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Tennessee basketball is gearing up for postseason action by winding down.
The unranked Vols (21-10) will appreciate the brief reprieve leading into the SEC Tournament.
No. 5 seeded Tennessee landed a bye and will play in the second round against the winner of No. 12 seed Auburn (16-15) and No. 13 seed Mississippi State (13-18) on March 12 (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Vols once again fell out of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll following their 86-82 loss at home against Vanderbilt on March 7. Tennessee has lost three of its last four games and star freshman forward Nate Ament has missed the last two games with an ankle sprain.
Here's a look at Tennessee's path in the SEC Tournament and where the Vols could end up in March Madness.
No game in the SEC is easy, but Tennessee earned convincing wins over both Auburn and Mississippi State in the regular season.
The Vols defeated Auburn 77-69 at Food City Center on Jan. 31 without starting center Felix Okpara. Ament led with 22 points on an inefficient 4-of-16 shooting, but he repeatedly drew fouls against the Tigers and went 12-of-15 from the free-throw line.
In Tennessee's 73-64 win at Mississippi State on Feb. 11, the Vols opened up a 23-point lead. The Bulldogs trimmed it down to five points but could not complete the comeback victory.
With Ament's status still unclear for the SEC Tournament, the Vols match up better against Mississippi State, which has the third-worst offense in the SEC. Junior guard Josh Hubbard is one of the conference's best volume scorers − he ended the regular season with 42 points in a loss to Georgia − but Hubbard doesn't have much support. Against Tennessee, he had 20 first-half points while none of his teammates had more than three. Between Bishop Boswell, Amari Evans and their interior, the Vols have enough defensive options to limit the other Bulldogs.
If Tennessee wins, it'll advance to the quarterfinals against No. 22 Vanderbilt (24-7) on March 13 (3:30 ET, ESPN).
Both games this season against the Commodores were decided by four points. Tennessee won 73-69 at Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 21. Boswell and Ament bucketed key shots, while Vanderbilt couldn't respond in the final minute.
Vanderbilt, however, got revenge on March 7 to close the regular season. The Vols missed Ament, but got a career performance from freshman guard Amari Evans. Tennessee also kept a clean stat sheet with a win in the rebounding battle, fewer turnovers and 19 more shots. It's abysmal first half with only 22 points though, was too much to overcome. Tyler Tanner also buried the Vols with 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting and went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Ament's health may be the biggest question surrounding the entire SEC Tournament. While coach Rick Barnes was confident in Ament's return, his on-court production after nearly two weeks off is unknown.
Tennessee likely won't need Ament at his best in their opener against either Auburn or Mississippi State. That game may serve as a warm-up for Ament leading into the matchup against Vanderbilt, which is a toss-up. Both games came down to the wire, but adding Ament in any capacity will lift Tennessee over Vanderbilt. The Vols' tournament run, though, will end if they draw No. 1 seed Florida in the semifinals on March 13 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
ESPN's Joe Lunardi told Knox News he expects the Vols to stay around the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Despite the deflating end to the regular season, Ament's injury has kept them from sliding down.
"That's a trickier one than the Caleb Wilson and North Carolina piece, because he's in, he's out," Lunardi said. "They've had some losses without him, and some wins with him. It's just been a little bit confounding. I think that group of three SEC teams − Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Tennessee − almost every night they play checkers on my seed list between No. 16 overall and No. 21 or No. 22. North Carolina and St. Johns are also in that grouping.
"The two hardest ones have been North Carolina because of Caleb Wilson, and Tennessee because of Nate."
Both Lunardi and USA TODAY predict they'll end up in the West Region in Portland, facing off against either No. 12 Northern Iowa or No. 12 South Florida.
"Could they move up to a No. 4 seed? Sure. Do they look like they're going to go on a three-game winning streak? No. They're more likely to go on a three-game winning streak two weeks from now.
"Is there that much of a difference between a No. 4 seed and a No. 5 seed really? Tennessee's a bit of a head-scratcher. I think that almost makes a No. 5 seed or maybe a No. 6 seed more likely than less. I don't think they're going to outplay that projection at this point."
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee's path in SEC Tournament with Nate Ament, our prediction
Continue reading...
The unranked Vols (21-10) will appreciate the brief reprieve leading into the SEC Tournament.
