10 Things to Know about Tennessee before Matchup with NC State

Tonight NC State faces off against Tennessee in what will be their 2nd real test of the season. The Vols come in at 6-3, while the Wolfpack are currently 7-2. Here are 10 things you should know about the Vols before tonight’s game.

1.  The Vols already have an ACC win. They beat Wake Forest 82-63 on Nov. 30th.
2.  Tennessee’s only losses have been to pretty quality opponents. They lost to Xavier, UTEP and #10 Witchita State. Meanwhile they have quality wins over Xavier (yes, they’ve played them twice already) and Wake Forest.
3. They opened the season ranked #23

4. They no longer  have Trae Golden. The hot shot point guard surprisingly decided to transfer to GT after last year’s season when his father fell ill. Tennessee was really counting on Golden who was really their only true guard.
5. Replacing Golden is no easy task for the Vols. They’ve been forced to go with Antonio Barton, a Memphis transfer who doesn’t really have much experience at PG. He is currently averaging 8ppg and 2 assists.
6. They have a great front line. With Jarnell Stokes and Jeronne Maymon on the blocks they have no shortage of front court talent. Getting these guys the ball in a position to score is the problem.
7. Superstar and possible SEC player of the year, Jordan McRae is back and seemingly better than ever. The senior is averaging what would be a career high 20 ppg. McRae can is a wing player (6’6) who can score in a variety of ways. He’s very athletic and will certainly pose a matchup problem for the Wolfpack.
8. The Vols aren’t a greaty shooting team. They don’t shoot for a poor percentage, but that’s because most of their points are coming from the paint. When forced to make outside shots, they aren’t that great. McRae is their guy that’s going to take most of the shots and he’s only shooting 32% from long range. Barton isn’t bad, but he’s not hunting his shot very often, and then you have freshman Robort Hubbs who likes to let it fly but is only hitting at 28%.
9. This team can rebound. They are super physical and want the game to be fast and sloppy. State’s will need to stay out of foul trouble because the Vols are going to want to bang inside.
10. Speaking of foul trouble, The Vols really can’t afford to get into any. They have a huge dropoff in production after their starting 5. This is a team that really lacks depth and NC State needs to take advantage of that.