Where ESPN ranks Tennessee Basketball among remaining teams in NCAA Tournament
Tennessee Basketball is the fifth best team left in the NCAA Tournament entering Saturday’s second round, according to ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. UCLA, Tennessee’s opponent Saturday night, is ranked No. 22.
The Vols (28-7), the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, beat No. 15 Wofford 77-62 Thursday night in the first round at Rupp Arena in Lexington. No. 7 UCLA beat No. 10 Utah State 72-47 in Thursday’s late game.
Tennessee and UCLA are scheduled for a 9:40 p.m. Eastern Time start Saturday on TBS/TruTV with a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line.
Rick Barnes has ‘implemented elite scorers’ into Tennessee scheme
“While Rick Barnes has been known as a defensive guru,” Medcalf wrote, “he has also implemented elite scorers into his scheme. Against Wofford, the Vols kept a double-digit lead from the beginning, with the help of Chaz Lanier’s 29 points.
“They also held the Terriers, who finished second in the Southern Conference in offensive efficiency, to a 41% clip inside the arc. The Vols are one of the field’s most dominant teams.”
ESPN ranked Duke No. 1, ahead of No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Auburn.
Tennessee is up to No. 17 in KenPom.com‘s adjusted defensive efficiency, scoring 120.4 points per 100 possessions. The Vols are ranked No. 3 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 89.5 points per 100 possessions, and are ranked No. 5 overall in the KenPom ratings.
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UCLA ranked No. 22 by KenPom.com
UCLA is ranked No. 22 overall by KenPom. The Bruins are No. 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency, giving up 94.1 points per 100 possessions, and are No. 35 in adjusted defensive efficiency, scoring 117.1 points per 100 possessions.
UCLA at one point lost four in a row and five of six during from December 21 to January 13, but bounced back with seven straight wins. The Bruins closed the regular-season schedule by going 4-3 over its final seven games, before losing to Wisconsin 86-70 in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
“Since 2010, Mick Cronin has coached only one team that finished a season ranked below 50th in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom,” Medcalf wrote. “That streak looked in danger earlier this season, when Cronin called his team ‘soft’ in a January postgame rant, but that led to a promising shift.
“Friday’s performance against the Aggies, a top-25 offensive team nationally, highlighted the improvement: The Bruins posted 122 points per 100 possessions in the first-round game and have owned a top-15 offensive output over the past two months.”
