Scouting Report: Tennessee Volunteers

Kentucky Wildcats versus Tennessee Volunteers, round two. The ‘Cats went to Thompson-Boling Arena having lost back-to-back games but came away with a 63-56 victory despite playing without point guard Sahvir Wheeler. Now, they may have to be short-handed again as both Wheeler and CJ Fredrick remain a game time decision. This time though Kentucky is coming off of a Quad 1 victory at Mississippi State and looking to solidify their NCAA Tournament resume with a regular season sweep of the #10 ranked Vols. Rupp Arena will be the place to be for the 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time tip-off on CBS.

Tennessee has encountered some tough sledding of late in the Southeastern Conference. A little over two weeks GO they fell 67-54 at Florida. Then, they followed it up by scoring just 46 points in an ugly win over Auburn. Finally, back-to-back losses at the buzzer via three-pointers to Vanderbilt and Missouri dropped the Volunteers to 8-4 in the league. However, they bounced back in the best way possible by defeating #1 ranked Alabama 68-59 on Wednesday night. They now enter Lexington with a 20-6 overall record and a 9-4 mark in the SEC. Meanwhile, the Wildcats are 17-9 overall and 8-5 in the conference.

As always, we’ve been hard at work in the KSR Film Room getting ready to provide another pregame scouting report. Inside you will find a full deep-dive into Tennessee’s personnel, a breakdown of their offensive and defensive schemes, and the keys to the game for Kentucky. Let’s dive on in and take a closer look at the #10 ranked Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee Volunteers Personnel
Starters

#5 Zakai Zeigler: 5’9″ 171 lbs, Sophomore Point Guard

10.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.5 apg

Point Guard. Going to handle the ball when he is there. Pushes the ball hard looking to penetrate. Very quick with the ball. Capable shooter. 140 of 245 shots have been 3’s. 31.4% from 3. Be there to give a hard contest to catch-and-shoot 3’s. Aggressive right hand driver. No right hand drives!!! You can start by hopping under the ballscreens and handoffs, but you need to get your hands up to contest if he shoots behind. More dangerous as a driver and facilitator than he is as a shooter. Need to stay between him and the basket and try and limit the need to help. Don’t over help when he drives it, especially when he is driving it left. Not a super high percentage finisher. Make him score contested 2’s over you. Get the ball stopped in transition. No right hand drives! No layups!

#25 Santiago Vescovi: 6’3″ 192 lbs, Senior Guard

12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.7 apg

Lefty. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 165 of 229 shots have been 3’s. 35.8% from 3. He is almost exclusively looking to shoot 3’s. Have to be tight to him at all times. Pick him up early and take away the deep 3’s. Will dribble into them as he brings it up the floor. Go over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Switch anytime there is too much space. You are switching OUT to take away the 3’s. Make him drive it when you are switched onto him. Left-hand driver. Drives it left to score, driving to pass when he goes right. Don’t over help when he drives it right. Make him finish. Absolutely no help off of him. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. Take him away from 3! Make him finish 2’s going to his right. NO 3’s!

#15 Jahmai Mashack: 6’4″ 201 lbs, Sophomore Guard

3.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg

Very athletic backup guard. Much more aggressive as a right hand driver than as a shooter. Just 5-22 from 3 on the season. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! He is looking to attack closeouts. Closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Get your hands up and make him score contested 2’s over you. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. Go up through downscreens and under flares to stay between him and the basket. Will fly in from the perimeter to offensive rebound. 33 offensive rebounds. Must box him out! No right hand drives. No layups for him.

#13 Olivier Nkamhoua: 6’9″ 236 lbs, Senior Forward

10.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.9 apg

Athletic, strong, and skilled 4-man. Very good when he can catch the ball off of the block and face you up. Excellent mid-range shooter with the face-up jumper! Have to be tight to him when he faces up and give a hard contest to the mid-range jumper. Also will face you up to drive it right. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! Will drive it right from the top of the key, high post area, or the 15-foot range on the wings. You can help some when he drives it right. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Take away the quick drop step and be physical on his left shoulder. Likes to shoot the turnaround jumper. Give it a hard contest. Be ready for him to duck you in when he is on the block. Be physical! Good offensive rebounder. Box out! Contest all mid-range jumpers. No right hand drives!

