To preview the match-ups in the Big East/SEC Challenge, the RTC Big East & SEC Microsites are facing off in conversational analysis. Brian Joyce and Michael Lemaire take on Pittsburgh v. Tennessee.

#18 Pittsburgh vs Tennessee

Jamie Dixon's Team Has Struggled Defensively

The Make or Break series will tell us what we need to know about each SEC team by looking at the three most important non-conference games on each team’s schedule. Depending on the outcome, these three games could make OR break that team’s season because of the strengths it shows or weaknesses it could expose. The next team in the series is the Tennessee Volunteers.

The end of the Bruce Pearl era took with it seven seniors and two underclassmen (Tobias Harris and Scotty Hopson) who declared early for the NBA draft. After all the dust settled, new Tennessee head coach Cuonzo Martin is left with one starter from last year and one heck of a rebuilding project ahead of him. Martin rebuilt Missouri State University in his first head coaching position, and he will need time to rebuild things in Knoxville. Things will not come easily for the Vols as they play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. Tennessee plays Duke in the Maui Invitational Tournament (and additional games against a loaded field), at Memphis, Pittsburgh in the Big East/SEC Challenge, the defending national champion Connecticut Huskies and that’s not even mentioning games at Oakland and at College of Charleston, both of whom are teams that beat UT last year. It will be a long road for Martin and the Vols, but playing competitively in this murderer’s row of top shelf teams will be a good start.

Martin isn't the only new face in Knoxville...

The three key non-conference games that will make or break the Volunteers schedule this season:

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1. The non-conference schedule is ready to begin and according to CBSSports.com, the SEC has scheduled an incredibly tough out of conference slate.  On average, the 12 SEC schools scheduled teams with 17.6 wins last year — the most of any power conference. As a whole, SEC teams scheduled 31 true road games, and will play a total of 37 NCAA Tournament teams from last season. Finally, SEC teams will play a total of 43 power conference opponents. Need more numbers? How about charts? CBS has you covered there too with enough analysis to keep you busy all day at work today. But don’t blame RTC if you don’t get anything else done!
2. Who’s ready for less previews and more basketball? The Tennessee Volunteers are anxious to play. It has been nearly eight months since the Vols have played a game in Thompson-Boling Arena, and the Vols look like a completely different team after Bruce Pearl’s dismissal led to mass defections and a new coaching staff. But the Tennessee basketball team won’t be the only thing in Knoxville with a facelift. Thompson-Boling Arena has received an upgrade to the LED ribbon board around the bottom of the arena’s upper deck. Jordan McRae says, “we had a great arena anyway, but now there’s no question that it makes it feel more like an NBA arena.” Tennessee fans are even more anxious to see the Cuonzo Martin’s new-look team than they are upgrades to the facility.
3. The preseason #2 Kentucky Wildcats took to the floor Wednesday night for their first exhibition game. The Cats opened up slowly against Division III Transylvania University, actually trailing 11-4, but one person there was excited about the slow start and it might not be who you think. Kentucky coach John Calipari said, “I think we thought we were going to win by a hundred. I was so happy the game was close. I was so happy the start was what it was. Then when we started separating, they came back and tied it up again. I was loving it. It’s a teaching tool. It’s a chance for me to talk to them about, you know, look, they’re a good team, but they’re Division III.” We can almost guarantee that Calipari won’t be satisfied with too many more slow starts like this one.
4. Another positive emerged from the Cats’ eventual 97-53 win over Transylvania — Calipari has found a new starter in freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Cal said, “I would say, looking at today, he’s a starter because you have to have him start the game. Can’t start the game like we did today.” Kidd-Gilchrist did a little of everything in the exhibition as he contributed 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and one block. Calipari praised him even more, saying, “he was the difference in what happened. He did what I knew he would do.” Now that Calipari apparently has one spot in his lineup solidified, he has a little more than a week to determine the other four starters — UK tips off the season on Veteran’s Day against Marist.
5. Not all SEC coaches are as pleased with their team’s performances. New Arkansas coach Mike Anderson didn’t see the type of defense he is looking for in Arkansas’ enhanced 40 Minutes of Hell style. In the Red-White game scrimmage, the two squads combined for 191 points. As Anderson spoke about the Hawgs’ upcoming scrimmage against Texas A&M-Commerce, he said, “I’m really anxious to see defensively because that’s some of the things that we’ve been really picking up here lately. Trying to get our defensive intensity, our pressure defense. It’ll be a work in progress. You’ll see some things that we’re not doing well early right now that hopefully we’ll be doing better later on in the season.” With only 10 scholarship players, many of whom are freshmen, the progression will need to be seen sooner rather than later for Anderson to remain in the honeymoon phase with Razorback fans.

