On multiple occasions this season, Tennessee has been able to overcome being careless with the basketball.
Iowa State is not forgiving in that department.
When the sixth-seeded Volunteers (24-11) take on the second-seeded Cyclones (29-7) in Friday night’s second Midwest Regional semifinal inside Chicago’s United Center, protecting every possession will be paramount. In the most glaring statistical mismatch between the two, Iowa State will enter ranked third nationally in turnover margin, while Tennessee is tied for 252nd among the 361 Division I men’s programs.
“I mean, all you’ve got to do is look at the analytics and all that,” Tennessee 11th-year coach Rick Barnes said Thursday afternoon during a press conference. “They’re just so well-coached, and they understand what they’re trying to get done as a group. They have really great rotations and a great use of hands. Everything that you would want a defensive team to do, they show that.
“Obviously ball security is so important against them, or they really make you pay with it, but they’re not going to give you anything easy anywhere whatsoever. They really are an excellent defensive team, and we’ve had a problem with turnovers all year.”