Tennessee basketball is back in the Elite Eight for the second straight season. The Houston Cougars are the only thing standing between the Vols and the program’s first trip to the Final Four.
The Vols have largely coasted to the Midwest Region Final with comfortable wins over Wofford, UCLA and Kentucky. Houston has earned narrow victories over Purdue and Gonzaga after blowing out SIUE in the first round.
Here are the RTI staff predictions for the Elite Eight matchup.
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Ric Butler
It was a pleasure to be at Rick Barnes’ and Kelvin Sampson’s press conferences on Saturday. With a little more time in a different environment, it’s not hard to imagine that those two guys could trade stories back and forth for a week straight. The two coaches are lifelong friends – with the same goal of reaching the Final Four.
As Jay Biles said in a pre-tournament preview, this game should be officiated by three Navy Seals. I liked that line. This game will have the hard-hitting physicality that one would expect from these two programs.
Both teams are guard heavy scoring, with Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler, and Jordan Gainey leading the way for Tennessee and Houston’s Emanuel Sharpe, LJ Cryer, and Milos Uzan doing so for the Cougars. I expect a lot of points to come from those six names on Sunday despite impressive defense from both sides.
This is the Elite Eight. It’s the 1-seed vs the 2-seed. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that these are two very highly-skilled teams. Houston has won 16 straight games and is playing sound basketball. Tennessee, meanwhile, has been building momentum of its own. One area to note that could prove advantageous is on the offensive boards for the Vols. Tennessee did well in that department against Kentucky and could have an opportunity to do so again against Houston. More possessions = more scoring opportunities.
I’ve been picking the Vols lately because of the way Tennessee’s guards have been leading the team. I’ve typically thought that’s a winning recipe, especially combined with Tennessee’s defensive ability. But Houston’s no slouch in that department, either.
It’s not hard to see either team winning this game. I’m picking Tennessee because of the way it has been winning, though. I’ve been impressed with Tennessee’s trio of senior scoring guards, Jahmai Mashack is a walking nightmare for opposing scorers at this stage, and Felix Okpara has been putting together some good basketball.
Prediction: Tennessee 64, Houston 62
Ryan Schumpert
One year later and Tennessee is once again 40 minutes away from the first Final Four appearance in program history. There’s not a 7-foot-3 All-American waiting on them this time but there is a really good Houston team that’s lost just once in its last 30 games.
The Cougars have a lot in common with Tennessee. They’re a stout and physical team on the defensive end of the court, they can dominate the offensive glass and have a trio of guards that can score at a really high level. When teams have similar builds and play styles, conventional wisdom says to side with the team that’s been better all season. The gap isn’t large, but Houston has been the better team this season.
But on the other hand, Tennessee is well equipped to slow down Houston’s elite guards with top defenders Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack. There’s also a strong argument that Tennessee is playing better than Houston as of late. The Vols have dominated to this point in the tournament and have been pretty darn consistent over the last six weeks.
Admittedly, Houston is an elite program with a veteran team. They’ve played in a number of big games and have been close to the Final Four with the core. But Tennessee is the program that I spend hours around every single year. Tennessee was right here last year. Give me Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Jordan Gainey to get the job done and send Tennessee to San Antonio.
Prediction: Tennessee 68, Houston 65
