No. 19 Tennessee is back in action on Wednesday night at 9 pm Eastern Time against Frank Martin’s South Carolina Gamecocks. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday night, but was postponed one day due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Vols program. It has not yet been announced whether he was a player and whether UT will be short-handed.
The Vols (14-5, 7-5 SEC) enter the contest out of a tough 78-65 loss to LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday. Freshman guard Jaden Springer did his best to lead Tennessee to victory, scoring the team’s highest score, 21 points, but Tennessee hit just 35 percent on the field when the attack broke out again.
South Carolina (5-9, 3-7 SEC) is coming off a loss to Ole Miss and will be short of players in Knoxville. In the defeat to the Rebels, the holder Jermaine Couisnard (ankle) and the holder Justin Minaya (head) left the game with injuries and do not travel for tonight’s match.
Couisnard and Minaya started in all 14 games for Carolina this season, Couisnard has an average of 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, while Minaya has an average of 8.1 points and a team record 6.9 rebounds, respectively.
Tennessee leads the all-time series with South Carolina, 47-28, dating from 1927. The Vols have won five of their last six games against the Gamecocks and are 28-9 when this series is played in Knoxville. They won three consecutive wins at the Thompson-Boling Arena.
A Vols victory would extend the winning streak at home in Tennessee to four games, giving the Vols a 12-2 record at Thompson-Boling this season. The Vols’ victory would also mean 6-1 in their last seven games against Carolina.
Editor-in-chief Ben McKee, as well as RTI collaborators Trey Wallace and Blake Von Hagen, make their predictions for Saturday’s game between Vols and Gamecocks:
Ben’s Pick
Tennessee may be short of players against South Carolina on Wednesday night, but so will Gamecocks. And two of the Gamecocks’ top four scorers losing the game are likely to have more impact than one or two potential Vols losing the game. UT, in theory, would handle Carolina with both teams at full strength, so while Tennessee is dealing with COVID, there is no reason to lose to this bunch of Gamecocks.
At the end of the day, Tennessee is better at both ends of the floor. As long as the Vols shoot down, which is not a given, the Vols are expected to be back in the winning column on Wednesday night. Emphasis on he must.
To choose: Tennessee, 73-63
MVP: Jaden Springer, Tennessee freshman guard
Springer is the only consistent piece for this Tennessee basketball team. He scored 20 points in three straight games and will do so once against the fourth straight game against the Gamecocks to lead the Vols to victory.
Trey’s Choice
Tennessee is emerging from a lackluster performance at Baton Rouge, thanks in part to a difficult afternoon playing basketball. The Vols shot 35% of the field and 29% of the perimeter. This became a trend in Tennessee, hot one night and cold the next. If Vols want to succeed against Gamecocks, they must take advantage of their open appearance. This South Carolina team will not be easy, as they sometimes played hard when dealing with absent players.
Vols need their leaders to introduce themselves, quite simply. If this team is going to be successful in March, John Fulkerson and Yves Pons should have a bigger role in boxscore. The pair combined seven points against LSU, which left the Vols with no presence in the post. Rick Barnes talked about the need for Fulkerson to want basketball and make the attack flow through him at times, so tonight is the perfect opportunity. If the Vols can control the painting with their attack on the basket and points in the painting, I see no reason why this team cannot win by 15 points or more.
To choose: Tennessee, 79-61
MVP: Josiah-Jordan James, Tennessee sophomore guard
Triple-J quietly set up a good season in many different positions. His ferocity in defense will be the key tonight, as the Vols seek to block the perimeter. James should be able to exhibit the South Carolina painting game and enter the court during the transition.
Blake’s Choice
South Carolina has been fighting consistently this season after having two December games canceled due to COVID-19. Gamecocks showed the ability to compete with teams at the top of the conference, knocking Florida down the road and almost disturbing Alabama last week. They also showed a propensity to be eliminated, losing to Auburn and Mississippi State by at least 15 points. Tennessee has its own consistency problems, so it’s hard to know what to expect on Tuesday night.
The Vols have better defense and better attack, so they should be able to reach this game with a victory. South Carolina has some of the best athletes in the SEC and is in transition, which can cause some problems for the Vols. If Fulkerson and Pons fail to make things happen on the offensive side, AJ Lawson and Keyshawn Bryant will make Tennessee fans sweat. The Vols have dominated the series and have played well at home, so I hope they will win in the end.
To choose: Tennessee, 76-69
MVP: Jaden Springer, Tennessee freshman guard
Springer has been an easy choice for MVP in recent games and I don’t see a valid reason to change things now. Tennessee is expected to transition in Tuesday, making Springer a threat in any possession.