Tennessee vs Missouri: 5 storylines for SEC opener between ranked foes

Tennessee stopping Tilmon

This particular problem for the Volunteers, in actuality, goes deeper than just needing to stop the 6’10/260 Jeremiah Tilmon in the paint. The reason being is that the Tigers have 6’10 / 221 Mark Smith backing up Tilmon for an average of 22.5 minutes per game. It will however be Tilmon who starts his seventh consecutive game, leaving it up to  6’9 /215 John Fulkerson to protect the rim for the Volunteers.

Offensively, the senior is tallying up very similar stats compared to last season when he averaged four fewer minutes at 20 per game. Tilmon is scoring the same 8.2 points per game on the same 5.2 field goals per game while his field goal percentage is down three percent to 56 percent. While Missouri has started the season on a six-game winning streak, five of those games were won by ten or fewer points.

Tilmon, however, had his only two double-digit scoring performances in the Tigers’ two closest games by scoring eleven in an eight-point victory over Oregon and twelve points in a one-point victory over Bradley.

Unless Coach Barnes plans to play 7’2 / 265 sophomore center Uros Plavsic more than his current five minutes per game, Fulkerson has to be prepared for the responsibility. If Fulkerson wants an idea of what he is in for, he should watch the Missouri versus Illinois game tape.

Tilmon may have only played 18 minutes and missed both shots he attempted, but every time down the court he set up on the block and battled to back down his defender.

When the entry pass did get into him Missouri clears out and lets Tilmon back down the defender. As noted, Tilmon did not have a good game against Illinois, but Illinois had 7’0 /285 Kofi Cockburn to defend him.