Facing the likes of Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse and Wisconsin before Christmas should have the Tennessee Volunteers prepared for the challenges the 2024 NCAA basketball tournament is certain to offer.
Playing in this weekend’s Hall of Fame Series will give the No. 12 Vols a taste of one of those NCAA tourney late-night tips.
Tennessee is scheduled to face North Carolina State on Saturday night inside San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center with the unusual starting time of 10 Eastern. Preparation for this showdown has already been different enough, with Vols players left alone on campus this week following fall semester finals.
“Whether it’s this time of year or the first or second week of the conference season, you’ve got to get better,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Friday morning in a news conference. “There are going to be some teams out there that take off, and there are some you think are pretty good that might fall backwards. It’s all about the approach every single day, and it’s about taking care of the details and coming to practice with the right mindset.”
The ESPN2-televised pairing of the Vols and Wolfpack is the third of three games in the Frost Bank Center, with a women’s contest between No. 10 Baylor and No. 24 Miami opening the event and a men’s game between California and Ole Miss (7:30 on the SEC Network) serving as the middle matchup.
Tennessee is seeking significant improvement from Tuesday’s 74-56 downing of winless Georgia Southern, a game the Vols led 49-21 at halftime before being outscored by 10 in the final 20 minutes. The most consistent Vols over the past three games have been their chief inside threats, 6-foot-11 junior forward Jonas Aidoo and 6-8 sophomore forward Tobe Awaka.
Aidoo has rightfully gained the most attention by averaging 20.0 points and 8.7 rebounds the past three games, but Awaka has come off the bench to provide averages of 6.7 and 6.7.
“I think rebounding-wise that I’ve been doing really well,” Awaka said Friday. “I’m just trying to be a consistent force on the boards. Defensively, I think I’ve gotten better guarding guys on the perimeter, moving my feet and things like that.
“Offensively, I could be a little more patient right now. I feel like I’m rushing things a little bit with my shot selections, but I think that’s just a matter of time.”
Aidoo and Awaka can expect to be matched at times against N.C. State sixth-year senior DJ Burns, a 6-9, 275-pounder from Rock Hill, South Carolina, who signed with the Vols before redshirting the 2018-19 season and then transferring to Winthrop. He stayed three seasons at Winthrop and has played the past two for the Wolfpack.
Burns plays 28.7 minutes per game and is averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds.
“He’s a big guy who’s really skilled,” Awaka said. “He’s pretty nimble on his feet, and he knows how to work around the rim. We’ve got to do our work early and make sure he doesn’t get good post position.”
The Vols are 7-3 this season, while N.C. State is 7-2 with wins over Boston College and Vanderbilt and with losses to Brigham Young and Ole Miss. The Rebels pounded the Wolfpack 72-52 in Oxford during last month’s ACC/SEC Challenge.
Tennessee and N.C. State are meeting for the first time since the Vols pulled out a 67-58 win in the Bahamas on Nov. 24, 2017.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.