The SEC sent a record 12 teams to the NCAA tournament this year; with seven of them reaching the Sweet Sixteen, it was almost inevitable that we would start seeing some SEC-vs-SEC matchups materialize. Kentucky and Tennessee both took care of business and will meet in what should be an entertaining two/three seed matchup. Conference rivals meeting the NCAA tournament is always a recipe for heightened drama, and this matchup has all the makings of a classic.
Kentucky made the Sweet Sixteen by beating Troy and an Illinois team that was expected to challenge the Wildcats but ultimately lost by double digits. Tennessee also cruised past Wofford and UCLA without being seriously threatened by either team. Kentucky won both of the regular season matchups between the teams, although both games were competitive in the latter stages of the second half. Here are three keys for Kentucky to go 3-0 against the Vols and advance to the Elite Eight:
Shoot well from three
A running theme from both of the Wildcat's regular season wins over Tennessee was their ability to hit three-point shots. The Vols have the third-best three-point defense in the country according to KenPom, but UK has shredded UT from distance so far this season. Kentucky went exactly 12-24 from long range in each game. Nor was it confined to one player; seven different players have buried a three against the vaunted UT defense. They don’t have to hit 50% again to win, but they probably need to be over 40% to have a shot at taking down the Vols.
Continue to force turnovers
While Kentucky’s defense has been mostly serviceable this season, they have struggled mightily to force turnovers. In fact, UK ranks 337 out of 364 teams in turnovers forced percentage (again KenPom). They’ve been better at it in the two games they’ve played in the tournament; they forced Troy into 11 turnovers before getting Illinois to cough it up 14 times. Kentucky loves to play fast, and even a few extra turnovers forced over their season average will lead to transition points. Brandon Garrison, in particular, has been a pest to opposing offenses. He has four steals in the past two games despite coming off the bench.
Contain Vol’s guard Chaz Lanier
Lanier is Tennessee’s leading scorer at 18.1 points a game. He put up solid numbers for UT in their first two tournament games, scoring 29 against Wofford and 20 against UCLA. Kentucky did a good job of holding him in check during their regular season matchups; Lanier only scored 25 points total in the Vol's two losses, and he shot a poor 8-27 from the floor and 3-17 from three. While Tennessee has other players that can score, their offense is at its best when Lanier is scoring while Zakai Zeigler runs the offense. If UK can slow down Lanier to shooting similar to what he shot in their previous two matchups, the Wildcats will have an excellent chance to get the coveted three-peat over their rivals.