Tennessee Basketball: The Vols Are Legit Threats to Win Out

With a three game win streak capped off by a second win over top-10 ranked Florida, Tennessee has a legit chance to win out the regular season. 

At the heart of this turnaround is drastically improved play from the Vols biggest weakness. Inconsistent play and high turnovers from guards Trae Golden, Cameron Tatum and Jordan McRae steamrolled multiple opportunities for wins early in the season and led to blowout loses in conference play. Three-point specialist Skyler McBee also struggled off the bench, shooting just seven of 29 from the perimeter in the month of January. 

But after benching Golden at home against Georgia and injecting McBee in the starting five, coach Cuonzo Martin’s backcourt is finally filling the holes that have plagued the team all season. In three games with McBee as a starter, the junior has shot 50 percent from the three point line and averaged nearly 14 PPG while Golden has scored just under 16 PPG with 16 assists (six coming in the first half against Florida).

As a team, the Vols scored 70 points or more twice in this three game stretch, their first since beating Chattanooga 76-63 on January 2. 

The improved play has drawn high praise, including ESPN’s Andy Katz. 

“Cuonzo Martin may be coach of the year in the SEC if he continues on this run.” 

With less than three weeks before tournament time and their toughest games behind them, the Vols have a real shot at an improbable run to end the season. Here’s how Tennessee matches up in their next three games.

Arkansas

Arkansas coach Mike Anderson has resurrected Nolan Richardson’s “40 Minutes of Hell” for an unrelenting style of defense. The Razorbacks constant full court press will try to isolate Tennessee’s guards to push the Vols back to their turnover prone ways and improve their impressive 9.3 steals per game average. 

The key, said Vols coach Cuonzo Martin, is forward Jeronne Maymon.  

“We try to move it through the air (against the press) as opposed to a lot of dribbling. Jeronne is a key with our press more than anybody. He does a really god job of facilitating; he’s one of our better ball handlers and decision makers.” 

With Arkansas’s defenders spread across the floor, Maymon should find himself in several one-on-one match-ups in the low post. If Golden and company can get the ball to mid-court, Maymon will have easy points and force Arkansas into foul trouble.

Alabama

With just one road win this season, a trip to Tuscaloosa would normally appear daunting  to a rebuilding team like Tennessee.  

However, Alabama has dropped its last two games (including a nine-point loss at LSU), and uncertainty surrounding suspended top scorers JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell should give the Vols a significant advantage in the front court. Look for Maymon and freshman Jarnell Stokes to dominate Bama under the basket, allowing open shots for McBee on the perimeter.

Ole Miss

Ole Miss is holding onto their NCAA tournament hopes by a thread, and a win over surging Tennessee will bulk up the Rebels mediocre postseason resume. 

The Vols will match up strength against strength as Maymon and Stokes will battle under the basket against Murphy Holloway and Reginald Buckner, who together average 17.6 RPG. This will provide one-on-one opportunities for Golden to find open lanes to the basket where he’ll draw fouls and rack up points from the free-throw line where he’s shooting 82 percent.