Scouting Report: Louisiana Brings Challenge For Tennessee's Defense
One weird thing about the 2023 NCAA Tournament is that this is one of the best mid-major groups we've had in a long time. There are good teams on the 12 line to the 15 line. However, one of the interesting things about this is that many could argue that the 13 seeds are mostly as good as the 12 seeds. That's not the case with Louisiana, who is a step below the other 13 seeds, but that doesn't mean they aren't a threat.
Mission number one for the Vols is stopping Jordan Brown. Brown has bounced around at several different schools, first committing as a highly-rated recruit to Nevada. Brown then moved on to Arizona, and after sitting out a year, he was the Pac-12's sixth man of the year.
Now at Louisiana, Brown was ridiculously efficient despite some insane usage numbers. Brown posted around 19 points and nine rebounds this season with a nationally-ranked effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage. The only thing that Brown doesn't do offensively is shoot the three. It'll be interesting to see if Jonas Aidoo can take care of him because Louisiana doesn't have anyone close to his size who plays consistent minutes.
Louisiana doesn't take care of the ball well as a team, but they do have a point guard in Themus Fulks, who is 25th nationally in assist rate. Fulks does turn the ball over a decent amount, so Tennessee can likely disrupt him.
One thing about Louisiana is that they are good on offense in the lane and from three. They don't rely much on threes as they are 305th in three-point, point distribution. Greg Williams, though, is a player that Tennessee needs to run off the line. Williams shoots 40% from three, and Louisiana has a 123.7 offensive rating when he is on the floor.
Terence Lewis is also a player that Tennessee will need to monitor, but they also match up well with him. Lewis is a player that isn't heavily used, but the underlying numbers show that Louisiana's offense is super effective when he's on the floor. Louisiana has a 132.2 offensive rating when Lewis is on the floor. That rating is good enough for 9th among qualified players in the country. Lewis' on-off offensive splits are also 8.3, so the Ragin' Cajuns are a better offensive team when he's on the floor.
Overall, where Tennessee could exploit Louisiana is with depth. Zakai Zeigler is a key piece for the Vols, but they still can go pretty deep into their bench without him. Jahmai Mashack has stepped up over the last couple of weeks since being named a starter, and even B.J. Edwards has been able to step in and play some minutes here and there.
Despite the trendy upset pick, the Vols got a good draw here, playing the worst of a good 13-seed line. Tennessee should advance in Orlando to take on the winner of Duke-Oral Roberts.
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