University of Tennessee Athletics
5 Quick Things: Dec. 9
December 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Tennessee is set to play two top-10 opponents over the next eight days, a task that begins Sunday when the Vols go on the road to face No. 7 North Carolina (5 p.m. ET, ESPN).
1 | EXPLOSIVE SCORERS
What a difference a year can make. Last season, Tennessee entered the year with no players on its roster who had scored at least 20 points in a Division I game. The Vols entered this season with five different players who had done so -- Lew Evans, Robert Hubbs III, Detrick Mostella, Shembari Phillips and Admiral Schofield. And just seven games into Rick Barnes’ second season on Rocky Top, three Vols freshmen already have 20-point games to their credit -- Jordan Bone (21 vs. Chattanooga), Jordan Bowden (21 vs. Presbyterian) and Lamonte Turner (24 vs. Presbyterian). That gives Tennessee eight players -- exactly half of its roster -- who have shown the ability to score at a high level. Research is ongoing to determine the last time three UT freshmen logged 20-point games in the same season, but a partial check of the UTAD archives reveals that, at the very least, it has not happened since 1983.
2 | A GLANCE AT NORTH CAROLINA
Tennessee faces a top-10 opponent in a regular-season, non-conference setting for the first time since 2011 on Sunday when it faces seventh-ranked North Carolina. While the Tar Heels -- last season's national runners-up -- certainly have the talent to win in a variety of ways, head coach Rick Barnes has been most impressed by UNC's dominance on the glass and with their emphasis on inside play. "Great rebounding team. What I’ve always loved about Roy’s teams is they play inside out ... He does teach post play in a great way. The fact that they’re looking in there first. They have front-line guys, they can even size down if they need to. You just have to be impressed that they play a very high-efficiency type of basketball." UNC is led by 6-10 senior Kennedy Meeks, averaging 12.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The Tar Heels enter Sunday's game averaging 46.0 rebounds per game -- the third-best mark in the country -- and boasting a +15.4 rebounding margin.
3 | UNC'S SMITH AMONG BARNES' COACHING ICONS
With a trip to Chapel Hill and the Dean E. Smith Center on tap, head coach Rick Barnes was asked to recall some of his coaching battles against the late Dean Smith -- North Carolina's iconic coach -- prior to Friday's practice. Barnes' respect for Smith was apparent, listing the two-time national champion among his most studied heavyweights in the coaching profession alongside John Wooden, Bobby Knight, Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry. "Those are five guys I really wanted to know everything I could about," Barnes said. "If you think about it, those guys have made an incredible impact on their profession. People still talk about the Carolina Break, the Carolina Shuffle, sideline break—it all started under Coach Smith. I could talk about each one of them, but I have nothing but great respect for (Coach Smith and North Carolina's) program."
4 | TENNESSEE vs. TITLE GAME TEAMS
Over the last decade, Tennessee is 6-6 against programs that appeared in the NCAA Championship Game the previous season (dating to the 2006-07 season). North Carolina is coming off an appearance in the 2016 title game, where it lost a thriller to Villanova. Tennessee’s 6-6 mark includes three wins over Florida (one in 2006-07, two in 2007-08) and single victories over Ohio State (2007-08), UConn (2011-12) and Kentucky (2012-13). The losses came against Florida (2006-07), Kansas (2008-09), Memphis (2008-09), Michigan (2013-14) and twice against Kentucky (2012-13 and 2014-15).
5 | PHILLIPS FILLING IN WELL AT POINT
After serving as Tennessee’s point guard for the final month of last season, sophomore Shembari Phillips did not anticipate that being his primary position this year. But two of the three Vols who handled point guard duties during the preseason have missed time with foot injuries recently, thus propelling Phillips back into a point guard role. And he has performed well when called upon to run the team, sporting a 3.3 assist/turnover ratio over the last three games. According to KenPom.com, Phillips ranks 16th nationally with a .732 “true shooting percentage,” which is a measure of a player’s combined field-goal, 3-point and free-throw shooting accuracy. The Atlanta native is 9-of-12 (.750) from 3-point range this season and 23-of-26 (.885) from the foul line. He is one of only three “power five” players to rank in the national top 20. "I told him yesterday he has to know what’s gotten him where he is, and that’s his effort and his intensity,” Barnes said of Phillips. “He can’t go backwards there. But taking care of the ball. He’s been great with that and he’s taken, for the most part, pretty good shots and just let things come his way."
