INDIANAPOLIS — Tennessee basketball is a win away from advancing to the programs first Final Four as they prepare to face off against Houston in the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon.
The Vols are in the Elite Eight for the second straight season after coasting past Kentucky 78-65 in the Sweet 16 on Friday night. Houston won a thriller against Purdue 62-60 on a last second basket.
Both Tennessee and Houston have been two of the nation’s best teams this season. Here’s three things I’m watching for in the matchup.
More From RTI: A By the Numbers Look At Tennessee Basketball’s Match-Up with Houston in the Elite Eight
A True Backcourt Battle
For all the similarities between Tennessee and Houston, they run much different actions on the offensive end of the court. But both teams backcourts produce a significant amount of their offense’s scoring.
Houston’s trio of LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan combine to score 39.7 points per game Tennessee’s trio of Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler and Jordan Gainey combine to score 43.3 points per game. Both groups drive the bus offensively for their team. Who wins the battle head-to-head will be crucial.
While Jahmai Mashack doesn’t do much scoring for Tennessee, he’s incredibly valuable for the Vols in this matchup. His ability to slow down one or multiple of Houston’s guards in this game is highly important.
There’s other facets of this matchup that will be highly significant. But this one is at the top and will be hard to miss.
Can Tennessee Cut Off The Three-Point Line For A Second Straight Game?
For Tennessee’s backcourt to win the matchup against Houston, they’ll have to run the Cougars’ guards off the three-point line. Cryer, Sharp and Uzan are all shooting over 40% from three-point range with over 60 made triples on the season.
With that group leading the way, Houston lead the nation with a 39.8 three-point percentage. Cryer is the lead man, scoring over 15 points per game with 111 made three-pointers this season at a 42% clip. Sharp and Uzan haven’t connected as often from deep but they can fill it up. Uzan hit six three-pointers and scored 22 points in the Cougars’ win over Purdue.
The Vols did a fantastic job of running Kentucky off the three-point line and making them shoot Inside the arc in the Sweet 16. Rick Barnes’ 10th Tennessee squad needs to do the same thing to limit Houston’s offensive efficiency.
Battle On The Glass
I’ve written about rebounding a multitude of times previewing Tennessee basketball games this season. As the Vols’ enter the biggest game of their season, rebounding is another massive key.
Houston is stellar on the offensive glass. The Cougars 36.7% offensive rebound rate ranks 11th nationally. Houston produces a good deal of its offense on second chance opportunities. Its backcourt plays with a lot of offensive freedom while their front court attacks the glass hard. It’s somewhat similar to Texas A&M’s offensive style, just with better offensive players.
Like Tennessee, the Cougars are not a great defensive rebounding team. They’re solid there but it isn’t exactly a strength.
The Vols entered the NCAA Tournament with rebounding as a reoccurring issue, but they’ve been good on the glass in each of their last two games and they were fantastic there against Kentucky. Tennessee has often been at its best when its offensive rebounding is thriving. That’s a major area to watch in this game.
