Resurgence of Tennessee Basketball
Tennessee men's basketball team was picked to finish 13th out of the 14 teams in the SEC this season. Now present day, January 28th, Tennessee is at 15-5 overall, 3rd in sec with a (5-3) record, and nationally ranked in the top 25. With several quality wins, and no bad losses at this point; The Vols are a lock to make the big dance for the first time in 4 years. There are several reasons why Tennessee is has been a dangerous all year.
The main reason why Tennessee has been strong all year is because their offense and defense efficiency is insane. The Vols rank in the top 25 in both categories and only 3 other teams in the nation have the same stat. What keeps Tennessee this strong in each category is because of the depth. Tennessee can easily run 9 to 10 guys every game, and each guy coming off the bench is contributing like a starter. For example, Tennessee last game they faced Iowa State on the road, and Tennessee's starters struggle significantly, and they go two guys off the bench in James Daniel and Lamonte Turner. Those two hit it off with 9 combined 3's and 36 points combined. The depth has been key for the season Tennessee is having.
Another reason Tennessee is doing so good this year is because of coaching. Rick Barnes is the man at the helm, and Barnes make sure he gets the best out of his players every night. When watching Barnes coach, it is like a watching a warden at a prison. It is a tight ship, and when someone steps out of line Barnes really lets them know about it.
Also, the in game adjustment Rick Barnes makes are almost always spot on. Another example is when Tennessee played Kentucky earlier, and during the second half Kentucky switched to a zone. So during a timeout, he went away from his motion offense and went with smaller guard line up on the outside with 2 bigs down low. The big would always come up to the middle and in doing that open the whole court up for Tennessee, and lead them to a win. The in game adjustments have been a another huge reason why teams have had trouble against Tennessee.
The reason why Tennessee was picked to finish so low in the SEC was because of youth. The Vols are the 5th youngest team in the nation, that is why this season such a surprise for several insiders of college basketball. Even though Tennessee is that young, that is the same team from last season. It not like they are bunch of freshman or sophomores that did not play last season, but players that started in a lot of games or had significant minutes. So they maybe young in age, but in college experience they are like juniors and seniors. That reason and several other reasons mentioned earlier are why Tennessee men's basketball is having a great season do far.
