Scouting Report: Tennessee Volunteers

BRamseyKSR

scouting-report-tennessee-volunteers-17 — Randy Sartin | USA TODAY Sports

When the big orange play the big blue the stakes are always high. It is no secret that these two teams and fanbases don’t like each other very much. However, this time around, it feels like the game carries a little bit of extra weight. Both of these teams are coming off of home losses this week. The #10 Kentucky Wildcats dropped one on Wednesday 94-91 in overtime to the Florida Gators. Meanwhile, the #5 Tennessee Volunteers fell 63-59 to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday evening. These two proud programs don’t lose at home very often. Now, the Wildcats are in danger of doing so twice in the same week if they can’t knock off the rival Volunteers on Saturday night. The college basketball slate is loaded this weekend, but this game at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN is the game to watch.

We are now into year four of Coach Rick Barnes producing a KenPom Top 5 defense at Tennessee. Last season was their best yet finishing first in adjusted defensive efficiency. Now, the Volunteers are second place behind a historically dominant Houston defense. During that same span though, the offense has held them back finishing 85th, 35th, and 64th. Thanks in large part to superstar transfer Dalton Knecht, this is the best Tennessee offense since 2019’s Sweet Sixteen squad. Four of their five losses this season have come due to being unable to score, but the overall talent level has allowed that to happen less frequently than in the last few seasons. You can expect to see a contrast of strengths on Saturday night at Rupp Arena.

As always, we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s next opponent. We will take a deep dive into the Volunteers’ personnel, break down their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game for the ‘Cats. Let’s dive in and get to know more about the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee Volunteers Personnel

Starters

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

9.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 5.0 apg

Point Guard. Very willing shooter. 101 of 162 shots have been 3’s. Shooting 32.7% from 3. You need to be there to give a hard contest anytime he shoots from beyond the arc. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. If you go under he will shoot the 3 behind the ballscreen or handoff. Break his rhythm at the point of the screen and keep him from turning the corner. Very good playmaker when getting downhill to the rim. CHASE him off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Do not over help when he drives it. He is primarily driving to pass. Much better passer than he is finisher. We want to make him score contested 2’s. Get your hands up and make him finish over you. More aggressive looking to score when driving it right. No uncontested 3’s. Don’t over help when he drives.

#25 Santiago Vescovi: 6’3″ 196 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Guard

7.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg

Left-handed. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 86 of 122 shots have been 3’s. Shooting 33.7% from 3, but 37.6% for his career. You need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Absolutely no help off of him. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. If you go under he will shoot the 3 behind the ballscreen or handoff. Break his rhythm at the point of the screen and keep him from turning the corner. CHASE him off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Do not over help when he drives it. He is primarily driving to pass. Much better passer than he is finisher. We want to make him score contested 2’s. Get your hands up and make him finish over you. More aggressive looking to score when driving it left. No 3’s!!!

#3 Dalton Knecht: 6’6″ 213 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Guard

20.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg

Bigger wing. Scorer. SHOOTER!!! NO 3’s!!! 40% from 3 on over two makes per game. You need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Absolutely no help off of him. Be very willing to SWITCH if they ballscreen for him to keep a guy on a guy and be in position to contest if he shoots. CHASE off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Will post up off of the block. Loves to shoot the turnaround jumper. Give it a hard contest. Be physical. Have to try and make him uncomfortable. Stunt and fake at him when he has it. Get up underneath him and pressure him. We want to make him finish contested 2’s outside of the paint. No uncontested 3’s. No straight line right hand drives. Contest everything.

#30 Josiah-Jordan James: 6’7″ 220 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Guard/Forward

8.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.2 apg

Left-handed. Big, physical wing. Will play the 4 a lot for them. Capable shooter, but better and more aggressive as a left hand driver and off-ball slasher. No left hand drives! Be ready to be physical at the end of his drives. He will shot fake and step through or shoot the turnaround jumper. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot on the perimeter and then bounce back to guard against the left hand drive. He will look to get all the way to the rim going left and shoot the pull-up going right. Stay between him and the basket and be ready to contest. Crashes the offensive glass hard from the perimeter. You have to make contact with him when a shot goes up. Box out. No left hand drives.

