LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With a shot at only its second Elite Eight appearance in program history at stake, the Tennessee men’s basketball team faces Purdue in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 at 7:29 tonight at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Volunteers have been inconsistent in their trek to tonight’s contest. Their best has been really good, with the Vols building double-digit leads against both 15th-seeded Colgate and 10th-seeded Iowa. But the inconsistency came in the second halves of those contests, which led to Colgate taking a second-half lead and Iowa rallying from 25 down in the first half and 21 at halftime to force overtime.
Of course, the Vols won those games, setting up tonight’s matchup against the Boilermakers, who defeated Old Dominion and 2018 national champion Villanova last week. Like the Vols, Purdue has historically struggled in this round, with Boilermakers coach Matt Painter, who took over in 2006, 0-4 in the Sweet 16.
Here are three keys for Tennessee in tonight’s game:
1. Keep up with Carsen: It’s no secret that 6-foot-1 guard Carsen Edwards is the engine that makes the Purdue offense go. Edwards is coming off a 42-point performance that included nine 3-pointers in the Boilermakers’ 26-point domination of Villanova in the second round last Saturday. The Vols’ Lamonte Turner is likely to draw the assignment of guarding him first, but throwing Jordan Bone, Jordan Bowden and Yves Pons – each providing different looks with length and strength – at Edwards could be beneficial to keeping him off balance.
2. Execute on offense: When the Vols don’t get baited into taking bad shots, their offense is as effective as any in the country. They aren’t bad 3-point shooters by any means, but it’s not the makeup of the team. The Vols are more athletic than the Boilermakers, particularly when comparing guards. There will be opportunities for Tennessee to get to the basket, where the 7-foot-3 Matt Haarms can’t help too much because of Kyle Alexander’s and Grant William’s ability to get offensive rebounds. If the 3-point opportunities are there, they should be taken, but only within the framework of the offense. If not, the Vols can’t settle.
3. Live for the moment: Much has been made of the Vols’ 1-6 record in the Sweet 16. Not a single player on the Tennessee roster was a part of that, though, so who cares? They can’t play with that burden on their backs or it will get bigger as the game goes on. Of course, Purdue is riddled with the same sort of reputation for underperforming in March, so something will have to give. Why not break in Tennessee’s favor?
NCAA TOURNAMENT, SOUTH REGION SEMIFINALS
No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers (31-5, No. 2 seed) vs. No. 13 Purdue (25-9, No. 3 seed) at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky
Time: 7:29 p.m.
TV/radio: TBS/102.3 FM
Likely lineups (with heights and scoring averages in parentheses)
TENNESSEE
Projected starters: F Kyle Alexander (6-11, 7.3); G Jordan Bone (6-3, 13.0); G Admiral Schofield (6-6, 16.4); G Lamonte Turner (6-2, 10.8); F Grant Williams (6-7, 18.8).
Key reserves: G Jordan Bowden (6-5, 10.5); F John Fulkerson (6-9, 3.2).
PURDUE
Projected starters: G Ryan Cline (6-6, 11.7); G Nojel Eastern (6-6, 7.4); G Carsen Edwards (6-1, 23.6); F Grady Eifert (6-6, 5.6); C Matt Haarms (7-3, 9.4).
Key reserves: G Eric Hunter (6-3, 2.1); F Trevion Williams (6-9, 5.3).
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.