Tennessee at Georgia Tech Preview

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.