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Tennessee basketball is playing in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season after upsetting No. 3 seed Virginia in the second round of the Men's NCAA Tournament.
The No. 6 seed Vols (24-11) face No. 2 Iowa State (29-7) at the United Center in Chicago on March 27 (10:10 p.m. ET, TBS). The winner moves on to the Elite Eight against either No. 1 Michigan (33-3) or No. 4 Alabama (25-9).
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes offered this scouting report about Iowa State.
"Toughness, defense, well-coached, really terrific point guard play," Barnes said March 25. "I think they really, as a team, they’re connected. They know who needs to be shooting it, when they need to be shooting it and just play extremely well together. But really excellent defensive team. Excellent."
The Cyclones rank sixth in the nation in turnovers forced per game (15.42), and they average 19.6 points off turnovers. Taking care of the ball, which has been a nagging issue for the Vols, will be crucial in the matchup.
Tennessee has had 10 games with 14 or more turnovers this season, most recently in the first round when it had 16 against Miami (Ohio). The Cyclones forced 16 turnovers in the first round against Tennessee State and 20 turnovers against Kentucky in the second round.
"You can’t turn it over against a team like them because, well, you can’t guard it, for one, and they’re gonna going to take advantage of it," Barnes said. "So we have to take care of the basketball.”
Senior forward Felix Okpara said Iowa State reminds the Vols about Texas A&M with the way the Cyclones pressure, try to take time off the clock and rush opponents into shots you shouldn't take.
"Very important, I think that’s what wins or loses the game for us," Okpara said. "If we have more turnovers than we shooting, it’s going to be a long game. But if we take care of the ball real good and attack the press, I think we have a great chance of winning the game."
It's unclear if Iowa State will have its second-leading scorer and top rebounder Joshua Jefferson, who suffered an ankle injury in the first round that sidelined him against Kentucky.
Barnes said they'll prepare for the Cyclones as if Jefferson, who was wearing a boot during the Kentucky game, was available. Iowa State didn't need Jefferson to beat Kentucky by 19 points, and Barnes said the Cyclones wouldn't be where they were "with just one guy there."
"I don’t think they got away from who they were (without Jefferson)," Barnes said. "I mean, I think that defensively, they were outstanding. I mean, created 20 turnovers they took advantage of. A team that’s been in a lot of big games. When they got down early, not a big deal to them. They just fought the way back and got control of the game and didn’t look back."
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women's athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why turnovers will be key for Tennessee basketball vs Iowa State in Sweet 16
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The No. 6 seed Vols (24-11) face No. 2 Iowa State (29-7) at the United Center in Chicago on March 27 (10:10 p.m. ET, TBS). The winner moves on to the Elite Eight against either No. 1 Michigan (33-3) or No. 4 Alabama (25-9).
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes offered this scouting report about Iowa State.
"Toughness, defense, well-coached, really terrific point guard play," Barnes said March 25. "I think they really, as a team, they’re connected. They know who needs to be shooting it, when they need to be shooting it and just play extremely well together. But really excellent defensive team. Excellent."
The Cyclones rank sixth in the nation in turnovers forced per game (15.42), and they average 19.6 points off turnovers. Taking care of the ball, which has been a nagging issue for the Vols, will be crucial in the matchup.
Tennessee has had 10 games with 14 or more turnovers this season, most recently in the first round when it had 16 against Miami (Ohio). The Cyclones forced 16 turnovers in the first round against Tennessee State and 20 turnovers against Kentucky in the second round.
"You can’t turn it over against a team like them because, well, you can’t guard it, for one, and they’re gonna going to take advantage of it," Barnes said. "So we have to take care of the basketball.”
Senior forward Felix Okpara said Iowa State reminds the Vols about Texas A&M with the way the Cyclones pressure, try to take time off the clock and rush opponents into shots you shouldn't take.
"Very important, I think that’s what wins or loses the game for us," Okpara said. "If we have more turnovers than we shooting, it’s going to be a long game. But if we take care of the ball real good and attack the press, I think we have a great chance of winning the game."
It's unclear if Iowa State will have its second-leading scorer and top rebounder Joshua Jefferson, who suffered an ankle injury in the first round that sidelined him against Kentucky.
Barnes said they'll prepare for the Cyclones as if Jefferson, who was wearing a boot during the Kentucky game, was available. Iowa State didn't need Jefferson to beat Kentucky by 19 points, and Barnes said the Cyclones wouldn't be where they were "with just one guy there."
"I don’t think they got away from who they were (without Jefferson)," Barnes said. "I mean, I think that defensively, they were outstanding. I mean, created 20 turnovers they took advantage of. A team that’s been in a lot of big games. When they got down early, not a big deal to them. They just fought the way back and got control of the game and didn’t look back."
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women's athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why turnovers will be key for Tennessee basketball vs Iowa State in Sweet 16
Continue reading...
