With less than a week until the 2021-22 NCAA Men’s Basketball season tips off, there is no better predictor of future success as past actions, and there is no more recent past for Tennessee Basketball than the 103-62 victory over Division II opponent Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 30, 2021.
After a 10-7 conference record that placed them fourth in the SEC, the Tennessee Volunteers saw their top two scorers and their fifth-leading scorer leave Knoxville. This season, the Vols begin the season ranked No.20 in the Busting Brackets preseason power rankings. While success versus a Division II school at home in an exhibition game is not a precursor to success versus Villanova, North Carolina, and Purdue at the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament, it does give insight into the systems that Head Coach Rick Barnes plans to use.
The starters that took the court are the ones that are projected to be the season-long starters with Kennedy Chandler at point guard, Santiago Vescovi at off guard as Josiah-Jordan James, Olive Nkamhoua, and Uros Plavsic filled out the frontcourt. The Vols have a different look than last season and the most glaring difference is their shot selection. Despite having a height advantage between the power forward and center positions, the Vols attempted forty-six three-point shots, this from a team that was ranked No. 240 in the nation with fewer than 20 attempts per game last season.
Another interesting stat – that was perhaps inflated, yet is indicative- was the forty points off of turnovers the Vols scored with just 12 steals in the game. The result will have no influence on any standings or rankings, but for anybody hoping for what equates to a teaser trailer for a blockbuster movie, the game versus Lenoir-Rhyne provided a handful of lessons.