Tennessee
Saint Peter’s basketball vs Tennessee in March Madness: Prediction for NCAA Tournament
March Madness 2024: Tips to help you fill out your NCAA tournament bracket
March Madness is finally here and Mackenzie Salmon has tips to help you fill out your NCAA tournament bracket.
The most iconic Cinderella run in NCAA Tournament history began with an obscure No. 15 seed from Jersey City loading the slingshot for a second-seeded powerhouse from the Southeastern Conference.
Two years later, that stage is set yet again.
Except Saint Peter’s (19-13) is no longer obscure, and the powerhouse is sixth-ranked Tennessee (24-8) instead of Kentucky.
You can bet Vols coach Rick Barnes is reminding his guys of that before the ball goes up Thursday night at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina (9:20 p.m., TNT).
Saint Peter’s vs Tennessee: 3 things to know for NCAA Tournament opener
Here’s a scouting report for one of the more intriguing long-shot matchups of the Round of 64.
Saint Peter’s vs Tennessee matchups
Backcourt: Tennessee is loaded here with 6-foot-6 All-American postgrad Dalton Knecht (21.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and junior Zakai Zeigler (11.9 ppg, 5.8 apg), who attended Immaculate Conception High School in Montclair. Saint Peter’s has an elite defender at point guard in 6-3 senior Latrell Reid (11.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.6 apg), who is the lone holdover from Saint Peter’s 2022 rotation. He’s a Willingboro native, as is 6-5 backcourt mate Marcus Randolph (6.4 ppg, 41 percent from 3-point range). Edge: Tennessee.
Frontcourt: Saint Peter’s is led by 6-6 sophomore Corey Washington (16.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg), a star in the making who dominated the MAAC Tournament. There’s length and physicality with 6-9 sophomore Mouhamed Sow (5.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and 6-7 junior Michael Hogue (8.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg). Tennessee holds it down with 6-foot-11 rim protector Jonas Aidoo (11.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.0 bpg), a second-team All-SEC selection, and 6-7 wing Josiah-Jordan James (8.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg). Edge: Tennessee.
Bench: Saint Peter’s goes nine deep to keep the defensive intensity high, and the subs include Armoni Zeigler (6.4 ppg), who is Zakai Zeigler’s half-brother. Tennessee plays eight guys and gets 16 points per game from its bench. Edge: Even.
Intangibles: Tennessee coach Rick Barnes has 803 career victories and a Final Four to his credit. Saint Peter’s coach Bashir Mason raised three regular-season championship banners at Wagner and rebuilt Saint Peter’s right quick, but this is his first NCAA Tournament game. That said, the arena will be filled with Saint Peter’s supporters or, if you prefer, fans rooting against Goliath. I’ll feel like Jersey City in Charlotte. Edge: Saint Peter’s.
Three keys for Saint Peter’s
Slow things to a crawl
The Peacocks play at the 338th-fastest pace in the country, which is not far from last. Tennessee’s tempo ranks 79th. It’s easier to slow a game down than to speed it up, but that requires taking good care of the ball on offense (not a strength) and rebounding well (definitely a strength).
Don’t get torched by Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht
Nobody matches up well with a 6-6 veteran who scores at all three levels. Mason is likely to send waves of bodies at him. Knecht will get his, but he’s got to work for it. It would help if he’s off.
Throw an early punch
Not literally, of course, but close. Saint Peter’s rallied from a halftime hole in each of its final two MAAC Tournament games. The Peacocks have been a second-half team by wearing foes down with depth and physicality. That can only work here if they’re within striking distance. The better they start, the longer they hang around the more the crowd engages – and the pressure builds on Tennessee.
Saint Peter’s vs Tennessee prediction
As in 2022, Saint Peter’s is peaking late. The Peacocks have won eight of the past 10 games after getting fully healthy. Though this is almost an entirely new team and staff from the 2022 darlings, they’re similar in style and will channel that ethos. Tennessee has the firepower. Can they handle a Jersey City throat punch?
Tennessee 64, Saint Peter’s 60
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
The Tennessee Volunteers are set to play the Kentucky Wildcats in the sweet sixteen.
After Tennessee defeated UCLA on Saturday and Kentucky defeated Illinois on Sunday, the two SEC programs will face off against one another in the sweet sixteen round.
The two teams faced off against one another twice during the regular season. The first go around, Kentucky won on the road 78-73. A couple of weeks later, the Wildcats defeated the Volunteers again, this time at home, by a final score of 75-64. Needless to say, not the best feeling for Tennessee going into this matchup, but the Volunteers have certainly proven they are one of the best teams in the country.
Kentucky defeated both Troy and Illinois en route to playing Tennessee. The Volunteers went up against Wofford and UCLA. This is the first time in matchup history that both programs will have played in the NCAA tournament.
A date and time has not yet been announced for the matchup.
As the sweet sixteen round approaches, here are the most updated national title odds.
All odds presented by FanDuel.
– Duke +260
– Florida +400
– Auburn +490
– Houston +550
– Tennessee +1600
– Texas Tech +2000
– Alabama +2000
– Iowa State +2700
– Michigan State +3000
The Vols will face the winner of Illinois and Kentucky in the Sweet 16. They have already played both opponents on the year. They are (1-0) vs Illinois with a 2-point win and they went winless against Kentcuy in their two matchups this season. Though with the way Chaz Lanier is scoring at the moment, they are capable of beating anyone.
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OTHER TENNESSEE NEWS
The Tennessee Volunteers have already secured their trip to the Sweet 16 with their win over UCLA on Saturday night. We take a look at who they might play next round.
The Tennessee Vols are headed to the Sweet 16 after their nine-point win over the UCLA Bruins in the round of 32. The Vols are set to make their third straight Sweet 16 and with experienced guard play from Zakai Zeigler and elite scoring prowess from Chaz Lanier, on top of an elite team defensive effort, the Vols are looking strong entering the next round.
Now, who will they play? Well, let’s take a look at it.
The No. 3 seeded Kentucky Wildcats are set to take on the No. 6 seeded Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday evening. According to FanDuel, Illinois is actually a 1.5 point favorite in the contest despite being the lower-seeded team. Either way, it’s projected to be a tightly contest basketball game, per the FanDuel odds.
The Vols have played both Illinois and Kentucky this season. They beat Illinois 66-64 back in December. And they were (0-2) against the Wildcats in conference play this season.
The Vols currently have the fifth-best odds to win the NCAA Championship per FanDuel. The current favorites are Duke, Florida, Auburn, Houston, and then Tennessee. The good news for Tennessee, the will avoid everyone but Houston until the Elite 11.
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OTHER TENNESSEE NEWS
Chaz Lanier is on the verge of history ahead of Tennessee vs UCLA in March Madness
Another Tennessee star is chasing history on Saturday night against the UCLA Bruins. Chaz Lanier is playing in front of Chris Lofton in hopes of breaking the single-season record of threes made in a Vols uniform. Lanier is in his first year with the Vols after transferring in this off-season.
Lofton has made enough history in Knoxville as he has his number retired and Tennessee will never have a No. 5 again.
Lanier is only 3 three-pointers away from breaking the record. Lanier is likely to break the record tonight, but if he doesn’t and the Vols fall short so will his hopes of breaking the record as he is out of eligibility.
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Make sure to follow our website Tennessee on SI.
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