Game Preview: Tennessee hosts USC Upstate
After eclipsing the century mark on the scoreboard for the second consecutive game on Monday, the Vols will look to continue their strong start when USC Upstate comes to town on Wednesday. Tennessee and Upstate have had opposite seasons thus far. The Vols are undefeated at 5-0 while the Spartans enter Wednesday's game winless at 0-7.
Upstate is coached by Dave Dickerson. In his second season as head coach, his team has struggled to get things going. The Spartans don't have a single senior on their roster, but 13 players have played significant minutes in games this season.
Offensive Notes:
Sophomore guard Tommy Bruner leads the Spartans in scoring at 14.5 points per game. One drawback to Bruner's game is that he has a tendency to turn the ball over. He's done so 30 times through seven games. Bruner is far from the only player on the Upstate roster that can score. Seven Spartans average six points or better on the season. As a reference, Tennessee has taken 92 3-point shots on the season. By himself, Upstate's Bryson Mozone has taken 48 shots from beyond the arch through seven games. Mozone has been on the floor more than any other Spartan so far, averaging 27.3 minutes per game so you can expect to see quite a bit of action from him. Compared to Tennessee's 92 3-point shots on the year, Upstate has taken 165 threes. The Spartans haven't been a great offensive rebounding team, and I would expect that trend to continue on Wednesday.
Overall, this team isn't a big threat to put up a high number on the scoreboard on Wednesday. Through seven games, they haven't scored 80 points in a game yet, and Tennessee's defense will likely keep them well under that mark when they play.
Defensive Notes:
The Spartans have given up more than 90 points in four of their seven games. Two games ago against Winthrop they gave up 107 points. 6'8" forward Khydarius Smith is a shot blocker down low. He has 11 on the year while his next closest teammate has 3. His height is comparable to some of Tennessee's post players, but at 210 pounds the Vols could potentially take advantage of him from a strength standpoint. In short, Tennessee should be able to continue their trend of scoring at a high level. If the Vols come out focused and ready to play, they could end the game flirting with the 100-point mark for the third game in a row.
Wednesday's game will begin at 5:00pm on the SEC Network.
