Tennessee Basketball: 3 keys to beat Florida Atlantic in Sweet 16 matchup

Guard without fouling

With the online discourse following Tennessee’s high-profile win over Duke and Dusty May’s postgame comments, the seeds have been planted for the officials to have a slightly quicker whistle than what we saw in the first two rounds.

The Vols still need to set the physical tone from the opening tip, but they also need to have an emphasis on defending without fouling. This is especially true considering their size advantage. Like it or not, shorter players tend to get more foul calls against larger defenders.

FAU shoots nearly 37% from 3-point range and runs a 4-out 1-in offense, which opens up the lane for drives and rolls to the basket. Dusty May is going to make Tennessee’s forwards defend smaller guards in open space, which could lead to a foul count that favors the Owls. Tennessee can avoid this by keeping its hands straight out and straight up. No unnecessary swiping for steals or reaching for blocks. Hands off. Stay vertical.

Tennessee cannot afford to overlook FAU even a little bit. These Owls are 33-3 and in the Sweet 16 for a reason. Thursday night’s matchup will feature contrasting styles, but Tennessee will have an athletic advantage that, if used to dominate the glass and stay on the right side of the foul count, can lead it to the Elite Eight.