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Tennessee Basketball: Vols’ 2022-23 team defense is in historic territory

By Cooper Watson

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 14: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers stands on the court before their game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 14, 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - JANUARY 14: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers stands on the court before their game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena on January 14, 2023 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images) /
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Zakai Zeigler Tennessee Basketball (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Zakai Zeigler Tennessee Basketball (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images) /

Tennessee has been dominant in the regular season, but can this team actually pull through in March?

Rick Barnes-coached teams have always been known for their physicality and defensive prowess, but this team has taken it to a next level.

The top three players in the country for individual defensive rating all play for Tennessee: Jonas Aidoo, Santiago Vescovi, and Zakai Zeigler. Out of 2,253 Division I qualifying players on barttorvik.com, Tennessee has the top three and six of the top 12 in defensive rating.

Aidoo, Olivier Nkmahoua, and Uros Plavsic hold down the paint with next-level intensity and physicality, while Zeigler and Vescovi are pests on the perimeter with each averaging more than two steals a game. Tyreke Key, Julian Phillips, and Josiah-Jordan James employ a mix of physicality and peskiness on the wing. The aggregate is a nightmarish defense to try to attack.

Tennessee’s loss to Kentucky showed the team’s tendency for offensive dry spells. Barnes has since changed the starting lineup, putting Zeigler, Vescovi, Phillips, James, and Nkamhoua on the court (four guards and a versatile forward). Over the past three games, they’ve averaged 76 points per game, with a high of 82 against Texas.

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The Vols top the SEC in effective field goal and 3-point percentage and rank second in adjusted offensive efficiency. Barnes’ lineup changes could have been the spark the Vols needed to complement an already dominant defense. If it holds, this could absolutely be the team that helps Barnes get back to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.

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