Over the past few seasons, the Tennessee-Butler rivalry has been one to watch. The two teams have put on good shows in the past as they remain quality basketball programs. Last year, Butler came to Knoxville ranked No.15 at the time and fell in a shocking upset to the Volunteers who shot 50 percent from the field while causing 14 turnovers. Butler hopes to avoid the same fate this season as they come in ranked No.18 to face a Tennessee team struggling at the moment.
The Volunteers needed a nice break from play after a rough outing during the Thanksgiving tournaments. Brooklyn was not kind to Tennessee as the team barely survived a game against George Washington while suffering an 11-point loss to Nebraska. One thing is clear, the team is missing Jabari McGhee who transferred out of the program. Their interior defense has taken a hit because of it. This team is must different than the one from last year as they have become a shootout team rather than a defensively sound one. Now without McGhee and Robert Hubbs who suffered a knee injury, head coach Rick Barnes must coach up the young squad against a ranked team.
Butler will play fast against the inexperienced Volunteers. Tennessee has just four upperclassman playing extensive minutes right now and they must go up against a Bulldogs team capable of running fast. Guard Kellen Dunham is the best there is as he is averaging 20 points per game while Roosevelt Jones is putting up 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. That will not help a struggling Tennessee defense who is allowing more offensive rebounds than anyone else right now. Right now, Butler is thriving on offense shooting 52 percent from the field while ranking 41st in offensive rebounding. That is a bad matchup for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Under Barnes, the Volunteers are transitioning. This is still a team capable of pulling off a big upset to the ranked Bulldogs, but they are coming off a bad loss to Nebraska with two stars no longer on the court. That is not going to help their case moving forward, but shooting better will at least let them run alongside Butler for most of the game.
