Tennessee Basketball: How Volunteers can replace John Fulkerson

Tennessee Basketball: How Volunteers can replace an injured John Fulkerson

By Matt Melton | Mar 19, 2021

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 12: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers speaks with his players in a stoppage against the Florida Gators during the second half of their quarterfinal game in the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. Tennessee defeats Florida 78-66. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

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Santiago Vescovi Tennessee Basketball John Fulkerson (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

One of the more interesting teams in this year’s Field of 68 is Tennessee Basketball. The Volunteers came into this season as the preseason pick to win the SEC, but even though they didn’t necessarily live up to those expectations in the regular season, Tennessee has all the pieces needed to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee comes into the NCAA Tournament with an 18-8 overall record and 4th in the SEC at 10-7. The Volunteers average 72.5 PPG as team on 44.3% shooting and display the #4 defense in the country only allowing 63.2 PPG to opponents this season. Tennessee also comes in as the #13 team in the NET Rankings with an impressive 6 Quad 1 wins on the year.

The Volunteers drew the 5-seed in the Midwest Region where they will face the 12-seed Pac-12 Tournament Champions Oregon State. The Beavers struggle at times to score offensively only averaging 70.7 PPG, and also have one of the worst defenses of the 64 teams remaining. As expected, Tennessee comes into this Round of 64 game as a big favorite, and rightfully so. Plain and simple, Oregon State can not match up with the Volunteers.

Tennessee has a nice roster mix of experienced veterans along with a few highly touted freshmen and younger players. The Volunteers have seven players that average 8+ PPG, and are led by star freshmen Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson. Tennessee also has one of the best pure defenders in college basketball in senior forward Yves Pons.

One big question however facing Tennessee is the availability of senior forward John Fulkerson, who suffered an injury in the Quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Fulkerson averages 9.5 PPG and 5.5 RPG, while he is also arguably the heart and soul of the Volunteers. Tennessee lost their one game since Fulkerson’s injury, a 73-68 loss to Alabama in the SEC Tournament Semifinals, and it will be important for the Volunteers NCAA Tournament chances for other players to step up in his absence.

Let’s take a look at three players in particular that Tennessee will need to step up in the NCAA Tournament to potentially replace the injured John Fulkerson.

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