Stat Leaders
Tennessee:
Points: Dalton Knecht — 17 PPG, 54.5 FG%, 33.3 3PT%
Rebounds: Jonas Aidoo — 8 RPG, 7 DRPG, 1 ORPG
Assists: Zakai Zeigler — 5 APG, 0 TOPG, 13 MPG
Wisconsin:
Points: Chucky Hepburn — 20 PPG, 70 FG%, 67 3PT%
Rebounds: Nolan Winter — 7 RPG, 5 DRPG, 2 ORPG
Assists: Chucky Hepburn — 6 APG, 2 TOPG, 31 MPG
Last Season Results
Tennessee
- Record: 25-11 (11-7 SEC)
- Sweet 16 loss
Wisconsin:
- Record: 20-15 (9-11 Big 10)
- NIT Final Loss
Prediction
Tennessee faces its first true test of the regular season on Friday night as they face a solid Wisconsin team at the Kohl Center. The Badgers are a tough team to figure out. They return the entire veteran core of a NIT team last season and that’s why they opened up the season just outside the top 25. But KenPom and other analytical based sites are much higher on the Badgers. KenPom ranks Wisconsin 17th nationally and pegs them as home favorites in this game.
So this should be a great challenge for Tennessee and is the game where its exhibition matchup at Michigan State should truly pay off. I’m sure it’ll be a rowdy Kohl Center on Friday night but I expect the Vols to be able to handle this environment.
Here’s a few things that interest me about this game. When you think of Rick Barnes and Greg Gard coached teams you think of a defensive, half court team. But both teams want to play faster this season and have put an emphasis on offense. We’ve seen that with Tennessee’s offensive additions and Wisconsin scored triple digits and played an extremely high pace game in its season opener. But when both teams face their first true challenge of the regular season, do they hold strong to those changes or slip back into their old style of plays?
In addition to that, can Dalton Knecht continue to score at a high level? Can Tennessee’s big men stay out of foul trouble against a physical front line? What do Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi look like as they continue to work back into the rhythm of things?
I think this game is a toss up but I’ll say the Vols get it done.
Tennessee 73, Wisconsin 69
