NFL Show
The #6 Tennessee Volunteers, out of the SEC, travel to Tuscon, Arizona to take on #9 Arizona in perhaps the best matchup of the weekend. The Volunteers are 9-1 on the season and have won eight straight games since being upset by Colorado earlier in the season. Arizona is 9-1 on the season and have won three straight games since falling to Utah. The opening tap is scheduled for 10:30pm EST.
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The #6 Tennessee Volunteers look to be in line once again to earn a top-3 seed in the NCAA Tournament this March based on their hot-start to begin the season. The Volunteers have defeated Butler, USC, Kansas and Maryland to start the season, all power-five conference teams. They have now won eight straight games including a 56-53 win over the then #20 Terrapins in the Hall of Fame Invitational last Sunday before taking time off for school finals. The Tennessee defense made up for a sluggish Volunteer offense by holding Maryland to 33% shooting overall and a paltry .09% from 3pt range. Zakai Zeigler led the way with 12 points to earn the MVP of the Hall of Fame Invitational and Tobe Awaka, a freshman, played his most significant minutes of the season and had seven points and eight rebounds in the win. Tennessee jumped out to a 17-point lead at halftime after holding Maryland to 18% shooting in the first half but had to hang on for the win in the second half.
“Every game you look back at you know there are areas that you can improve in. We’ve got to really do a better job contesting shots. We can do a lot of different things based on what each player can do. We still have some younger guys that are still trying to figure out exactly what it’s all about. Overall we have some guys that I think have really bought into it.” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said about his team's defense.
westward bound for a top-10 showdown
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) December 15, 2022
The streaking Volunteers can likely move into the top-five in next week's Top-25 College Basketball poll with a win in this game. They have perhaps the best defense in the nation thus far and will try to impart their will on the road in this game against Arizona. Arizona is 2nd in defensive field goal percentage this season and 3rd in scoring defense. Teams are shooting just 33% against the Volunteers this week and 20% from 3pt range. Tennessee is hitting eight 3pt field goals per game while only allowing just over four 3pt field goals per game. Tennessee has been outstanding on the glass, averaging over 42 rebounds per game and have a +8.8 rebounding differential edge. They move the ball incredibly well, averaging nearly 17 assists per game while also forcing 19 turnovers per game.