#0 Jonas Aidoo: 6’11” 241 lbs, Sophomore Center

5.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.9 apg

Backup 5-man. Strong, physical post presence. Will ballscreen and roll or handoff and roll to the rim. They will throw it to him some but only for a dunk. You need to give ground on the roll to stay lower than him. Don’t help up off of him at the rim. Despite being right handed he finishes with his left hand in the post a lot. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages go down significantly if you push him off of the block. Will duck-in some at the front of the rim. Be physical and don’t let him duck you in. Capable face-up shooter. When he is further off of the block he will face-up. Need to contest when he shoots. 5-17 from 3-point range. Excellent offensive rebounder. Averages 2 offensive rebounds per game. Box out!!!

Bench

#30 Josiah-Jordan James: 6’6″ 224 lbs, Senior Guard/Forward

9.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.6 apg

Has not played the last two games. Lefty. Big, strong wing. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s! 83 of 144 shots have been 3’s (16 games). Not shooting a great percentage but he wants to catch-and-shoot. Has been high percentage in the past. Need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. No help off of him. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Chase him off of downscreens and get over the flares. Need to switch when he ballscreens to take away the pick-and-pop 3’s. Loves to slip screens! Don’t get slipped on. Will post up smaller defenders. Will shoot the turnaround jumper in the post. Left hand, right shoulder inside. Contest all jump shots. No catch-and-shoot 3’s!

#2 Julian Phillips: 6’8″ 198 lbs, Freshman Forward

9.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.6 apg

Did not play last game. Long and super athletic wing/forward. Much better as a driver than a shooter. Right hand driver. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! He is looking to attack your closeout and drive it right. Just 10-37 from 3 on the season. Very good intermediate range finisher. Need to get your hands up and make him score over you. Aggressively hunting jump shots in the mid-range. Need to give a hard contest to all mid-range jumpers. Closeout short on the perimeter and stay between him and the basket. You can help off of him some but be aware of him cutting to the basket. Also, you need to go find him and be physical when the shot goes up. Excellent offensive rebounder! Averaging 2 offensive rebounds per game. Must box him out. Make him score with you between him and the basket. Contest all jumpers!

#4 Tyreke Key: 6’2″ 211 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

8.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.4 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 109 of 178 shots have been 3’s. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than 2. 35.8% from 3. Really looking to squeeze off catch-and-shoot 3’s. Have to be tight to him at all times. Absolutely no help off of him. Go over the ballscreens and handoffs. Chase off of downscreens and get over the flares. Switch anytime there is too much space. You are switching OUT to take away the 3’s. Will attack the basket more when driving right and get to the pull-up jumper going left. Need to give a hard contest to all pull-up jumpers. Will bring the ball up the floor some. Be ready to take a charge on his initial drives. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Take him away from 3 and make him score contested 2’s. No catch-and-shoot 3’s!

#33 Uros Plavsic: 7’1″ 265 lbs, Senior Center

5.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.9 apg

Tall, physical 5-man. Going to exclusively score it at the rim. Will ballscreen and roll or handoff and roll to the rim. They will throw it to him some but only for a dunk. You need to give ground on the roll to stay lower than him. Don’t help up off of him at the rim. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages go down significantly if you push him off of the block. Really looking to duck you in at the front of the rim. Have to be ready for it at all times and be physical. Don’t let him duck you in! Stay down on the fakes. Make him score over you. Excellent offensive rebounder. Need to carve out space by boxing him out. Going to push, pull, and play a little dirty. No dunks. No duck-ins.

#11 Tobe Awaka: 6’8″ 250 lbs, Freshman Forward

3.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.3 apg

Backup post. Very strong and mobile. Exclusively looking to score at the rim. Will duck you in hard looking for a deep post catch. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and push him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Don’t help up off of him at the rim. Will ballscreen and roll or handoff and roll to the rim. Give ground and stay lower than him on the roll. Excellent offensive rebounder. Averages 1.5 offensive rebounds per game. Box out!!!

Tennessee Volunteers Offense

A lot of the national attention goes to the defensive end, but the Tennessee Volunteers are not bad offensively either. They are very balanced, have several capable 3-point shooters, and offensive rebound as well as any team in the country. Coach Rick Barnes has the Volunteers playing a lot of 4-around-1 Motion offense with most possessions starting from a secondary type of alignment. You will see the same beginning action on the overwhelming majority of possessions but there are enough different reads and cuts they can make that it is hard to consistently defend. Also, above all else, this is an elite passing team. That is evidenced by the fact that they are second nationally in assists per made field goal. Per KenPom, 66% of Tennessee’s made field goals are assisted on. Let’s step inside the film room and take a look at the Tennessee Volunteers offense.

