University of Tennessee Athletics
The @Vol_Hoops Report: Feb. 13
February 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball
The Tennessee basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid with a thrilling, overtime victory at rival Vanderbilt Wednesday night. The Volunteers spent little time celebrating, however, as they quickly went to work preparing to host a talented LSU team.
Tipoff for Saturday's contest against the Tigers is set for 4 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Tickets can be purchased at www.UTtix.com. The UT Ticket Office opens Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.
Tennessee and LSU are both 6-5 in SEC play and are tied for sixth place in the standings.
The Vols met with the media before Friday's practice, and much of the talk was about stopping LSU's sophomore interior tandem of Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin.
Mickey (6-8, 235) averages 17.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the SEC in scoring and second in rebounding. Martin (6-10, 235) is also top-four in the SEC in both categories, averaging 16.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
"They're going to do some good things in the game, but most importantly, our job is to try to limit them from doing a lot of good things in this game," UT junior Armani Moore said.
Moore said one preventative measure in stopping Mickey and Martin is boxing out as a team on rebounds, adding that the task can never be a one-man job.
When it comes to rebounding, forwards Moore and Derek Reese have led the way for the Vols. Moore leads the Vols with 6.7 rebounds per game (eighth in the SEC), including 2.8 rebounds per game on the offensive side. Reese has averaged 5.3 rebounds per game and has had at least five rebounds in 10 of the Vols' 11 SEC games this year.
Outsized or not, Moore said one defensive goal remains the same, game in and game out: wearing down their opponents.
"We do a whole lot of things to try to get our opponents to go weak by the end of the game," Moore said. "We use the press as one of our keys to wear down our opponents."
ABOUT LSU
The Tigers are 17-7 (6-5 SEC) in their third season under head coach Johnny Jones. They are No. 57 in the RPI.
LSU attempted a 3-pointer at the final buzzer to beat against top-ranked Kentucky Tuesday in Baton Rouge, but the shot didn't fall.
LSU is 5-2 on the road this season, with wins at West Virginia, UAB, Ole Miss, Florida and Vanderbilt.
The frontcourt tandem of Mickey and Martin combines for 32.5 points, 19.4 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game.
"They've got two guys on their front line that are NBA players," UT head coach Donnie Tyndall said Friday. "Whether (they turn pro) this year or in a year, they're both guys who are going to play in the NBA. They're long and athletic, and as we've talked about all year, a deficiency of our team is our front line size and physicality, so we're going to have to do a good job of packing it in with our zone, doubling down or digging down when they catch and do the best we can to keep them off the glass."
Tigers guard Keith Hornsby is the song of Grammy-winning recording artist Bruce Hornsby; Keith scored nine points in a loss against the Vols at the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, when he was a guard at UNC Asheville (he later transferred to LSU).
In SEC play, Hornsby, Martin and Mickey each average more than 36 minutes per game.
Against SEC opposition, the Tigers own a +2.2 scoring margin and a -1.5 turnover margin. Despite their size, their rebounding margin in SEC play is even.
STOKES IS BACK
Tennessee letterman Jarnell Stokes (2012-14), one of the stars of last year's march to the Sweet Sixteen, is spending some time back in Knoxville during the NBA All-Star break. The 6-9 rookie forward has appeared in 16 games for the Memphis Grizzlies this season.
An All-SEC performer and 1,000-point scorer, Stokes averaged 13.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game during his three-year career as a Vol. He also is the school's all-time leader in offensive rebounding.
Stokes watched the Lady Vols defeat Ole Miss Thursday night in Oxford, Miss., and traveled back to Knoxville with the team. He is expected to attend the LSU game Saturday.
Stokes was the 35th overall pick in last June's NBA Draft. His Grizzlies squad owns a 39-14 record at the season's midway point and stands atop the Western Conference Southwest Division standings.
KING, HOUSTON TAKING PART IN NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND FESTIVITIES
Two Vol legends are participating in NBA All-Star Weekend events Friday and Saturday in New York City.
Tennessee All-American and all-time leading scorer Allan Houston (1989-93) is playing in Friday night's Sprint Celebrity game at Madison Square Garden.
ESPN is televising the game live at 7 p.m. ET, and fans can also view the game via the WatchESPN app.
On Saturday, Tennessee legend and four-time NBA All-Star Bernard King (1974-77) will serve as a judge for the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
This is the 30th NBA slam dunk contest, and King will be joined on the judging panel by fellow Hall of Famers Julius Erving, Walt Frazier, Nate Archibald and Chris Mullin.
State Farm's All-Star Saturday night will be broadcast on TNT starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.