#0 Jonas Aidoo: 6’11” 240 lbs, Junior Center

11.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.1 apg

Strong, bouncy 5-man. Very good around the basket. Looking for deep post catches. Likes to duck his man in at the front of the rim, step in off of a pindown screen, or slam against you as the ball gets driven. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. You need to do your work early and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Don’t let him catch it with two feet in the paint. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. We want to make him score outside of the paint with you between him and the basket. Excellent offensive rebounder. Averaging 2.7 offensive rebounds per game. Make contact and be physical when the shot goes up. No deep post catches. Don’t help up off of him and give up a dunk.

Bench

#2 Jordan Gainey: 6’3″ 186 lbs, Junior Guard

7.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.2 apg

Athletic backup guard. Very willing shooter. 87 of 145 shots have been 3’s. Shooting just 29.9% from 3. Need to be tight enough to him to give a hard contest to the catch-and-shoot 3’s. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot he is going to look to drive it right. No right hand drives! Bounce back and stay between him and the basket. Be ready to contest the pull up jump shots. More aggressive getting all the way to the rim going right and shooting the pull up going left. We want to make him score contested 2’s outside of the paint. He is not a very efficient finisher. Be ready for him to be aggressive when he is in there. Thinking about scoring when he catches it. Be there to contest the catch-and-shoot 3’s then bounce back and guard against the right hand drive.

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

5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.5 apg

Super athletic backup guard. Capable shooter. Shooting 39.1% from 3, but has just nine makes on the season. He is better and more aggressive as a right hand driver. No right hand drives! Be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3’s and then bounce back to guard against the right hand drives. We want to stay between him and the basket and make him score contested 2’s outside of the paint. More aggressive getting all the way to the rim going right and shooting the pull up going left. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. The ones behind the ballscreens and handoffs aren’t the ones he is looking to shoot. We will adjust if he makes one. Get all the way back in transition and protect the basket. Cut off the right hand drives on the throw ahead. No right hand drives. No layups.

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

4.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.4 apg

Backup forward. Strong and physical. Primarily in there to rebound and defend, but he will score it around the basket some. Ballscreens and rolls to the rim. Looking for deep post catches. Likes to duck his man in at the front of the rim, step in off of a pindown screen, or slam against you as the ball gets driven. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. You need to do your work early and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Don’t let him catch it with two feet in the paint. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. We want to make him score outside of the paint with you between him and the basket. Excellent offensive rebounder. You have to be physical when the shot goes up.

#13 J.P. Estrella: 6’11” 241 lbs, Freshman Forward

2.1 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.2 apg

Backup 5-man. Exclusively looking to score directly at the rim. Not very aggressive. Just 12-15 from the field in limited minutes. He is in there to add size and eat a few minutes around the basket. Will ballscreen and roll to the rim. If you stay between him and the basket he won’t really look to score. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Don’t help up off of him and give up a dunk at the rim. Be physical with him and box out when the shot goes up. Good at tipping it out and keeping the ball alive. No dunks for him.

Tennessee Volunteers Offense

This is the best Tennessee Volunteers offense since the Sweet 16 team in 2019. A lot of that success can be attributed to All-American candidate Dalton Knecht. The 6’6″ sharp shooter provides an inside-outside threat that is very difficult to handle on the wing. Aside from his obvious talent, Coach Barnes is doing a lot of the same things offensively as in years past. Tennessee begins a lot of offense out of a secondary alignment in the half court. Expect to guard early pindown screens along the baseline. They will flow into 4-around-1 Motion from that point with fewer ballscreens than many teams set, but a lot of off-ball action. You have to be ready to chase their shooters at all times and stay tight to them on the perimeter. This game will require a high-level of defensive concentration.

