Deep Dive Thread for Tennessee

Alabama Gameday Poster courtesy of AlabamaMBB

The Volunteers are coached by Rick Barnes, who is in his 11th season in Knoxville. He looks to get them back to the second weekend and beyond, where they have been for the last 3 seasons. They currently sit at 12-6, including 2-3 in conference, after dropping the game with Kentucky last weekend.

Tennessee is led in scoring, assists, and steals by 6-1 Ja’Kobi Gillespie, the Maryland and Belmont transfer. This season, he’s averaging just under 19/3/6/2. He has scored over 10 points in every game other than the opening game. He is shooting just under 36% from deep this season, which is below his 40% average from last year, but it is on very high attempts.

Gillespie does not need much space to get his shot off. https://x.com/Vol_Hoops/status/2012596235119567322?s=20

Their second-leading scorer is 6-10 freshman Nate Ament, averaging just over 15/6. Ament has been a huge addition to the Vols this season, giving them unique size and skillset at the 3/4. Ament has been great at getting to the rim and finishing through contact, where he has drawn a ton of fouls and averages nearly 8 FTs per game. He can step back from 3, but it is not where he succeeds the most.

Ament has elite skill at his size to finish through contact. https://x.com/Vol_Hoops/status/2012603147844251706?s=20

Their leading rebounder is 6-8 Jaylen Carey. Carey is 3rd in the country in offensive rebounding rate, which is partially why he is 3rd on the team in scoring. Carey does a great job on the glass and going back up with it as well as getting fouled. Carey had 4 offensive rebounds versus Alabama last season when he was at Vanderbilt.

The starting center is 6-11 Felix Okpara, which leads the team in blocks. He also is averaging just under 7 points per game. He’s a solid rebounder that gives a physical presence in the interior. He has taken a couple of shots from deep this season but is not a shooter and really lives with his back to the basket.

Alabama must keep the bigs off the offensive glass. https://x.com/Vol_Hoops/status/2012601402573402504?s=20

The last starter in the backcourt is 6-4 Bishop Boswell. Boswell is a sophomore who serves as mostly a 3 and D player. He is averaging over a steal per game while shooting 59% from deep on 22 attempts. He had 13/11 against A&M, so he is capable of rebounding, so Alabama’s guards will need to keep him off the glass.

The rest of the front court consists of 6-11 JP Estrella and 6-8 Dewayne Brown. Estrella is 4th on the team in scoring, but he did most of his damage in the nonconference part of the schedule. Brown has been fairly consistent this season and has been a solid offensive rebounder and body in the interior.

The rotation in the backcourt which you will see is 6-5 Amari Evans, 6-1 Troy Henderson, 6-3 Amaree Abram, and 6-3 Ethan Burg. Most of these guys give additional players that are mostly 3 and D, with just Evans and Abram being more willing to put the ball on the floor and drive to draw contact.

Tennessee has a better defense than they do offense, which has been a staple of Rick Barnes teams. They have done a great job limiting assists this season on defense. On offense, they are number 1 in America in offensive rebounding, and that’s due to a great front court that goes up physical for the ball.

Alabama should be able to have success from behind the arc, where Tennessee has been horrible at running teams off the 3pt line, allowing almost 46% of FGs from behind the arc. Additionally, Tennessee has struggled at not turning over the ball on offense and really struggles finding offense from the backcourt outside of Gillespie.

My player to watch is London Jemison. Jemison has been a guy that has brought tons of energy and rebounding to the court, and I think that the physicality of this game suits how he likes to play. Jemison has been one of Alabama’s best rebounders in conference play, and I think he continues his great play with a solid performance in this one.

All the talk in this game will be about the return of Charles Bediako. Bediako will give Alabama some good rebounding and depth in the frontcourt, which will be helpful against the size and physicality of Tennessee. I do think that Alabama can win this game if they can limit Gillespie on offense as well as keep them off the glass. I expect a great game.

Prediction: Alabama 87 - Tennessee 80

I broke down this game even more on my podcast. Check it out and Subscribe for more Alabama Basketball Content. https://youtu.be/LNefylLzuw0