Tennessee Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Volunteers to beat Memphis

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Jordan Bowden #23 of the Tennessee Volunteers reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE – FEBRUARY 13: Lamonte Turner #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

1. Memphis is good at forcing turnovers, Tennessee must protect the ball

The first big key to a Tennessee victory will be their ability to take care of the ball. It is not that the Volunteers are overly prone to turning it over, they give the ball away just over 13 times per game, which is much better than the 15 their opponents on Saturday commit.

But, at this point in the season, Barnes’ squad has a negative turnover margin at -0.1 and Memphis is one of the best teams in the country in the category with a 2.8 number which is 68th best. It will be key for Tennessee to win the turnover battle in this one because not only is Memphis solid in turnover margin, they are even better at forcing them which gives them such a high turnover margin despite the high number they commit.

Memphis forces nearly 18 turnovers per game which is the 30th best number in the sport and they swipe nearly nine balls per contest which puts them inside the top 50, while Tennessee isn’t nearly as prolific in those categories ranking 207th and 227th respectively. If the Volunteers want to come away with a win, they will have to keep their turnover numbers down while keeping Memphis’ steal numbers down as well.

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