No. 5 seeded Tennessee landed a bye and will play in the second round against the winner of No. 12 seed Auburn (16-15) and No. 13 seed Mississippi State (13-18) on March 12 (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The Vols once again fell out of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll following their 86-82 loss at home against Vanderbilt on March 7. Tennessee has lost three of its last four games and star freshman forward Nate Ament has missed the last two games with an ankle sprain.
Here's a look at Tennessee's path in the SEC Tournament and where the Vols could end up in March Madness.
Vols await winner of Auburn vs Mississippi State
No game in the SEC is easy, but Tennessee earned convincing wins over both Auburn and Mississippi State in the regular season.
The Vols defeated Auburn 77-69 at Food City Center on Jan. 31 without starting center Felix Okpara. Ament led with 22 points on an inefficient 4-of-16 shooting, but he repeatedly drew fouls against the Tigers and went 12-of-15 from the free-throw line.
In Tennessee's 73-64 win at Mississippi State on Feb. 11, the Vols opened up a 23-point lead. The Bulldogs trimmed it down to five points but could not complete the comeback victory.
With Ament's status still unclear for the SEC Tournament, the Vols match up better against Mississippi State, which has the third-worst offense in the SEC. Junior guard Josh Hubbard is one of the conference's best volume scorers − he ended the regular season with 42 points in a loss to Georgia − but Hubbard doesn't have much support. Against Tennessee, he had 20 first-half points while none of his teammates had more than three. Between Bishop Boswell, Amari Evans and their interior, the Vols have enough defensive options to limit the other Bulldogs.
A third matchup against Vanderbilt looms
If Tennessee wins, it'll advance to the quarterfinals against No. 22 Vanderbilt (24-7) on March 13 (3:30 ET, ESPN).
Both games this season against the Commodores were decided by four points. Tennessee won 73-69 at Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 21. Boswell and Ament bucketed key shots, while Vanderbilt couldn't respond in the final minute.
Vanderbilt, however, got revenge on March 7 to close the regular season. The Vols missed Ament, but got a career performance from freshman guard Amari Evans. Tennessee also kept a clean stat sheet with a win in the rebounding battle, fewer turnovers and 19 more shots. It's abysmal first half with only 22 points though, was too much to overcome. Tyler Tanner also buried the Vols with 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting and went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Vols prediction for SEC Tournament
Ament's health may be the biggest question surrounding the entire SEC Tournament. While coach Rick Barnes was confident in Ament's return, his on-court production after nearly two weeks off is unknown.
Tennessee likely won't need Ament at his best in their opener against either Auburn or Mississippi State. That game may serve as a warm-up for Ament leading into the matchup against Vanderbilt, which is a toss-up. Both games came down to the wire, but adding Ament in any capacity will lift Tennessee over Vanderbilt. The Vols' tournament run, though, will end if they draw No. 1 seed Florida in the semifinals on March 13 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Tennessee basketball March Madness Bracketology update
ESPN's Joe Lunardi told Knox News he expects the Vols to stay around the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Despite the deflating end to the regular season, Ament's injury has kept them from sliding down.
"That's a trickier one than the Caleb Wilson and North Carolina piece, because he's in, he's out," Lunardi said. "They've had some losses without him, and some wins with him. It's just been a little bit confounding. I think that group of three SEC teams − Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Tennessee − almost every night they play checkers on my seed list between No. 16 overall and No. 21 or No. 22. North Carolina and St. Johns are also in that grouping.
"The two hardest ones have been North Carolina because of Caleb Wilson, and Tennessee because of Nate."
Both Lunardi and USA TODAY predict they'll end up in the West Region in Portland, facing off against either No. 12 Northern Iowa or No. 12 South Florida.
"Could they move up to a No. 4 seed? Sure. Do they look like they're going to go on a three-game winning streak? No. They're more likely to go on a three-game winning streak two weeks from now.
"Is there that much of a difference between a No. 4 seed and a No. 5 seed really? Tennessee's a bit of a head-scratcher. I think that almost makes a No. 5 seed or maybe a No. 6 seed more likely than less. I don't think they're going to outplay that projection at this point."
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: knoxnews.com/subscribe
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee's path in SEC Tournament with Nate Ament, our prediction
Continue reading...