With the completion of the NBA Draft and the annual coaching and transfer carousels nearing their ends, RTC is rolling out a new series, RTC Summer Updates, to give you a crash course on each Division I conference during the summer months. Our latest update comes courtesy of our SEC correspondent, Gerald Smith.  This season he will be covering the NCAA Basketball with zeal, nerd-culture references and a fistful of silliness at halftimeadjustment.com. You can also follow him on Twitter (@fakegimel).

Reader’s Take

Summer Storylines

• One Big, Mostly-Happy Conference: After several years of divisional lopsidedness in conference scheduling and tournament seeding – to the dismay of programs like Alabama — the SEC has merged the West and East divisions for basketball. A 16-game conference schedule, consisting of the same pairings within and across old divisions, remains for the 2011-12 season. Starting with this year’s SEC Tournament, teams will be seeded and awarded first-round byes by their overall conference record. The most vocal dissenter against peace, conference unity and love was Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury. He argued unsuccessfully that divisional championships create excitement for the fans. MSU athletics must have sold some awesome merchandise for Coach Stansbury’s six SEC West Division championships.
• Too Much of a Good Thing? – Stansbury also argued that a united 12-team conference won’t produce a true champion unless each team plays a full 22-game home and away conference schedule. In July’s coaches’ conference call, some SEC coaches (South Carolina’s Darrin Horn & LSU’s Trent Johnson) agreed, but wonder if such a schedule is feasible. Other coaches (Kentucky’s John Calipari & Alabama’s Anthony Grant) believe that teams should worry more about strengthening their non-conference scheduling and RPI ratings. Increasing the schedule to at least 18 games would placate athletic directors and the SEC’s broadcast partners, but would add further scheduling imbalance and hysteria. In meetings, the decision to increase the number of conference games was postponed until after the 2011-12 season. The SEC coaches will meet again later in August to debate their options.
• Missouri Newbies – Two coaches previously employed in the Show-Me State join the SEC during this period of conference remodeling. As an assistant under former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, new Arkansas coach Mike Anderson became very familiar with the “40 Minutes of Hell” system (and Coach Richardson’s snakeskin boot collection). After stops with UAB and Missouri, Anderson returned to Fayetteville to replace John Pelphrey.
• Caught lying to cover-up his impermissible BBQ — mmmm… impermissible BBQ… *gurgle noise* — Tennessee was forced to fire Bruce Pearl. Missouri State’s Cuonzo Martin was hired to fill Pearl’s vacated orange blazer. With his athletic director resigning and additional NCAA penalties applied to his program, Martin may long for his past days in Springfield.

A major growth spurt led to a similar shoot up the 2011 high school rankings for Kentucky's Anthony Davis. (Sam Forencich/USA Basketball)

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Zach Hayes is RTC’s resident bracketologist and a frequent contributor.

For the college basketball fanatic, incoming freshman are like shiny, new toys. It’s one of the true pleasures of following the sport religiously and a benefit of the current one-and-done era: every talented prospect from all reaches of the nation must compete on the college hardwood for at least one season. It gives us a chance to enjoy John Wall’s end-to-end speed, Kevin Durant’s heroics and Michael Beasley’s scoring prowess, even for just five months. A handful of  coaches have assembled an accomplished group of these freshmen, whether as a complete annual overhaul (Kentucky) or an influx into an already stable core (Duke). Here are the top ten freshmen classes around college basketball this season and a preview of what fans that may not follow the ins and outs of recruiting can expect from these all-world talents:

1. Kentucky – G Brandon Knight, C Enes Kanter, F Terrence Jones, G Doron Lamb, F Stacey Poole, F Eloy Vargas

Calipari's Newest Band of Merry Freshmen

Let this sink in: John Calipari’s 2010 class is good for tops in the nation, yet his 2011 group is even better with arguably three of the top five prospects next year. This year’s collection is highlighted by Knight, Gatorade’s National High School Player of the Year as a junior and easily one of the nation’s top prospects. In fact, he’s even further along as a pure scorer than his predecessor at the point for Kentucky, with a more reliable jumper and the ability to carry his team offensively. Maybe more importantly, Knight has the mentality, toughness and competitive nature to take on the burden of leading a program of Kentucky’s stature with such lofty expectations. The class would take a considerable blow if Kanter, a Turkish import dealing with eligibility concerns, can’t take the Rupp Arena floor at any point this season. Kanter plays in the post with high efficiency and an array of advanced moves, making him the ideal replacement for the ultra-productive DeMarcus Cousins. Kanter is talented enough to be a First Team All-America candidate if he plays an ample amount of games. Like Kanter, Jones is a former Washington commit that features a tremendous outside jumper and a hard-working mentality on defense, a trait that will endear him to Calipari immediately, a coach that has always demanded equal effort on both ends of the floor. Lamb is another gifted scoring two-guard that would be the highlight of nearly every other recruiting class in the nation, while Poole is more of a slashing wing with supreme athleticism. Look for Florida transfer Eloy Vargas to earn playing time immediately for what could be a relatively thin Kentucky frontcourt.

