Scouting Report: Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee enters this afternoon’s game with a record of 13-9, 5-4 in Southeastern Conference action. The Volunteers are coming off of a one-point win at Alabama Tuesday evening, a game that they trailed by as many as 15 points late in the first half. Tennessee lost one of their best players, Lamonte Turner, in December after he announced his college basketball career was over due to lingering shoulder injuries. The Redshirt Senior had been a 4-year contributor in their backcourt and was averaging a career-best 12.3 points per game when his career was cut short. The Volunteers are a streaky 3-point shooting team that relies on controlling the pace and a very good defense to try and keep the game in the sixties. Tennessee leads the SEC in Scoring Defense, allowing just 61.5 points per game (20th in the country) while holding opponents to 38.9% shooting. They feature an athletic defense, led by Yves Pons, that blocks nearly six shots per game which is 7th nationally in that category. Coach Rick Barnes has fought the injury bug this season, but did pick up a key mid-season enrollee in Freshman Guard Santiago Vescovi. Vescovi has handled the ball a lot for the Vols while also serving as their best 3-point shooter. This will be the the fourth consecutive road Saturday for Kentucky in what promises to be yet another hostile environment in Knoxville. Let’s dive in and learn some more about how to beat the Tennessee Volunteers.

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