Late Night Thoughts: Tennessee Attempting To Make History

The Tennessee Volunteers face the Purdue Boilermakers tomorrow afternoon in the Elite 8. We give a preview of what to expect.

Mar 29, 2024; Detroit, MN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Tobe Awaka (11) celebrates in the / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers face the Purdue Boilermakers tomorrow afternoon in the Elite 8. We give a preview of what to expect.

The Tennessee Volunteers are set to take on the Purdue Boilermakers in the Elite 8 after a great performance over the Creighton Blue Jays in the Sweet 16 matchup. Before advancing last night, the Vols had only appeared in one Elite 8 game, squashed in the final. The Volunteers have already faced off once against Purdue this season, and it went in the favor of the Boilermakers after a foul-happy competition against the No. 1 big man in the country, Zach Edey.

With the season on the line, the Volunteers and the Boilermakers will look to win the region and advance to the final four, which Tennessee has never done before. Tennessee has many bad memories against the Boilermakers, including the Jaylen Wright missed call, Lamonte Turner's foul call, and their loss earlier this season.

The obvious matchup that will need to be focused on in this one is Jonas Aidoo vs Zach Edey. With the way Aidoo has progressed, it’s quite hard to say that he won’t put a nail in the road of Edey. Edey is easily the best big man in the country, but Aidoo has held his own so far, so who is to say he can’t?

Dalton Knecht will be the difference maker for Tennessee as he continues to improve daily alongside Josiah Jordan James, Zakai Zeigler, Jordan Gainey, and, most importantly, Tobe Awaka. Awaka will need to be on his A-Game, as he will play a huge role in this one, especially if Aidoo gets in foul trouble.

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