National outlet predicts how far the Tennessee Vols will advance in the NCAA Tournament after reaching the Sweet 16
The Tennessee Vols advanced to the Sweet 16 after taking down the Virginia Cavaliers.
The Tennessee Vols advanced to their fourth straight Sweet 16 after taking down the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday in Philadelphia.
Tennessee beat Virginia 79-72 to advance to the second weekend of the tournament.
The Vols are set to take on the Iowa State Cyclones on Friday in Chicago at 10:10 PM ET.
247Sports predicts how far Tennessee will advance in the NCAA Tournament
247Sports doesn’t have Tennessee’s season lasting much longer. They’re predicting that Iowa State will take down the Volunteers on Friday.
“Iowa State will look to turn this into a gritty, low-possession battle,” wrote 247Sports’ Grant Hughes. “The Cyclones enter as the favorite, even with the status of All-American Joshua Jefferson up in the air as he recovers from a sprained ankle.”
“Rick Barnes is trying to lead Tennessee to a third straight Elite Eight, but Iowa State is going to be too much for the Vols to handle,” added CBS Sports college basketball analyst Matt Norlander.
The biggest key to this game for the Vols will be limiting turnovers.
Iowa State forced 20 turnovers in its second round win against Kentucky.
The Cyclones are No. 1 among Power-4 teams this season in turnovers forced per game (15.4).
Tennessee, meanwhile, averages 11.7 turnovers per game, which is in the middle of the pack in college basketball.
Taking care of the ball has been an issue at times for the Vols this season. UT head coach Rick Barnes even joked in February that he wondered if his team was betting on games because of some of their bad passing decisions.
Something else to monitor for this matchup is that Tennessee and Iowa State are both dealing with injuries to star players.
Vols forward Nate Ament is battling through an ankle sprain that continues to bother him, while Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson suffered a leg injury in Iowa State’s win over Tennessee State in the first round. Jefferson didn’t play in Iowa State’s 19 point win over Kentucky. It’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go against Tennessee on Friday.