2. North Carolina – F Harrison Barnes, G Reggie Bullock, G Kendall Marshall

This three-man class continues the steady stream of Roy Williams recruiting coups, although the Hall of Fame coach hopes that this trio has more of an immediate impact than his 2009 unit of John Henson, Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald and the Wear twins. Barnes is the near-unanimous choice for the best all-around player in the 2010 class and the prohibitive favorite to take home Freshman of the Year honors this season. Good luck finding easily noticeable flaws in Barnes’ game. He excels in the mid-range, can score in a multitude of ways, has an excellent perimeter shot, shows unwavering effort on the glass and plays with an IQ off the charts for an 18-year old. Williams hit the jackpot when he convinced Barnes to spurn Duke (can you imagine Barnes with Irving and that returning team?) and spend his one year in college at Chapel Hill. He’s a phenomenal student and a coaches’ dream, always willing to listen to advice to improve this game. The Heels backcourt is somewhat crowded with Larry Drew, II, also expected to see heavy minutes, but both Bullock and Marshall are way too gifted to keep on the bench. Bullock features a pinpoint outside jumper — possibly the best in the entire class — and has a true offensive mentality as a two-guard in Williams’ offense. Marshall is more of the pure point guard, a phenomenal distributor blessed with uncanny court vision. He could be an upgrade over Drew in a short period of time. Marshall will need to improve his shooting range to avoid defenses sagging off of him late in games.

3. Ohio State – C Jared Sullinger, F DeShaun Thomas, G Aaron Craft, G Jordan Sibert

Sullinger is Reminiscent of Zach Randolph in the Paint

Nobody would be shocked to see Sullinger challenge Barnes for top freshman in the country this season. What makes him so effective in the post is a rare combination of brute strength and touch around the rim. Always playing with confidence and a high motor, Sullinger can score in a multitude of ways down low that make him nearly impossible to guard. Expect the Columbus native to step in immediately at the center position as an upgrade from the incumbent Dallas Lauderdale. Thomas is one of Indiana high school’s top all-time scorers, a versatile southpaw forward that can finish anywhere on the floor and has the strength/athleticism to guard power forwards. Due to the return of David Lighty, Jon Diebler and William Buford, along with Sullinger entering the fray and the question mark at point guard, Ohio State has enough depth that Thomas may prove Matta’s ace in the hole off the bench this season.  Craft could end up winning that open point guard competition. While his offensive game needs improvement, all Matta will need from his freshman is the ability to find his plethora of talented teammates and play capable defense against opposing point guards, two areas where Craft is very capable. Sibert could also see chunks of minutes as a freshman. The Cincinnati product is still inching back to 100% following a leg injury, but when healthy will provide the Buckeyes with another slashing wing with a scorers’ mentality.

4. Memphis – G Will Barton, F Jelan Kendrick, G Joe Jackson, F Tarik Black, G Chris Crawford

Hopefully UTEP, UAB and other Conference USA foes enjoyed one year of lackluster Memphis basketball. That brief spell is about to come to a quick and decisive end when this prized recruiting class takes the floor at FedEx Forum. Barton has the highest ceiling — a 6’6 shooting guard that can score at virtually any spot inside of halfcourt, uses his size to lock down defensively and finishes smoothly at the rim. He should start immediately alongside Wesley Witherspoon, giving head coach Josh Pastner plenty of height and versatility around his perimeter. Kendrick is another 6’6 prospect with point guard skills. He has the vision and distributing skills to direct traffic late in games for Pastner, but can also step in at the shooting guard or small forward. Local product Joe Jackson could win the point guard job immediately as another phenomenal scorer with an offensive repertoire that reaches far beyond his years. He’s been seemingly unstoppable late in games scoring the basketball, although his progress running the Tigers attack as a pure point is something to keep an eye on. Black is the top post player in this class, another Memphis kid that’s virtually unguardable with the rock deep in the paint. He should see immediate minutes alongside Will Coleman and Angel Garcia on the Tigers frontline.

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