Losing to Mississippi State was tough enough. However, things will be much worse for Tennessee Basketball if the Bulldogs have shown the country how to beat the Vols, who are widely considered to be one of the top national championship contenders in the nation, even if they may not seem like a title threat anymore.
Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans was quite candid when asked about how his team approached the top-seeded Vols.
“It doesn’t happen very often, but we actually felt going into the first game, even this afternoon with a similar mindset, that we wanted to really attack inside-out and try to go at (Vols’ forward Jonas) Aidoo and their other bigs as much as we could. He’s an unbelievable player, especially on the offensive end. He’s a good shot-blocker, as well.
“We felt like we had a little bit at times a weight advantage. Try to get our back-down game…get to the free-throw line while you’re trying to pound the ball inside.
“On the perimeter, obviously it starts with (wing Dalton) Knecht and (guard Zakai) Zeigler out there. With Knecht, you do the best you can, make him a volume scorer, make it hard. With Zeigler, you got to do your best. They’re obviously both really good players.
“We felt good about the matchup, and that’s helped us. We beat them. We got confidence going into this game. Our kids felt good about the matchup all day long.”
In other words, Tennessee Basketball wants to defy common logic, that great guard play is the key to a deep NCAA Tournament run. The key to the Vols making noise in March may be to hide their deficiencies in the front court. That makes the Vols’ upcoming NCAA Tournament opponent very intriguing, considering it could dictate the Vols’ fate.
Tennessee Basketball does not want to play a team like Mississippi State. While the Vols are favorites in most matchups against potential foes on the perimeter, there are teams that can easily outmatch them down low. Houston comes to mind.
UT won’t get any preferential treatment by the NCAA Selection Committee after its embarrassing first-game loss in the SEC Tournament. Hopefully, Tennessee Basketball won’t see Mississippi State again in March. After two losses this season to the Bulldogs, they seem to have the Vols’ number. And they may have shared the plan with the rest of the nation.
