Tennessee vs Purdue: 3 biggest storylines for Sweet 16 matchup

By Connor Hope | Mar 27, 2019

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT - MARCH 21: Matt Haarms #32 and Ryan Cline #14 of the Purdue Boilermakers react late in the game against the Old Dominion Monarchs during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at XL Center on March 21, 2019 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

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COLUMBUS, OHIO – MARCH 22: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts during the first half against the Colgate Raiders in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Nationwide Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

2) Can Tennessee play a full 40 minutes?

One of the biggest concern regarding the Volunteers moving forward is the drop in production they displayed in the second half of both first weekend games. Tennessee lost the second half battle 40-35 against 15-seed Colgate and let Iowa force an overtime after losing the second half 43-22. Being outscored in the second half is not always a major concern, as long as the team wins, but being outscored in consecutive games against double-digit seeds in the NCAA Tournament certainly isn’t good for optics.

With Purdue playing it’s best basketball of the past month, Tennessee will need a full 40 minutes of productive basketball from its rotation to pull out a victory. There cannot be any falling asleep or boneheaded mistakes coming out of the half, because the Boilermakers will expose every hole they can. It will be interesting to see how the Vols fair, but their struggles down the stretch in recent games is a big reason for the close spread.

The Volunteers are a Final Four caliber team, with some of the most consistent and experience players in the country, but they will need to be laser-focused to live up to their potential. If they lose interest for even a short span, Carsen Edwards could have a huge game.

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