Tennessee-Vanderbilt Preview: The Vols should roll at home
The No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers (18-6, 8-3 SEC) take on Vanderbilt (7-17, 2-9) at home Saturday looking to build momentum before entering a brutal remaining schedule.
The Vols answered big after a disappointing loss to Texas A&M last Saturday and dominated Arkansas 92-63. Now, the Vols take on another underperforming team in Vanderbilt, who has struggled all season long. The Dores were easily defeated at home last month in the first meeting of the season between these rivals.
The Commodores didn’t have an answer to Dalton Knecht the last time they met, as Knecht ended that game with 32 points. Jonas Aidoo is coming off a huge game Wednesday as he led the team with 23 points and should expected to continue that play into Saturday.
Zeigler and Gainey also look to be getting settled as the season progresses and both have looked great in the last couple of games. Gainey went off against Arkansas scoring 17 and also scored 18 against LSU coming off the bench. Zeigler is getting back to playing consistently and making plays on defense.
But, the Vols need to be careful to not overlook this Vanderbilt team, who just beat an A&M team at the buzzer. The Aggies pretty much dominated the Vols last Saturday and were hitting shots all night. And, Vanderbilt is playing better ball as we move towards the end of the season, winning the last 2 of four games. They’re a team that would love to play spoiler to Rick Barnes and the Vols , so this could be a trap game if Tennessee isn’t careful.
Tennessee needs to start playing more consistently on defense going into the end of the season and before March arrives. Which by the way, is just two weeks away.
Prediction
The Commodores are creating some momentum but it won’t be enough to beat this top 10 team in the Vols at home. Dalton Knecht is going to score more than 25 points and Aidoo will break 20 points again. Either Gainey or JJJ are also going to have a great night helping the Vols win 87-64.
