Vols Taking It To ‘Tucky Tonight In Search Of Vengeance
Image: justsportinfo.com
By Jack Pianta
Last time they played the Cats, it was a fluky mess of an offensive game that saw the Vols miss 34 threes, and the Cats took advantage and got the win in TBA (@FCC).
Now the Vols have to go to Rupp to prevent the season sweep. Let's take a look at how the teams have done since their first game matched up against each other.
Vols
The Vols have won 3 straight since falling to the Cats, and have looked great in all of them. Beating Florida without 2 starters felt impossible, but the team rallied together to avoid the season sweep. They took down Mizzou in a hard fought game at home, and absolutely shellacked an Oklahoma team that showed zero signs of life (on the court and in the stands).
The biggest difference of this stretch seems to be the play from its stars, with Chaz Lanier averaging 17 PPG on 42% from 3, and Zakai Ziegler averaging 19 PPG with 8.5 APG and shooting 88% from 3 in his 2 games!!!! When the boys are playing like that they’re a tough team to beat. And although they made Kentucky’s defense look pretty good last game, the Cats rank 89th in defensive efficiency according to KenPom, so these boys should keep rolling.
Cats
The Cats have actually been on the struggle bus since leaving Knoxville. They lost an obviously emotional game to Arkansas, but when you’re at home against a team that had looked dreadful all year, you should have come away with a win. They then lost in Oxford where they allowed 98 points to an Ole Miss offense that had a high of 82 points in SEC play prior. They’re back in the win column after beating South Carolina at home (congrats) but are looking to put some more impressive wins under their belt for a better seeding in March.
2 new pieces, but they also lose one
In round one, ‘Tucky was missing 2 of their rotational pieces that have returned since then. Andrew Carr is back off the bench for them and has been playing well. He’s a 6’ 11” forward that will shoot some 3s and block some shots if you don’t see him coming. Lamonte Butler is probable for tonight and returned against South Carolina but didn’t do anything special (because he didn’t need to). He leads their team in assists and steals however, so preventing him from getting going will make things way easier for the Vols. Finally, against South Carolina they also lost one of their stars, Jaxson Robinson, to a wrist injury, so he will be out against the Vols. He dropped 17 in round one so losing him should make things easier for the Vols on the defensive end.
To wrap it up …
The Vols have a good chance to take care of business tonight. They’ve got the momentum and are shooting hot right now. Kentucky’s defense doesn’t force turnovers, as seen by the Vols 5 against them in game one, so as long as the boys take care of the ball and don’t miss 34 threes, this game is very winnable. Mark Pope was letting them spray from outside, so just hitting a few extra can change the game entirely. The defense will still have a big challenge going up against this offense, which ranks 2nd in offensive efficiency according to KenPom, so eliminating drives for Otega Oweh, not letting Kobe Brea get hot from deep, and shutting down the new guys can lead us to victory. Vols win in Rupp 84-71. ALL FAX NO CAP.