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NCAA Preview: Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee (#9 seed, East region, Dayton pod)

vs. Oklahoma State (#8 seed)
12:25 p.m. ET – 3/20/09

Vegas Line:  Tennessee -2

General Profile

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Conference:
Southeastern, at-large
Coach:
Bruce Pearl, 98-36 for 73.1%
08-09 Record
: 21-12, 10-6
Last 12 Games:
7-5
Best Win:
78-64, @ Siena, 11-27-09
Worst Loss:
67-70, vs. Alabama, 3-8-09
Off. Efficiency Rating:
114.9; #17
Def. Efficiency Rating:
95.7; #70

Nuts n Bolts

Star Player(s): Tyler Smith – junior forward – 17.2ppg…6th in SEC – 5.9rpg…17th in SEC – 3.36apg…leads team and 8th in SEC – 75.5% FT…8th in SEC – 1.63 a/to…5th in SEC…First-Team All-SEC
Unsung Hero:
Wayne Chism – junior forward – 13.8ppg…15th in SEC – 8.1rpg…5th in SEC – 71.6% FT…13th in SEC – 1.00bpg…13th in SEC
Potential NBA Draft Pick(s):
Tyler Smith, projected #24
Key Injuries:
none
Depth:
34.0%, #99
Achilles Heel:
The Vols simply rely too much on Tyler Smith and their paint play as a whole. Tennessee is a very poor three-point shooting team, easily the worst in the SEC at 31.4%.
Will Make a Deep Run if…:
Freshman Scotty Hopson plays up to his potential and sees touches from behind the arc.
Will Make an Early Exit if…:
The Vols become too uni-dimensional underneath the basket, or if Tyler Smith doesn’t show up.

NCAA History

Last Year Invited: 2007-08 2nd round
Streak:
4
Best NCAA Finish:
NCAA Sweet 16, 2007
Historical Performance vs. Seed (1985-present):
n/a

Other

Six Degrees to Detroit: None
Distance to First Round Site:
303 miles
School’s Claim to Fame:
Rocky Top
School Wishes It Could Forget:
Phil Fulmer’s last few seasons in Knoxville.
Prediction:
Unfortunately, I think the Vols are too reliant on post play to succeed in the postseason. The Vols also don’t seem to be playing inspired basketball right now, and I would think a second-round ousting by Pittsburgh is in order.

Major RTC stories: None

Preview written by… Kurt Wirth/SEC Hoops: The Good. The Bad. The Dirty

rtmsf (3998 Posts)


rtmsf: