to shoot better than the 69.2% they put up from the line in Fayetteville.

Tennessee’s objective is to stay physical in attacking the Arkansas defense, but do so at the pace they set instead of allowing Arkansas’ guards to turn this into a shootout. It worked really well until Grant Williams got his fourth foul last time. That first meeting also included 11 minutes from John Fulkerson and nine from Chris Darrington; if Rick Barnes sticks with the lineups he’s been using, it’ll be more Yves Pons and Derrick Walker today.

After a surprise run to the finals led by Allan Houston in 1991, Tennessee didn’t play on Saturday in the SEC Tournament from 1992-2007. Since then the Vols have seen Saturday in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2014. But they’ve only seen Sunday once since 1991, in 2009. And the Vols still haven’t won this thing since 1979.

A lot of history, a potential three-game sweep of Kentucky, and the continued pursuit of Nashville is on the line today against Arkansas. This game should be much more fun to watch. Let’s hope the outcome is the same.

Alabama and Kentucky go at 1:00 PM ET, then the Vols and Razorbacks will follow. This is only the fourth time the Vols have been on ESPN this year. Have you heard we were picked 13th in the league?

Go Vols.