Four Teams Tennessee Wants to Avoid
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, we have a pretty clear idea what Tennessee thrives at and what their weaknesses are. Luckily for the Vols, the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. That doesn’t mean they are immune to a potential upset though. Here is a list of four teams that the Vols would […]
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, we have a pretty clear idea what Tennessee thrives at and what their weaknesses are. Luckily for the Vols, the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses. That doesn’t mean they are immune to a potential upset though.
Here is a list of four teams that the Vols would prefer to avoid in the NCAA tournament. For the sake of this piece, I tried to avoid the obvious teams like SEC foes because we’ve seen them before. I also left off Virginia, UNC, and a healthy Duke squad because let’s be honest… nobody wants to play them.
So without further ado, here are five teams that aren’t a guaranteed loss for Tennessee, but definitely teams that could give the Vols some trouble.
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Houston
Houston is currently No. 11 in the AP poll and also No. 4 in the NET rankings. They have dominated the majority of teams they’ve played this season (29-2 record).
What makes Houston a potential threat to the Vols is their rapid pace of play. You know how Jordan Bone is so deadly in transition offense because he pushes the ball so well? That’s what Houston does. Except for one guard being stellar at it, their entire team is.
Houston’s pace causes chaos. In their game against Cincinnati on Sunday, the Cougars were down by a narrow margin early in the second half. In the blink of an eye, they had jumped out to a double digit lead and left Cincy players jaw dropped. That’s a perfect illustration of what Houston has done all year.
Houston causes chaos and is comfortable within it. Tennessee has shown glimpses of slow transition defense throughout the season. If they do that against Houston, the Cougars could run away with it.
For Tennessee to beat Houston, they would have to play some of their most disciplined ball of the season.
Villanova
What did Auburn do so well to beat Tennessee? They shot the three and they thought it a whole lot.
Auburn shoots the eight most threes in the country. Most teams in front of them on that list are pretty irrelevant, except Villanova. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Villanova is a better team than Tennessee, but neither is Auburn.
Nova has shot over 900 threes this year and it is their bread and butter. Villanova is a team that can beat or lose to anybody solely based on their heat from behind the arc.
Unluckily for Tennessee, they have struggled guarding against the three pointer all season long. That won’t beat Villanova.
Florida State
Florida State should be scary to anyone in the tournament. The Seminoles went through a rough patch in January that will result in a seeding that doesn’t give this team enough credit. According to the KenPom rankings, this is the best team in the last 17 years at FSU.
What makes Florida State scary is the team’s versatility. This team can adapt to virtually anybody which they’ve done all season. Against LSU, the Seminoles grabbed 22 offensive rebounds to exploit the Tigers. How did they beat Syracuse’s zone? By shooting over 50% from behind the arc. In the words of Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller, this team is a “lethal chameleon.”
Maryland
Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith make up one of the best post combos in the country. What they do best is rebound. The Terps currently have the sixth best rebound rate in the country and that isn’t changing anytime soon.
Why is this concerning to the Vols? Because physical post play and rebounding is what killed UT on its trip to Lexington. John Calipari said before the game that they needed to crash the offensive boards to beat Tennessee and that’s exactly what the Wildcats did. That’s what Maryland will do too.
In Conclusion
Now let's not overlook the fact that Tennessee should be and is better than all of these teams. The Vols should also appear on virtually any list of teams that people do not want to play. But if Tennessee wants the easiest route to the Final Four and a potential championship, alluding these four teams would definitely make that trip much smoother.
