What Lies In Store For Tennessee In The Second Round?

The Volunteers take on the winner of South Carolina and Ole Miss in the second round on Thursday. A dominant win could go a long way.

This season has not ended up the way the Volunteers hoped for it. Since the start of February, they are 4-6. And that record has landed just a single-round bye in their lap.

However, the Vols can get their rhythm back by playing the winner of the tournament's first game, South Carolina and Ole Miss. Tennessee is 3-0 against those teams this year. 

The standout statistics in those three performances remain pretty similar, good defense and presence on the glass. Against Ole Miss back in December of 2022, they outrebounded the Rebels 38-38 while forcing 15 turnovers. 

The Vols severely outshot them in the two performances this season against the Gamecocks. In both games, Tennessee reached 50%+ from the field and 40%+ from beyond the arc. Much like the Ole Miss matchup in December, they also outrebounded USC in both showings. 

The key to a winning formula against both teams shall remain the same. However, this game provides good insight into team chemistry without Zakai Zeigler. This was a big thing in Tennessee's season finale loss to Auburn. 

If the game gets lop-sided like one of the games this year against USC, some guards other than Santiago Vescovi could get touches and more minutes. 

For example, B.J. Edwards is only averaging 5.1 minutes per game. However, with a playing style like Zeigler, head coach Rick Barnes may want to play him to get him adjusted in the tournament. And not just for this year; it would be a good experience for years to come since he is only a freshman. 

Tyreke Key could also get a lot more minutes along with Vescovi. The senior transfer has averaged 8.3 points a game and has one of the better three-point shots on the team. 

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