Despite the ups and downs throughout the season, one of Tennessee’s most impressive defining characteristics has been its ability to out-rebound its opponents. According to KenPom, Tennessee’s 45.0 offensive rebounding percentage leads the country and puts the Vols on pave to be the third-best offensive rebounding team this century.
It’s been a calling card attribute for Rick Barnes’ squad, and it could prove to be the differentiating factor throughout the Vols’ final tournament run of the season.
If Tennessee wants to upset 3-seed Virginia in the Round of 32 on Sunday, it’ll need to capitalize on its rebounding ability. Especially considering that Virginia leans more average than overwhelmingly positive on the defensive glass. It’s not necessarily a weakness for the Cavaliers, but it is a place that Tennessee could exploit.
Virginia guard Jacari White even noted on Saturday that rebounding isn’t the Cavs’ go-to skill.
“Yeah, they’re great on the offensive glass and rebounding is something we struggle with a little bit, but coming into this game, we got to be up for the fight, limiting Gillespie’s ability to get their bigs, layups and dunks,” White said on about Tennessee on Saturday. “Preparation shouldn’t be too much, any different from any teams we have played already.”
More From RTI: Everything Tennessee HC Rick Barnes Said Ahead Of NCAA Tournament Matchup Against Virginia
Tennessee has recorded double-digit offensive rebounding games in 33 of its 34 contests this season. The Vols have had 13+ in 27 games, 15+ in 21 games, 20+ in seven games, and 23+ in five games, according to UTSports. Without a prime ability to score on their first shot attempt of the possession, the Vols’ offensive rebounding prowess has been a key to Tennessee’s second-chance offensive efforts.
Part of Tennessee’s ability to rebound is the physicality it plays with, which Virginia guard Dallin Hall has noted with a comparison for Sunday’s game.
“Yeah, I think Miami’s a good comp in terms of their offensive rebounding prowess, just rebounding in general, their physicality,” Hall said about Tennessee on Saturday. “Duke’s very physical on the offensive glass. So you want to make sure that you give each opponent their proper respect. We know we’ve never played Tennessee before, so we give them that respect, but we understand that we’ve played physical teams before.”
(3) Virginia and (6) Tennessee will square off at 6:10 p.m. ET on Friday evening in Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the game coming up this weekend.
