Tennessee basketball is back at home after a challenging week on the road as they prepare to face Georgia on Wednesday night.
But life in the SEC rarely gets much easier and that’s the case on Wednesday as the Vols host a Georgia team coming off of back-to-back top 25 wins.
Here’s three things to watch for in the top 25 matchup.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Moves Down In Bracketology Despite Win At Texas
Can Darlinstone Dubar Pick Up Where He Left Off?
Tennessee doesn’t win at Texas on Saturday night if not for the contributions of Hofstra transfer Darlinstone Dubar. The 6-foot-6 forward drilled a trio of triples on his way to a 12-point, six-rebound performance.
Dubar has been Tennessee’s eighth man this season with an inconsistent role. But what he gave Tennessee against Texas could be a game changer. Tennessee needs more shooting, especially with teams starting to sag off Jahmai Mashack, and Dubar shot 40% from deep last season. He plays with a confidence and looseness on the offensive end of the court that is beneficial.
But consistency is the big word particularly in this inconsistent sport. Let’s see if Dubar can pick up where he left off and give Tennessee a spark off the bench.
How Will Tennessee’s Frontcourt Fare Against Asa Newell?
Five-star freshman Asa Newell is the top dawg on this Georgia team. The 6-foot-11 forward is averaging a team-best 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Newell is not an elite shooter but he’s knocked down nine triples to this point and is a versatile scorer. He can score on the inside and can take defenders off the dribble. Newell presents quite the challenge for a Tennessee frontcourt that’s been good but not stout defensively.
Felix Okpara will likely spend the bulk of time guarding the projected lottery pick. However, Georgia runs a lineup with Newell playing the four and Somto Cyril playing the five nearly 20% of the time. That will force Igor Milicic and others to also guard Newell. It has to be a team effort for Tennessee against the star freshman.
Another Battle On The Glass
This will be a consistent key to watch throughout the season. The SEC boasts four of the nation’s 10 best offensive rebounding teams and two will collide tonight in Knoxville.
Tennessee ranks seventh nationally in offensive rebound rate and Georgia ranks ninth. Both want to live on the offensive glass. Both teams pride themselves on playing with physicality. Whichever team plays with more physicality will have a great chance to win.
One bonus thing to watch for: who wins the turnover battle. Both teams force turnovers at a high rate but also have had turnover issues this season. Combine the turnover battle with the battles on the glass and this could be a pure numbers game of who gets the most shots.
