Ranking: What can you say about the Vols ranking right now? Well, "We're Number One!" has a nice ring to it. Will they hold onto it? That might be tougher to do, not because of anything the Vols will or won't do but because of the overall perceived strength of the Big Ten and ACC, potentially giving boosts to the cause for the top spot in the rankings for Virginia, Duke, Michigan, and even Michigan State. Any stumble could cost the Vols that top spot, but it would take a critically bad stretch for them to fall outside the top four or five teams right now, it would seem.
Strengths: If there was a relative weakness for the 2017-18 team, it was the offense. That is no longer the case as the Vols are the top offense in the SEC and a top ten offense nationally right now. Five Vols currently average in double figures for the Vols and there's a strong chance that a sixth will join them in that regard. The Vols lead the nation in assist to turnover ratio and are second nationally in assists per game. They are second nationally in field-goal percentage and 16th in free-throw percentage, although they fall a fair bit down the list at 83rd in three-point field-goal percentage. That said, they still his 36.4%, so they aren't shooting badly from behind the arc. They are 21st nationally in defensive rebounding, but at 139th nationally in offensive rebounding, they need to improve on second-chance opportunities (although when you shoot 51.1% on field-goals, there are only so many second-chance opportunities to be had). The rebounding works out to 31st nationally, so they are still fairly strong in that category. Tennessee finds themselves 6th nationally in blocks per game, in large part due to the combined efforts of Grant Williams, Kyle Alexander, John Fulkerson, and Yves Pons, who as a quartet average 5.1 blocks per game, most of the 5.9 blocks per game the team averages. The Vols also sit at 4th nationally in scoring margin, 10th nationally in scoring offense, 19th in fewest turnovers per game, 75th in turnover margin, 7th in field goal percentage defense, 39th in rebound margin, and 39th in three-point defense.
Weaknesses: There aren't many, but the defense is at least an area of some concern as the Vols are forcing a lower turnover average per game, allowing more points per game, and stealing the ball less. Not a bunch of major concerns, but concerns all the same. The three-point shooting average is down this season, which is being offset by the field-goal average but could become a problem in games when the opponent is hitting from three. In truth, none of these are issues until they hit tournament time, but areas for improvement before March.
Standouts: Jordan Bone is one of the nation's best point guards right now, and that's just a fact. He's 7th nationally in assist to turnover ratio and 17th in assists per game. He's playing more aggressively which has improved his scoring averages and he is now a threat to score himself or set someone else to do so. Admiral Schofield is steady as ever and good at everything even if he isn't the leader in any category, but he's improving his averages in pretty much every category and is possibly the most complete offensive player on the roster. Kyle Alexander is a scoring threat in the paint now on top of his shot blocking and rebounding, both of which have continued to progress. His field-goal percentage is 68%, so if he gets the ball, points are almost sure to follow. Of course, I can't fail to mention Grant Williams, who is the best player in the SEC right now and among the nation's best. 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. He's either #1 or #2 in each category on the team. Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner are both excellent off the bench, averaging double-figures in scoring, and Yves Pons, while not a leader in any category, has become a glue-guy, smothering other teams top scorers at times. Still, Alexander, Williams, Schofield, and Bone make this thing go and losing any of the four of them would be bad news for their national championship ambitions.
Season Finish Prediction: I'll tentatively guess that this team continues to remain relatively healthy, and that's bad news for everybody else. That said, expect a loss or two on the road to the SEC tournament because everyone is gunning to take down one of the nation's top teams. In particular, Kentucky and Ole Miss are concerning teams to have to face, and LSU, Mississippi State, and Auburn won't lie down and play dead. The Vols won't lose many though. Likely they'll only drop one or two more games, but losses are just part of the game when you play 30+ games. In addition to being the top seed in the SEC tournament and outright regular-season champion, I'll go ahead and guess that the Vols win the tournament as well. A number one seed seems likely at that point, and the Vols should be able to ride that to the Elite Eight at a minimum and maybe all the way to the title game. That said, seeding by the time of the Final Four will become a big factor in whether or not they can go all the way as some teams will provide tougher matchups than others. Bottom line is this: the Vols are on their way to the best season in program history.
No comments:
Post a Comment