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Tennessee Basketball: 3 keys to beating South Carolina

By Colton Pickard

KNOXVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 13: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on during a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 13, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 70-67. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 13: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers looks on during a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Thompson-Boling Arena on February 13, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 70-67. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball is getting ready to face off against South Carolina, and I have three things the Vols need to do to beat the Gamecocks.

Tennessee basketball has had a difficult rebuild season this year, as many rebuild seasons are, but after recent success, I don’t think many expected the Vols to dip this low.

Currently, the Vols sit at 14-10 and need to go on a final run to end the season to keep its tournament hopes alive.

There are seven games left in the Tennessee basketball season, and the next game on the Vols’ schedule is against South Carolina. The Vols are hitting the road to meet the Gamecocks in Columbia, and both teams are still fighting for the possibility to make it into the NCAA tournament.

The last time the Vols and Gamecocks played, Tennessee came out victorious by a slim one-point margin 56-55. If the Vols want to win again, they’ll have to recreate some of the success they had in the first matchup and build on it.

The first key for Tennessee beating South Carolina on the road is the Vols must shoot the three as little as possible. In the last matchup, the Vols shot 19.4% from three (6-31). I don’t know how a team wins a game shooting like that, but they did.

If the Vols shoot 6-12 or even 6-18, then the Vols could definitely improve its shooting from inside the arch, and then we’re not stuck looking at one person shooting 1-9 from three and costing Tennessee the game.

If you can’t shoot and make threes, then it’s pretty simple, don’t shoot threes. Put the ball in the lane or take shots inside the three-point line. If the Vols do that, then that will be a big step in the right direction, not only to win this game but to go on a final run to end the season.

The second key to the game is shutting down Jermaine Couisnard. In Knoxville, Couisnard finished the game with 15 points and tore up the Vols all game.

The Tennessee defense needs to find a way to keep the ball out of his hands, and when the ball is in his hands, force him to take bad shots. The Vols might not be able to afford another big game from Couisnard if they want to leave with the win.

In the first matchup, John Fulkerson led the offense with 15 points, Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James followed with double-digit points.

The final key to the game is for the Vols’ offense to build off of that. A similar performance from those three guys along with either Jordan Bowden or Uros Plavsic coming alive, then that could be all the Vols need to lock this win up.

Bowden has to find his shot if the Vols want to make a postseason run, and that can all start here in South Carolina.

This could be a game that changes the Vols’ season with either a win or a loss. Tennessee needs a win if they hope to continue their hopes for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

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