On November 13th, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will travel to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers.
#6 Tennessee Volunteers
Head Coach: Rick Barnes (4th season) / 2017-18 Record: 26-9 (13-5) – NCAA Round of 32
Coming off one of their best seasons in program history, the Tennessee Volunteers are looking to make a deeper run into this year’s NCAA Tournament and establish themselves as one of the nation’s elite programs.
Key Additions:
Despite being one of the best teams in the country last year, Tennessee didn’t see a huge year on the recruiting trail, taking just one commitment from four-star center D.J Burns out of Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Key Losses:
The Volunteers only suffered one notable loss this offseason as guard James Daniel graduated. Daniels only contributed 5.6 points per game and played under 20 minutes on average for the Volunteers last season.
Head coach Profile:
Entering his 32nd season of coaching in Division I, Rick Barnes is coming off one of his best coaching seasons ever as the Volunteers 26 wins was the fifth best for a Barnes coached team. This season is Barnes fourth season in Knoxville and he’s looking for his back-to-back 20+ season(s) at Tennessee. So far in his 32 seasons, Barnes has led his programs to 23 NCAA Tournament appearances and has collected a 22-23 record in his 23 tournament appearances. He, however, has made just one Final Four appearence coming back in the 2002-03 season with the Texas Longhorns.
What they did last season:
- Out of conference:
The Volunteers were a strong team in non-conference play last season including a 77-70 victory over the Jackets at McCamish Pavillion. Their out-of-conference losses were the definition of quality losses falling to #5 Villanova and #7 North Carolina in the regular season.
- Key wins: #18 Purdue, North Carolina State, Wake Forest
- Key losses: #5 Villanova, #7 North Carolina
It was a rough start for the Volunteers losing their first two games but the Volunteers held their own after that collecting a 13-2 record over their last 15 conference games last season. Winning a share of the SEC Regular Season Championship.
- Key wins: #17 Kentucky, #24 Kentucky, Florida
Key losses: Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas,
The Volunteers made a run to the SEC Championship game in the SEC tournament before falling narrowly to Kentucky. In the NCAA Tournament, they easily defeated Wright State in the round of 64 before losing to Chicago-Loyola by a final score of 63-62 in the Round of 32. Chicago-Loyola would of course make it to the Final Four last season before losing to Michigan.
Expectations entering 2018-19:
The Volunteers are coming off one of their best seasons in program history and are looking to take the next step in 2018. They enter the season as a top-10 team and have the firepower to compete for the SEC Championship. The only question is will they be able to keep it together come to this year’s NCAA Tournament after falling to tournament Chicago-Loyola last year.
Players to watch:
- F Grant Williams: The junior was the SEC player of the year last year and now returns in 2018 looking for a second straight season. Last year, Williams averaged 15.2 points per game to go along with 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He’s going to be a candidate for the John Wooden Award.
- F Admiral Schofield: One of the best players in the SEC also has one of the best names in the SEC. The senior forward for the Volunteers averaged 13.9 points per game last year while also averaging 6.4 rebounds per game.
- G Lamonte Turner: Turner came off the bench exclusively last year but was still the Volunteers third best scorer last season. The Alabama native averaged 10.9 points per game last year and 2.2 assists per game. He’ll be dangerous this season whether it’s off the bench or while starting.
How the Yellow Jackets matchup:
The Jackets will have one of their toughest games of the season when they take on the Volunteers. With a team that lacks in experience and leadership, the Jackets will have a tough time with the Volunteers, to say the least. The Jackets will have a good opening matchup against Lamar that should get them ready for Tennessee, but it’s impossible to say how Jose Alvarado, Michael Devoe, or Curtis Haywood II will play against the Volunteers. That being said, all three guards will have to step up against the Volunteers if the Jackets hope for a victory.