Tennessee basketball concludes its regular season on Saturday afternoon as they host South Carolina at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
It’s a senior day matchup in Knoxville as a number of key Vols including Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack will play their final game home game. Tennessee locks up a double-by in the SEC Tournament with a victory as they face a South Carolina team that’s currently in last place in the SEC.
Here’s three things to watch for in the conference matchup.
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The Last Dance For Zakai Zeigler And Jahmai Mashack
Senior Day is often an emotional day and while Tennessee is doing its Senior Day festivities after the game, it could still be a challenge for a few Vol players to manage their emotions and not try to do too much.
Tennessee will honor seven seniors including walk-on Grant Hurst and transfers Igor Milicic, Chaz Lanier, Darlinstone Dubar and two-year player Jordan Gainey. But it will be a particularly emotional day for Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack. The two have been key cogs in the greatest four-year stretch of Tennessee basketball history.
Both are fan favorites and it wouldn’t be shocking for either to try and do too much. Tennessee Is the much better team playing at home. They don’t need anyone to try and be extraordinary. They just need everyone to be themselves. That will be enough.
Will Tennessee Set The Tone With Physicality?
What made Tennessee’s loss at Ole Miss so surprising the other night was that the Vols lost because of a lack of physical toughness both on the defensive end of the court and on the glass. That will almost certainly be an emphasis for the Vols leading into this game and it should be.
South Carolina is led by star forward Collin Murray-Boyles who is one of the SEC’s best interior players. The 6-foot-7 sophomore is averaging 17 points to go along with 8.3 rebounds per game. Murray-Boyles is an incredibly difficult player to defend and Tennessee has to be physical with him inside to limit his touches around the rim and to keep him off the glass.
The Vols can also affect this game with physicality on the perimeter. Turnovers have been an issue for the Gamecocks this season, especially in SEC play when they’re turning the ball over on 20% of their possessions. That mark ranks last in the conference.
Tennessee’s guards, particularly Zeigler and Mashack, can make a big impact in this game by turning the Gamecocks over and helping the Vols get easy transition baskets.
Can Tennessee Avoid Foul Trouble And Keep South Carolina Off The Free Throw Line?
Playing with physicality is easier said than done because against South Carolina because of how good they are as a team, and Murray-Boyles is as a player, at getting to the foul line. The Gamecocks score 22.2% of their points at the charity stripe, a mark that ranks 33rd nationally.
Foul trouble has been an issue for Tennessee in each of its last two games. Both Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips had two fouls by halftime at Ole Miss while five rotation players had two fouls by halftime of the Alabama game.
The challenge for Tennessee is to play physical while also keeping South Carolina from getting to the charity stripe. More than anything, Tennessee can’t allow six and-one opportunities like they did on Wednesday night in Oxford.
