Tennessee guard Jordan Bowden (23) looks to pass as he's pressured by Chattanooga guard Jonathan Scott (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)KNOXVILLE - The 17th-ranked Tennessee men's basketball team will face Florida State in the third round of the Emerald Coast Classic tonight at 7 in Niceville, Florida.
The Volunteers (5-0) defeated the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 58-46 on Monday. The defensive showcase was the Vols' second game as part of the Classic, after they defeated Alabama State 76-41 on Nov. 20.
The Seminoles (5-1) beat UTC (89-53) and Chicago State (113-56) in their first two rounds in Tallahassee.
Tennessee will face either Purdue (3-2) or Virginia Commonwealth (6-0) in Saturday's final round, depending on today's results. The consolation game will be played at 4 p.m.; the championship tipoff is set for 7.
UTC (3-3) also is in Niceville, facing Alabama State today at 2:30. The Mocs - who just found out Wednesday that 6-foot-9 Cleveland (Ohio) State transfer Stefan Kenic has been cleared to play - will play either Jacksonville State or Chicago State at 11 a.m. or 1:30 on Saturday.
Here are three things to look for in Tennessee's game against Florida State:
1. Scoring against length: Of the teams that Tennessee has faced so far, only Washington has provided a similar challenge to what the Seminoles will present in scoring against length. And the Huskies primarily played zone defense, which the Vols were able to exploit by getting into the middle and knocking down midrange jump shots. Florida State is going to throw a lot of pressure at the Vols and will attempt to disrupt everything Tennessee is trying to do - the Seminoles average 8.2 steals and 5.0 blocks per game, and opponents have scored an average of 60.3 points per game on 37% shooting - and the Vols will have to rely on their screening actions to create open looks for Jordan Bowden, the team's leading scorer, and others.
2. Ball movement: Tennessee coach Rick Barnes bemoaned the Vols' lack of ball movement after Monday's win. Statistically, one could say, 'Hey, Lamonte Turner had 12 assists. He did a great job passing the ball,' but sometimes the ball stuck to the 6-foot-2 guard and didn't move as much as it could have. A team is only as dangerous as its options, and as of now Tennessee doesn't have many of them offensively aside from Bowden and Turner. Once the Vols start getting some of the younger players some experience, they'll start getting more comfortable in what they are trying to do and more options will develop.
3. Freshmen development: On the subject of options, Tennessee's freshmen are quietly coming along. It may not be a huge deal, but Olivier Nkamhoua hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key Monday. He missed one, too, but the larger point is that he was comfortable enough to take that shot, something he hadn't shown. Josiah-Jordan James knocked down a pair of midrange jumpers against the Mocs. Again, not a huge deal, but it showed confidence in that he was willing to take them. Drew Pember and Davonte Gaines have had some highs and lows, which is expected, but Tennessee is going to be able to go only as far as its bench will go because there are going to be games that Bowden and Turner aren't making shots and the Vols will need somebody to provide some contributions. Right now that player doesn't exist, and that's the challenge going forward for this team.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.