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Just like the first time around, the Tennessee Volunteers will begin most possessions out of a secondary alignment with this staggered double away action. When #25 Vescovi comes off of the double you have to be TIGHT and chase right on his hip to aggressively take him away from 3. If there is too much space you need to communicate the switch. Anytime they come down and reverse the ball through the trail spot it should trigger in your brain that a staggered double is coming.

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There are so many different options that Tennessee can get to from their Secondary action. They can backcut the staggered double, curl the first one, come off both like they did in the previous clip, or curl the double as they do here. Do not help up on #5 Zeigler when he is in the paint. He is a better passer than he is finisher. That is especially true when he is going to his left. Just get your hands up and make him finish. No reason to step up and help which gives up the pass to the roll man.

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Recently the Volunteers have been getting to this Princeton-type action in the half court. One of the hard parts about guarding them is that they simply are always running something at your. On this possession they begin with a little handoff to a single scoring screen for #25 Vescovi. After kicking it back out though they immediately hit #13 Nkamhoua and are into their Princeton action. #5 Zeigler cuts away from the ball initiating “3-man side” action as he comes together with Vescovi and then pops back to the wing for a catch-and-shoot 3.

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#35 Plavsic is generally a guy who only scores directly at the rim. He will get it on the roll some or dunk it when you help up off of him at the rim. However, the Tennessee Volunteers had success throwing him the ball with his back to the basket down in Knoxville the first time around. They even started feeding him off of this called action for an isolation in the post. The initial screening action is just to try and get Oscar Tshiebwe to help a little bit so Plavsic can duck in deeper on the block. With his size it is hard to guard him when he gets this deep of a catch. Be physical, do your work early, and get him off of the block. He wants to score EVERYTHING over his left shoulder.

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#5 Zeigler is dynamic playing off of the ballscreen. He is lightening quick in a straight line to the rim and is willing to shoot behind the ballscreen. However, based on his percentages, we would much rather allow him to shoot from the perimeter than get downhill to the basket. That is why we want to go under ballscreens. Part of going under is also not allowing him to reject the ballscreen. That is especially true when he can reject it to drive it right. Don’t put your teammates in a position where they have to decide whether or not they are supposed to help. Absolutely no help off of #4 Key.

Tennessee Volunteers Defense

The Tennessee Volunteers have the best defense in college basketball. Their ability to force turnovers and apply pressure while still staying in front of the ball and contesting every shot is truly special. It is a man-to-man defense that is heavy in the gaps with a focus on limiting dribble penetration. On the season, Tennessee has held 17 of 26 opponents to 60 or fewer points, 11 to 50 or fewer, and have only allowed 70 or more four times. Just take a look at some of their KenPom numbers defensively:

• #1 in adjusted defensive efficiency (85.8)
• #1 in effective field goal percentage (40.8%)
• #1 in 3-point percentage (24.7%)
• #6 in 2-point percentage (43.5%)
• #7 in turnover percentage (23.3%)
• #12 in steal percentage (13.2%)

Tennessee’s guards have the quickness to bother the ball while staying in front, their wings have the athleticism to disrupt both on and off the ball, and their big men have the size to protect the rim. When you add in great personnel with a high level of effort you get the best defense in the country. To the extent that the Volunteers have a defensive short fall it has been guarding the post this season. They are still very good in that category, but compared to the other areas it is technically their weak link. That should be good news for Oscar Tshiebwe as he looks to post another double-double as he did at Thompson-Boling Arena with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Keys to the Game

• Take care of the basketball. Scoring on the Tennessee Volunteers is hard enough. Giving up too many empty possessions will make it even harder to score enough to win. 12 or fewer turnovers with no more than half being live ball.
• No 3’s for #25 Vescovi, #4 Key, or #30 James. These guys primarily are hunting 3’s. Make them drive the basketball. Remember, both Vescovi and James are left-handed. CHASE off of downscreens. No help off of them. Be TIGHT at all times. No more than 5 combined 3’s.
• End possessions with a defensive rebound. The Volunteers are the best offensive rebounding team in the country at 40.6%. We aren’t far behind at 39.1%. We must have the edge in that category and defensive rebound at a rate of 75% or better.
• Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.