KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – After a slight schedule adjustment, the Tennessee basketball team, in 19th place, will return to action with a home dispute on Wednesday night with South Carolina. Delivery of the Thompson-Boling Arena is underway scheduled for 9 pm on the SEC Network.
Last time, Tennessee hit the road to LSU, 78-65. The Vols were led in the scoring for the third consecutive exit of more than 20 points from freshman Jaden Springer, who ended the afternoon with 21 points.
A win on Wednesday would extend Vols’ winning streak to four games and give UT a 12-2 record in the TBA this season.
Next, Orange & White remains in Knoxville for a Saturday afternoon rematch with Kentucky. The opening touch of the Thompson-Boling Arena is scheduled for 13:00 ET on CBS.
THE SERIES
• 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.
• Volunteers have a 28-9 lead when this series is played in Knoxville and have won three consecutive games over Gamecocks at the Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Wednesday marks the 18th face-to-face meeting between good friends Rick Barnes and Frank Martin.
A WIN …
• Extend the winning streak at home in Tennessee to four games, giving the Vols a 12-2 record at Thompson-Boling Arena this season.
• Score Vols 6-1 in the last seven games against South Carolina.
LAYUP LINES
• The volunteers spent the entire season ranked in the top 20 in the survey of the top 25 from the Associated Press and are in 19th place this week.
• Tennessee is ranked 12th in the latest NCAA NET rankings, with four wins over teams in the top 40.
• The NCAA revealed its preliminary list of the first 16 seeds for the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, and the Vols fell in 11th overall (third in 3rd).
• Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer’s freshman duo accounted for 52.5 percent of Tennessee’s score in the last three games.
• Meanwhile, the senior duo of John Fulkerson and Yves Pons are fighting offensively, adding 5.7 points in the last three games in 24 attempts in total.
• Pons is one of 10 finalists for the Julius Erving Award and one of 15 nominees for Naismith’s Male Defense Player of the Year.
DEFENSE WINS
• According to KenPom, Vols are third in the NCAA in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing only 87.3 points per 100 possessions. University teams typically have around 70 possessions per game.
• Tennessee ranks 15th in the NCAA in defense scores, allowing only 61.7 points per game.
• The Volts are forcing 15.8 spins per game, while converting those spins to 17.3 points per game. Tennessee’s turnover margin is +4.0 (14th nationally).
• Tennessee forced 14 of 19 opponents to turn the ball with 20% or more of their possessions. The Vols are forcing opponents to turn 23.1% of the time this season.
• Only once this season did an opponent from Tennessee score 80 or more points. That was Georgia, in a game the Vols won, 89-81, on 10 February.
ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA
• After dealing with a series of COVID-19 problems during the early and intermediate stages of the season that canceled or postponed nine games, South Carolina was finally able to get into a weekly routine. The team played its last nine scheduled games.
• Gamecocks have won just two of those competitions and enter Tuesday’s game with a three-game losing streak. In 14 games played, South Carolina is 5-9 overall and 3-7 in the SEC.
• Despite the struggles, Gamecocks’ constant presence has been point guard AJ Lawson, who leads the team and occupies third place in the SEC in scoring with 17.9 points per game. In 14 games, Lawson scored in double digits 12 times, with eight 20-point performances.
THE BUTTON HAS BEEN TURNED
• Five-star freshmen Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer were important players in the SEC’s first nine games in Tennessee. But in the last three exits from the SEC, the pair has taken control of the Vols’ attack.
• The pair went from 24.4% of Tennessee’s score in its first nine SEC games to 52.5% of the team’s score in the last three league games.
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