PHILADELPHIA — Tennessee basketball has been here before. Seven consecutive postseason appearances, five straight wins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and three years in a row making it to the second weekend.
In no way, shape or form is the process a stranger. And immediately after the Vols clobbered Miami (Ohio) on Friday, 78-56, it was right back to prepping for the next opponent — Ryan Odom’s third-seeded Virginia Cavaliers.
With one full 90-minute practice period allocated at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday, the prep process looks a little bit different than it does during the three-day break between regular-season games.
It’s a matter of trusting the 33 games under your belt, paired with what scouting can fit in.
“Personnel is important and all that, but what you really hope is that your players play their best basketball, and we have to be who we are,” head coach Rik Banres said. “They’re going to be who they are, and you hope there’s no letdown in that. You hope your habits eventually take over, and our habits are who we are and we hope that if we have done the right things, they’re going to shine when we need them to shine.”
All of it is part of the process, and it is something Tennessee has had a taste of multiple times this season. At the Players Era Men’s Championship in November, the Vols played three games in three days. They added a pair of games in two days at the SEC Tournament a week ago.
“I feel like scouting is a huge part of it,” forward J.P. Estrella said. “We got to make sure we know their offense, know what coverages we want to run, et cetera, and make sure we do a good job at that. But at the same time, we got to know that we trust our brand of basketball and just keep playing it because we know how good of a team we are. And if we keep playing our brand of basketball and we focus in on scout, I feel like we have a good chance of making a big run.”
The process differs in intensity more than anything. Rather than getting live game reps against the scout team, there is more orientation toward walkthroughs. Players are expected to visualize the plays without guarding them live — making the March challenges more mental than physical.
Knowing what the Vols go against every day in practice is key to winning the mental battle.
“It all starts with practice,” guard Ethan Burg said. ”I mean, our practices are way harder than the games. So, when you do that back to back to back to back, you kind of get here and you, I don’t want to say take it easy, but it definitely prepares you for these type of moments.”
When the games tip off, it all shines. That was the case for the Vols in their beatdown of the RedHawks. They fired off the tip with three consecutive makes from the field, including back-to-back 3-point makes from well beyond the arc to take an 8-4 lead. That’s when Tennessee woke up.
The Vols went against their own identity and jacked up three’s of their own. Ja’Kobi Gillespie buried five first-half triples, which snowballed into nine total for the game — more than they had in over half the games this season.
Still, the Vols maintained their defensive identity, forcing Miami (Ohio) to shoot a season-worst 35.2% from the field. They held the nation’s fourth-highest scoring team to 34 points below their season average.
Scouting Virginia
Tennessee’s first-round battle with Miami (Ohio) provided a similar challenge to what it will face on Sunday. At the base, the RedHawks and Cavaliers are two gritty 3-point shooting teams that won 30-plus basketball games this season.
Miami (Ohio) let the ball fly from deep 27 times against the Vols. Virginia averages 28.1 attempts per game, and is coming off a 13-for-26 performance against Wright State. The volume of shooting has the Vols prepared for what is ahead.
“I feel like Miami’s been a good preparation to play against Virginia,” Burg said. “They’re very different, but they’re similar with the high (3-point shooting) clip. A lot of good shooters, a lot of good players. We’ll need to do a better job defensively than we did last game.”
Height is the biggest difference. Miami (Ohio) did not have a player taller than 6-foot-9 starter Antwone Woolfolk. Virginia has six players 6-foot-9 or taller, including a pair of seven-footers who combine for nearly 40 minutes per night.
“I don’t want to say upgraded version for lack of a better word, but kind of what Miami (Ohio) was, but with more physical and powerful players,” forward Nate Ament said.
It’s a match made more feasible for a physical Tennessee frontcourt that starts two 6-foot-11 bigs and a 6-foot-10 Ament.
Their demise, however, lands in the same territory as the Vols. Turnovers have haunted the Cavaliers, who average 10.9 giveaways per night. They turn it over on 13.5% of plays. That includes a 16-turnover performance against Wright State.
Tennessee’s 11.8 giveaways per night rank worse, but for once, they provide a slight advantage. The fact that the Vols get to see the turnovers develop in their own practice helps guide them to the passing lanes against a team that plays similarly.
“It’s definitely a good look at it,” guard Bishop Boswell said. “And anytime you’re going against each other in practice, challenging each other is huge. We have such good defenders and such good offensive guys that you’re kind of seeing both of it. And just getting turnovers and getting deflections will be big for us, showing those hands and hopefully getting out in transition.”
It’ll be a battle of hot hands when Tennessee and Virginia take the court. Ja’Kobi Gillespie is coming off the third-best postseason performance in Tennessee basketball history with 29 points. Meanwhile, Jacari White scored 26 points off the bench for Virginia with six 3-point makes.
Win or go home is the challenge for both sides. Getting complacent with one win in March is not a solution.
“You realize you haven’t done nothing,” Burg said.
