Scouting Report: A closer look at Tennessee-Louisiana in the NCAA Tournament
Tennessee is the No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region and will face No. 13 Louisiana on Thursday in Orlando. The 26-win Ragin’ Cajuns punched their ticket to the dance with a 71-66 win over South Alabama in the Sun Belt Tournament championship game on March 6.
Louisiana (26-7) enters the NCAA Tournament on a five-game win streak and is led by 6-foot-11, 225-pound forward Jordan Brown, who averages 19.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Guard Greg Williams Jr. averaged 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game and forward Terence Lewis II averages 11.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Louisiana, the No. 54 overall seed in the tournament, is No. 89 in the NET, No. 88 in the KPI rating and No. 67 in ESPN’s Strength of Record. The Cajuns are No. 99 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, No. 92 in the KenPom.com rating and No. 97 in the Sagarin rating.
EAST REGION ODDS
— Will Warren (@statsbywill) March 12, 2023
I think Tennessee just got a fairly beneficial draw? pic.twitter.com/VuXjBdZiFT
KenPom has Louisiana No. 57 in adjusted offensive efficiency, scoring 112.2 points per 100 possessions, and No. 146 in defensive efficiency, giving up 104.0 points per 100 possessions.
Louisiana No. 49 in 3-point percentage, No. 85 in 2-point percentage and 320th in free-throw percentage. The Ragin’ Cajuns take 31.7 percent of their shots from the 3-point line, 315th nationally. They’re 305th in 3-pointer in point distribution and 72nd in 2-pointers.
Louisiana went 1-5 in Quad 1, Quad 2 games this season
Louisiana went 0-2 in Quad 1 games this season and 1-3 in Quad 2 games. The Ragin’ Cajuns were 10-1 in Quad 3 games and 12-1 in Quad 4 games. The Quad 3 loss was to Old Dominion on December 31 and the Quad 4 loss was to Coastal Carolina on December 29.
Louisiana’s Quad 1 losses were at Texas on December 21 and at Drake on November 26. They beat South Alabama for a Quad 2 win on January 14 and lost Quad 2 games at Southern Miss, at James Madison and at Troy.
Tennessee (23-10) enters the NCAA Tournament with seven losses over its previous 12 games, dating back to February 1. The Vols lost 79-71 to Missouri in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal round on Friday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
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The Tennessee Team Sheet
Tennessee, the No. 14 overall seed in the tournament, entered selection Sunday ranked No. 4 in the NET, with a 7-7 record in Quad 1 games and a 3-3 record in Quad 2 games. The Vols were a combined 13-0 against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents.
The Quad 1 wins came against Alabama, Texas, Kansas, Arkansas, Maryland, at Mississippi State and USC. The Quad 1 losses were at the hands of Arizona, Texas A&M, Kentucky (twice), at Auburn, Missouri and Florida.
The Quad 2 wins were Auburn, at home Mississippi State and at Ole Miss, while the Quad 2 losses were against Missouri at home, at Vanderbilt and against Colorado in Nashville.
Tennessee as of Sunday was No. 14 in the KPI rating and No. 23 in ESPN’s Strength of Record rating. ESPN’s Basketball Power Index had the Vols at No. 2, while they were No. 6 in the KenPom rating and No. 10 in Sagarin rating.
Tennessee’s 23 wins came against opponents with an average NET ranking of 130, while the losses came against teams with an average NET ranking of 40. The strength of schedule for the Vols was No. 32 in the NET.
