
Tennessee basketball is back on the road on Saturday when they head to Nashville to face instate rival Vanderbilt at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores are still near the bottom of the SEC this season but are one of the conference’s most improved teams and are on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s three things to watch for in the rivalry matchup.
More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said Previewing Tennessee Basketball Matchup At Vanderbilt
Can Tennessee Dominant The Glass While Limiting Vanderbilt In Transition?
Vanderbilt is not only one of the smallest teams in the SEC but one of the smallest teams in the entire power five. The Commodores have done a great job of working around that and are a solid rebounding team.
Still, Tennessee is one of the nation’s best offensive rebounding teams. They enter the matchup sixth nationally, rebounding 40% of its misses. That rate is the same in SEC play which is good for a conference best.
Combining those two elements gives Tennessee a chance to dominate the offensive glass against Vanderbilt. But there’s two sides to that coin. Vanderbilt is a great transition team, ranking in the top 25 nationally in fastest offensive possessions.
Tennessee crashing the glass will give Vanderbilt opportunities to get looks in transition that will almost certainly be better than the looks they can get in the half court. The Vols finding the happy medium there will be key.
Will Chaz Lanier Break Out Of His Slump?
Chaz Lanier started SEC play with a bang, scoring 29 points and knocking down five triples against Arkansas. Lanier has hit his first slump of the season in the three games since then. He’s averaging 8.3 points per game and is just four-of-24 from three-point range.
Tennessee has found a way to win each of its last two games with Lanier struggling, but they’ll be in a dog fight with most everyone on the road if Lanier doesn’t have it going.
Rick Barnes said he likes a lot about what Lanier did and thought he set himself up for success against Georgia. If that continues, it’s just a matter of Lanier hitting shots. He’ll break out of the slump eventually. We’ll see if it happens on Saturday in Nashville.
Tennessee Needs To Break Even In The Turnover Battle
Two of the best things Vanderbilt does is force an abundance of turnovers while not turning the ball over themselves.
The Commodores rank 16th nationally in offensive turnover percentage and eighth nationally in defensive turnover percentage. On the other hand, Tennessee has been great at forcing turnovers but has had turnover issues themselves.
Going on the road against a team that’s great at forcing turnovers will fully test the Vols’ ability to take care of the basket.
If Tennessee can break even in the turnover battle, they’ll have a great chance to earn the road win.