Scouting Report: Tennessee Volunteers

It all comes down to this.

The #4 Tennessee Volunteers (24-6, 14-3) don’t really have much to play for. They are still working on securing the fourth #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they always want to beat the rival ‘Cats, but they have clinched the outright Southeastern Conference title.

However, the #15 Kentucky Wildcats (22-8, 12-5) have a lot on the line at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday afternoon. A win would, likely, earn the Wildcats the #2-seed in the SEC Tournament. Meanwhile, a loss would, likely, mean playing on Thursday in Nashville as the #5-seed. There are other factors at play, but those are the two most likely scenarios given a win or a loss. It goes without saying that a win in Knoxville would mean a lot.

Tennessee has had a pretty impressive run since beating Kentucky at Rupp Arena 103-92. Beginning with that win back on February 3rd, the Volunteers have gone 9-1 and currently are on a seven-game winning streak. Along with winning in Lexington, they have back-to-back wins at Alabama and South Carolina along with beating Auburn in Knoxville. This team has certainly earned the outright SEC regular season title down the stretch. During the 9-1 run, per Bart Torvik, the Volunteers have been the third-best team in college basketball.

Coach Rick Barnes and the Vols have proven they can win a rock fight (see Missouri and South Carolina) or a shootout (Kentucky and Auburn). With a true All-American in Dalton Knecht, veteran guard play, a breakout junior big man in Jonas Aidoo who should be All-SEC as well, and one of the best defenses in the country, this team looks the part of a true national championship contender.

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

11.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.9 apg

Point Guard. Shooter! 159 of 265 shots have been 3s. Shooting 35.2% from 3. Be tight! 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, non-paint 2s. Get your hands up and make him finish over you. More aggressive looking to score when driving it right. No uncontested ’3. Don’t over-help when he drives.

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

7.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.5 apg

Left-handed. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! 117 of 163 shots have been 3s. Shooting 35.0% 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 3s. 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, non-paint 2s. Get your hands up and make him finish over you. More aggressive looking to score when driving it left. No 3s!!!

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

20.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg

Bigger wing. Scorer. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! 40.6% 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 3s. 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 2s outside of the paint. No uncontested 3s. No straight-line right-hand drives. Hard contest everything.

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

8.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.9 apg

Left-handed. Big, physical wing. Will play the 4 a lot for them. Capable shooter, 32.7% from 3 on 35 makes, 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

12.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.0 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 2.9 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, 1.9 rpg, 1.3 apg

Athletic backup guard. Very willing shooter. 119 of 200 shots have been 3s. Shooting just 28.6% from 3. Need to be tight enough to him to give a hard contest to the catch-and-shoot 3s. 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 2s 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 3s, then bounce back and guard against the right-hand drive.

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

5.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 0.3 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.

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

4.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.3 apg

Super athletic backup guard. Capable shooter. Shooting 38.7% from 3, but has just 12 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 3s 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 2s 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.

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

1.6 ppg, 0.8 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.

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This is a typical 5-out look that the Tennessee Volunteers will dial up to get to some unique angles for a handoff. They run the little “x-action” off of #0 Aidoo at the top of the key, and then bring #15 Mashack off of the backscreen, but it is really all just setting up #25 Vescovi coming off of the handoff. We want to chase over the top like this, but we need a better hedge as he comes off. You either need to hard hedge and make him go away from the basket, or give more ground to stay lower than the roll. Getting caught in between does us no good.

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Tennessee will get into a zoom action for all of their guards, including #3 Knecht, as they look to turn the corner and get downhill. There aren’t always many places to help from due to their space and shooting ability, so you have to be better at the point of attack. We need to provide some semblance of resistance at the point of the screen so Knecht can’t so easily turn the corner and get a head of steam to the rim. He is too big and strong to stop when he gets headed downhill like this.

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Out of a zoom action, the Volunteers will set a staggered ballscreen for #3 Knecht as he looks to turn the corner. There is constant screening and movement within their half-court offense. This was good defense initially by South Carolina, but once they got lost guarding #5 Zeigler it was all over. They are too quick and move the ball too well to catch up in scramble situations. If you get switched onto Knecht as a big guy you have to stay tight to him and take away the 3. We would rather give up a layup than a 3 in situations where a 5-man gets switched onto him for a possession.

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Dalton Knecht has changed the floor of the Tennessee Volunteers’ offense. There are still times that they turn the game into a rock fight, but with him, they always have the ability to get a bucket when needed. Coach Barnes will run a lot of half-court action to get him a catch off of the block. Knecht loves to use his size and strength to operate with his back to the basket. In this clip you see him get a catch in the mid-post area off of a cross screen. Defensively all you can really do is try to make him catch it as far out as possible, stunt at him from the perimeter, and then give a hard contest when he shoots the fadeaway jump shot. However, it oftentimes still isn’t enough. That is why he is an All-American.

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A lot of the time, Tennessee’s offense is pretty simple. They are a 4-around-1 Motion team at their core and will begin possessions out of secondary. When you are guarding out on the perimeter and the ball moves away from you, you still have to be ready to get flared in. Their forwards do an excellent job of setting these flare screens like you see in this clip. You can’t stand up and relax when your man doesn’t have the ball. Get OVER the flare screens set for #25 Vescovi and be tighter to him at all times.

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#5 Zeigler scored 26 points and dished out 13 assists in our first matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers. He is a very good player, but that will get us beat every single time. Zeigler has improved as a shooter this season, but you still can’t get smoked in a straight line to his strong hand off of the dribble. That starts with not gambling off of the ball. You see in this clip how Rob Dillingham went for the steal as the ball was moved to Zeigler and got pulled out of position. If you go for the steal you better come up with it. There simply has to be more resistance on the way to the basket.

Tennessee Volunteers Defense

The Tennessee Volunteers have the third-best defense in college basketball. It is good enough to be the best, but Houston and Iowa State are dominating on that end of the floor this season. The Vols’ 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 over half of their SEC opponents to under 70 points. Take a look at some of their KenPom numbers defensively:

• #3 in adjusted defensive efficiency (90.7)
• #2 in effective field goal percentage (44.7%)
• #19 in three-point percentage (30.6%)
• #6 in two-point percentage (43.8%)
• #20 in block rate (13.8%)
• #52 in steal rate (11.2%)

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 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 1.063 points per possession in transition which is 254th 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 3s. In our first meeting with Tennessee, both Zeigler and James scored 26 points while those two plus Vescovi and Gainey combined for 11 3s. No 3s for #5 Zeigler, #30 James, #25 Vescovi, or #2 Gainey. Hold those guys to five or fewer combined 3s.
• 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.