By Brant Daughtry

One Last Go

Rick Barnes is a really good coach. I’ve outlined why before. His teams are ferocious defensively, and this year’s Tennessee team is no exception. They get away with a lot of contact down low, but that comes with the territory sometimes.

The struggles of UT this year have come on the offensive end of the floor, especially away from home. They’ve failed to cross 70 points in all but three of their conference matchups, and two of those three were against LSU and South Carolina, the two bottom teams in the league.

A storyline to watch here is UT’s loss of Zakai Zeigler, who tore his ACL is Tennessee’s game against Arkansas and is out for the year. He’s UT’s lead guard, and is really good at slashing to the hole and scoring, which Auburn has struggled to defend this season. He also leads the Vols in assists. Losing him is massive, and replacing him will be tough.

Players to Watch For:

Guard Santiago Vescovi, #25- Vescovi leads the Vols in minutes and points, and most of that comes from the three point line. He can score points in bunches, and Auburn will have to defend him well. He also gets a solid number of rebounds to only be 6’3″ as well, grabbing an average of 4.6 per game.

Guard Josiah Jordan-James, #30- Jordan-James isn’t really a superstar for UT, but he’s the reason they beat Auburn in their first meeting. He led all scorers in the game, which was admittedly an ugly affair offensively, with 15 points. Well above his average of 10. He also led the game with 14 rebounds, a career high for him.

This team is full of warriors man. Anyone who wasn’t up to the task before the season sure is now. After a season like this, you have to be. Six road losses by a combined 21 points is beyond brutal. Shooting 57 fewer free throws than your opponents in those losses is maddening. Bruce finally blew up in a postgame radio interview after the Bama loss, and I don’t blame him. I haven’t asked Andy Burcham personally, but I bet he doesn’t either. This team has many flaws, that’s no secret. But the record doesn’t reflect how good this team actually is.

The good news is your fate is still in your hands if you’re Auburn. With a win against Tennessee, who is now without one of their best players, you more-or-less punch your ticket to the NCAA Tournament. This team has to regroup after the ultimate culmination of a season of heartbreak to make this season as much of a success as they can. Once you’re in the Tournament, records don’t matter. Survive and advance. This is the beginning of March Madness. Gotta go make noise.