Tennessee
Who should Tennessee root for in March Madness First Four between SMU vs Miami (Ohio)?
Tennessee basketball has to wait before knowing its opponent in the NCAA Tournament.
The Vols (22-11) earned a No. 6 seed in March Madness. They’ll match up with the winner of a First Four game between two No. 11 seeds, Miami of Ohio (31-1) and SMU (20-13), who will play at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio, on March 18 (9:15 p.m. ET, TruTV).
The winner plays Tennessee at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on March 20 (4:25 p.m. ET, TBS).
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Here’s why we think the Vols should pull for Miami (Ohio) in their First Four matchup vs. SMU.
Miami (Ohio) has no record against power conference opponents
Miami (Ohio) had a historic regular season run with a 31-0 record, but it didn’t consistently play against top competition. The RedHawks didn’t have any games against power conference opponents, and it only played two NCAA Tournament teams in No. 12 Akron (29-5) and No. 13 Wright State (23-11).
While SMU had an 8-10 record in the ACC, the Mustangs regularly contended with some of the top teams in the country. They earned two big conference wins over North Carolina and Louisville, and added a victory over Mississippi State of the SEC. SMU only lost by four points to Louisville (without second-leading scorer Mikel Brown Jr.) in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
Tennessee can bully Miami (Ohio) on the interior
The RedHawks’ frontcourt consists of 6-foot-9 center Antoine Woolfolk, 6-8 forward Brant Byers and 6-8 forward Almar Alatson, who comes off the bench. Eian Elmer, a 6-6 guard, leads the RedHawks with six rebounds per game. As a team, Miami (Ohio) totaled 35.5 rebounds per game, but averaged a league-worst 8.3 offensive rebounds per contest.
Starting guards Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Nate Ament may be the stars of Tennessee, but the Vols’ identity is rooted in the post. J.P. Estrella and Felix Okpara both come close to 7-feet, yet the 6-10 Ament leads the Vols with 6.6 rebounds per game. Jaylen Carey and DeWayne Brown II, both 6-8 forwards, platoon off the bench.
Tennessee is third in the nation in total rebounds with 42.6 per game and is second in offensive rebounds at 16, essentially doubling the RedHawks. The Vols already lean heavily on their frontcourt in SEC play, and would do so even more against Miami (Ohio).
Miami (Ohio) luck may be running out
Nine of the RedHawks’ wins were determined by five points or less. They went 4-0 in overtime, and their final three wins were all decided by two points. The late game luck for Miami (Ohio) dried up in the MAC Tournament, when it lost 87-83 to UMass in the quarterfinals.
The Vols are overdue for some late game magic. They are 4-7 in games decided by five points or less and had one-score losses Syracuse, Alabama and twice against Kentucky.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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