This is how so many Tennessee possessions start. #5 Zeigler or whoever is running the point will probe the defense looking to get some penetration. Then, he pivots and will reverse the ball through the trail spot. However, this time, #30 James caught it in the trail spot and drove it left getting all the way down to the block. We obviously want to take #3 Knecht away from 3, but we also can’t get back cut out on the perimeter. You need to be in an athletic enough stance and have good enough concentration to not let him cut your face like this. He is too good of a player to let him get going by scoring easy baskets like this.

Coach Barnes dials up some really good set plays to get #3 Knecht the ball in space. We need to show more stunting and faking off of #30 James and #11 Awaka in this situation. He is able to bounce it too many times and was far too comfortable on this possession. You don’t need, nor do we even want you, to go double him in the post. However, there has to be more activity. Stunt and fake at him to try and make him pick it up out of rhythm. Either way though this is a shot we have to live with. We will see if he can beat us with contested turnaround jump shots off of the block.

Similar to the clip above, the Tennessee Volunteers ran another set play here to get #3 Knecht the ball in the post. This starts like they are getting into floppy action, but then they sneak Knecht off of a baseline cross screen to get a catch on the block. Be physical with him. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Be ready for him to come back and finish with his right hand over his left shoulder. Again, we need more stunting and faking off of the ball. Here the defender guarding #2 Gainey can be more aggressive digging the ball out. It is okay to mix in a couple possessions where you go all-out double him as well. Either from the low side off of the opposite post or from the strong side guard. However, if you go, you have to either steal it or foul.

When the ball does get reversed through the trail spot to begin a Tennessee offensive possession they will often then set a staggered double screen to the corner. They will either backcut the staggered double and have the first screener come off of a single, curl the first screen and have that first screener come off of a single, or simply come off of the staggered double. In this clip you see #25 Vescovi back cut the double and #5 Zeigler straight cut off of the single downscreen. From there Vescovi circles around and curls the baseline pindown set by #0 Aidoo. You have to be ready for Aidoo to duck in after he sets a pindown like this. When he catches it this deep there isn’t much we can do defensively.

When the Tennessee Volunteers don’t play out of a secondary alignment to begin a possession it’ll typically start with a wing handoff into some 4-around-1 Motion. #25 Vescovi is a very good shooter that we want to be tight to on the perimeter at all times. However, that doesn’t mean we need to bite on shot fakes. He LOVES to shot fake on the perimeter. We can’t give up straight line, left hand drives because we leave our feet on a shot fake. Concentrate and be aware of the fact that he is going to shot fake almost every time he catches the ball on the perimeter.

Tennessee Volunteers Defense

The Tennessee Volunteers have the second best defense in college basketball. It is good enough to be the best, but Houston is playing at historic levels this season. 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. Tennessee has held five of seven SEC opponents to 66 points or fewer. Take a look at some of their KenPom numbers defensively:

#2 in adjusted defensive efficiency (90.9)
#4 in effective field goal percentage (43.5%)
#27 in three-point percentage (30.1%)
#5 in two-point percentage (42.4%)
#24 in block rate (13.4%)
#58 in steal rate (11.3%)

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 one of the best defenses in the country. Some good news for us though is that, to the extent the Volunteers have a defensive weakness, it is guarding in transition. Per Synergy, the Vols allow 1.094 points per possession in transition which is 301st nationally. We will want to look to score quickly off of their misses and attack aggressively and confidently.

Keys to the Game

Don’t let the “other guys” go off. We aren’t conceding 30 points to #3 Knecht, but he is going to get his to some extent. We can’t let another guy get 15-20 points or it’ll be hard to keep up. That starts by taking away 3’s. No 3’s for #5 Zeigler, #30 James, #25 Vescovi, or #2 Gainey. Hold those guys to four or fewer combined 3’s.
Score early in possessions. The Tennessee Volunteers are elite defensively, but well below average when it comes to guarding in transition. If we can get stops, defensive rebound, and then attack them in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock it’ll be our best opportunity to score.
Control the glass. Tennessee is good enough offensively as it is. It’ll become really hard if we continuously give them second chances. That’ll be where they start to rain it in from 3 as well. 75%+ on the defensive glass in this one.
Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.