Three Things Tennessee Basketball Does to Avoid Upset
Tennessee Basketball(22-1, 10-0) face South Carolina for the second time this season. The Volunteers won 92-70 on Jan. 29 and look to sweep the Gamecocks this season.
Tennessee is currently on an 18 game win streak as it aims to continue that Wednesday evening. However, after getting embarrassed by the Vols on their home court, the Gamecocks are hungry to upset them.
The Volunteers have one of the most complete and talented programs in the country. With their sole loss to then-ranked No. 2 Kansas, this game should be a breeze right? Not necessarily.
South Carolina doesn’t go down easy, and after the Vols took them to the woodshed earlier this season, Carolina wants revenge. However, I don’t think they will get that revenge.
Even though, the Gamecocks won seven of their ten conference games and currently fourth in the SEC, their 3-4 in their last seven games. The bad part about it is three of those four losses were by 20 or more points.
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If the Vols want to make it 19 in a row, then they will have to slow down a talented South Carolina team along with improving some areas themselves.
Not to mention, Tennessee doesn’t need to look ahead to its Saturday matchup against the Kentucky Wildcats.
Tennessee is obviously the more talented team between the two. South Carolina can make it a game, but it will have to put together one of the most complete games of the season, and the Gamecocks aren’t that type of team yet.
If the Volunteers want the win, they’ll have to do three things.
1: Get Chris Silva in Trouble
Chris Silva is the Gamecocks heart and soul of the team. The senior forward scored 22 points and shot 6-10 from the floor in the opening half of the game. He also brought down six rebounds.
Silva did whatever he wanted to the Tennessee defense and offense during the first half of that game. However, that didn’t last through the second half as he got into some foul trouble.
He picked up three fouls early in the second half, and head coach Frank Martin had to sit him. Silva only scored six points and three shot attempts. The Volunteer defense took him entirely out of the game.
Silva has been known to pick up fouls this season. He has fouled out three games this season and picked up at least four fouls in 16 of the 23 games South Carolina played in this season.
However, when the senior forward gets three or fewer fouls in a game, he averages 15.3 points and 7.9 rebounds. When he gets four or more fouls, he averages 13.1 points and 6.6 boards.
Tennessee needs to draw fouls off of Silva and keep him off the court. Grant Williams is an excellent matchup for Silva and will test every ounce of his ability on the court.
If the Volunteers can keep him cold and off the court, then this game won’t be a challenge. Silva is one of the biggest keys to South Carolina winning this game. The Volunteers must limit him to under 15 points and ten rebounds.
Tennessee needs to force the Gamecocks to use their other weapons and make them score points.
2: Outrebound Gamecocks
The Volunteers need to do a better job bringing down boards. Last time these two teams faced off, Tennessee let South Carolina get 31 rebounds. Tennessee did win the battle getting 39 boards, but it cannot let Carolina have that many.
Since the Carolina game offensive rebounding has been almost obsolete. The Volunteers need to get some offensive boards and get second-chance points.
They’re doing a great job on the defensive side of things, but need improvements on the offensive.
Tennessee shooters need to make sure they follow their shot and help the big guys. Grant Williams is second on the team in offensive boards with 45 on the season, but he needs others to contribute.
Leading the way is Kyle Alexander who has 59 offensive rebounds. However, the Volunteers cannot leave it up to these two guys. Everyone needs to rebound and rebound well.
Guys like Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, and John Fulkerson need to box out the Gamecocks and draw some fouls.
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Willams is an expert at that. He knows how to draw fouls especially when he’s making shots. There isn’t much this player cannot do.
According to Tennessee’s game preview, he has converted on 26 of 26 “and 1” shots. If he gets fouled on a made basket, it’s almost evident that he will make that free throw. Now that’s an impressive stat.
Tennessee needs to win the rebound game by at least 10 rebounds to be where it should be at this point in the season.
3: Don’t get Caught in a Trap Game
The biggest thing the Volunteers need to do is stay focused.
This game like so many before has trap game written all over it. Tennessee needs to stay focused on the Gamecocks and not get caught looking ahead to Kentucky.
South Carolina always has scrappy teams that can upset a better opponent. The Gamecocks have road wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt and Florida in league play this season.
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Tennessee cannot take the Gamecocks lightly. The Volunteers need to put the foot on the throttle and not let up until the buzzer sounds, and that game is in the books.