NCAA tournament first-round pairings often can provide the great unknown.
That is not the case for Tennessee.
The Volunteers, who are seeded second in the Midwest Region, will open NCAA play Thursday night (6:50 on TNT) against 15th-seeded Wofford at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The two programs met in the third game of last season, with Tennessee pulling away for an 82-61 triumph inside the Food City Center.
“Obviously we played them right before we went to the Maui (Invitational), and we were up five at the half,” Vols assistant coach Rod Clark said Tuesday during a news conference. “I remember them slowing the game down and being really physical — screening and cutting really hard. They didn’t want to play against our set defense, and when they did play against our set defense, they did a good job of trying to pick us apart in some spots.
“They honestly helped expose some things defensively for us early in the year, and it helped us get better. It was not an easy game by any means. We were able to stretch it out in the end, and we felt like we were tested at a high level.”