Previewing Texas vs. Tennessee with Volquest's Grant Ramey
No. 10 Texas travels to Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday to face former Longhorns head coach Rick Barnes and his No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge. Texas topped the Volunteers in the Erwin Center last year 52-51 in Barnes’ return to the Forty Acres.
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To preview the contest (5 p.m./ESPN), Inside Texas caught up with Grant Ramey of Volquest for players to know, info on how Tennessee has been playing, and more.
Texas is familiar with Rick Barnes and his style of ball. What has been the calling card of this year’s Volunteer team?
GR: The calling card of this Tennessee team is defense, defense and then some more defense. The guards pick up the ball as soon as the opposing team crosses midcourt and it’s constant pressure from there. The Vols have been No. 1 in KenPom.com‘s adjusted defensive efficiency rating for the last nine weeks and it has carried this team all season. Tennessee won 17 games and 15 of them have included holding the opponent to 60 points or less. Ten opponents have scored 50 or less. They pressure in the backcourt, defend the 3-point line, get in gaps and deflect balls and have good post defense, too. The question night in and night out is the offense and if it’s going to do enough to win games, with the defense doing more than its part.
Who are the two players Texas fans should know entering this game?
Honestly, it’s hard to limit it to two because this Tennessee team is pretty balanced. From game to game, it can be different players carrying the load. For the purposes of the question, I would go with sophomore point guard Zakai Zeigler and senior guard Santiago Vescovi. Zeigler has 58 assists in eight SEC games and is playing some of the best basketball in his career. He’s also second in steals in the league and is a pest on both ends of the floor when he’s at his best. Vescovi made 102 3-pointers last season and is the best shooter on the team. He’s also fourth in the league in steals and is an underrated defender. If those two are playing well, Tennessee is hard to beat.
How have the Vols fared in the SEC in recent weeks?
Let’s go back two weeks. Kentucky came to Tennessee and embarrassed the Vols at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee got outrebounded 43-23, shot 3-for-21 from the 3-point line and barely got to the free-throw line, while Kentucky made a living shooting free throws. Tennessee was playing really well at the time and was in front of a capacity crowd on their home floor. So that was a very big letdown for this team, and a humbling experience, I think. They went to Mississippi State a few games later and won without Vescovi (shoulder) and senior guard Tyreke Key (illness). Then they went to LSU and won with 7-foot-1 senior center Uros Plavsic (illness) — an illness has been running through the roster the last couple weeks — and on Wednesday, with everyone available, they hammered Georgia 70-41. Only gave up 24 points over the final 30 minutes against Georgia. So this team has bounced back well from a disappointing reality check delivered by Kentucky.
What’s one area of weakness for Tennessee this year?
Offense, offense and then more offense. Tennessee has good shooters. Zeigler and Vescovi are excellent at the 3-point line. Josiah-Jordan James has maybe the best jumper on the team. Some bigs have the green light from the 3-point line, too. But sometimes it just goes missing. Last March, Michigan was long and athletic and put an emphasis on defending the 3-point line. Tennessee shot poorly and got bounced from the NCAA Tournament because of it. A couple weeks ago, Kentucky did the same thing. John Calipari said they were willing to give up points in the paint because they didn’t think Tennessee could make enough twos to beat Tennessee. They just wanted to take away the 3-point line and did so successfully. And they won a huge game because of it. So Tennessee has to find a fix there, because every team is going to take away the 3-point line.
Tennessee wins if…
Tennessee wins if the Vols win the rebounding battle and shoot well from the 3-point line. Tennessee has lost three times this season … and has been outrebounded in every loss. So the presence on the glass can’t go missing. And the presence is there, because the Vols have one of the best rebounding margins in the SEC. Then as discussed above, the 3-point line is huge for this team. Shooters will have to hit some shots early, establish some confidence and keep the crowd into this game. Tennessee has a good home-court advantage. The arena can make some elite noise when the Vols are playing well. But Kentucky took the air out of the arena and now Tennessee needs to respond. I think the 3-point line will play a huge role in that.
