The Official #22 Tennessee vs. Butler Game Thread, 7:30 PM ET, ESPN2

#1

YankeeVol

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#1
BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS

#22 Tennessee Volunteers: 2-1 (0-0 SEC)
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Butler Bulldogs: 3-1 (0-0 BIGE)
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GAME 4 | TENNESSEE vs. BUTLER - Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Paradise Island, Bahamas | Imperial Arena (3,500)


Line: UT -7
O/U: 134

TV: ESPN2 / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM: 85 / Internet: 961
Online: WatchESPN.com


Butler Game Notes

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#2
#2
THE SERIES

• Tennessee trails its all-time series with Butler, 2-3, dating to 1958.
• The programs have met twice previously at neutral sites, with Butler winning in New York City in 2006 and UT winning in the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
• The Volunteers are 30-27 all-time against current members of the Big East Conference.
• Rick Barnes is 42-50 as a head coach vs. the current Big East configuration—which differs from his tenure as the head coach at Providence (1988-94)—and he is 0-2 against Butler.
• During Tennessee's trip to Indy for last season's NCAA Tournament, the Vols practiced at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• First-year Butler Strength & Conditioning coach Tyler Watson recently spent two seasons (2019-21) as the director of women's basketball sports performance on Kellie Harper's staff at Tennessee.
 
#3
#3
SCOUTING REPORT

• Senior big man Uroš Plavšic suffered a right ankle injury early in Tennessee's game vs. Colorado Nov. 13. He sat out the Florida Gulf Coast game last Wednesday and is aiming to return to against Butler.
• Senior wing Josiah-Jordan James is shooting an SEC-best .526 from 3-point range this season (10 of 19).
• Santiago Vescovi needs only two 3-pointers to become the seventh Vol ever to make 200.
• With Zakai Zeigler as the primary defender, opponents this season are shooting 5-for-23 (.217).
• According to KenPom, the Vols rank fourth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing only 86.5 points per 100 possessions.
• 57.1 percent of Tennessee's shot attempts this season have been 3-pointers. That's the highest rate in the country. And 48.5 percent of UT's made field goals have been from beyond the arc.
• The Volunteers are averaging 13.7 steals per game and are scoring 19.3 points per game off turnovers.
• Tennessee's projected starters—Tyreke Key, Santiago Vescovi, Julian Phillips, Josiah-Jordan James and Olivier Nkamhoua—combine to account for 370 games played, 280 starts and a staggering 3,785 collegiate points scored.
 
#4
#4
THURSDAY SCENARIOS

• The Vols are a perfect 2-0 all-time against BYU, with home wins in 1957 and 1980.
• Tennessee owns a 9-7 all-time record against current members of the West Coast Conference. The Vols defeated WCC powerhouse Gonzaga in exhibition play Oct. 28.
• The Big Orange lead their all-time series with Southern Cal, 4-3, dating to 1967. The programs have never met at a neutral site.
• The Vols own a 22-13 all-time record against current members of the Pac 12 Conference. UT fell to Colorado earlier this season.
• Looking ahead to Friday, possible opponents for the Vols include Dayton, Kansas, NC State or Wisconsin.
 
#5
#5
ABOUT BUTLER

• In its first four games of the season, Butler (3-1) picked up three home wins over mid-major opponents (New Orleans, Saint Francis and The Citadel), while falling on the road at Penn State last week, 68-62.
• Former longtime Ohio State head coach Thad Matta is in his first season at the helm of the Butler program. Matta, who was the head coach at Ohio State from 2004-17, is a 1990 graduate of Butler University and previously was the program's head coach during the 2000-01 season.
• Now in his 18th year as a college head coach, Matta is 442-155 (.740) overall in stints at Ohio State, Xavier and Butler.
• Two of Matta's former players from his time at Ohio State are members of Butler's basketball support staff. Greg Oden, a Buckeye during the 2006-07 season and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, is Butler's Director of Basketball Operations. Jon Diebler, who played at Ohio State from 2007-11, is Butler's Director of Recruiting.
• Butler was picked to finish eighth in the 11-team Big East in the conference's coaches preseason poll. Junior guard Chuck Harris was named a preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention.
• Harris, Butler's leading scorer through four games with a 15.8 ppg mark, has been the Bulldogs' leading scorer during each of the past two seasons.
• Butler's leading rebounder and fourth-leading scorer is NC State transfer center Manny Bates, who is averaging 13.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg. Bates was a two-year starter for the Wolfpack during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons (missed last season due to injury) and tallied 147 blocked shots during his career, which ranks fourth in program history at NC State.
 
#8
#8
• With Zakai Zeigler as the primary defender, opponents this season are shooting 5-for-23 (.217).

That is an odd stat. I wonder if they meant to say 3-point shooting attempts? I doubt that opponents have only made 5 FGs with ZZ in games.
 
#9
#9
THE SERIES

• Tennessee trails its all-time series with Butler, 2-3, dating to 1958.
• The programs have met twice previously at neutral sites, with Butler winning in New York City in 2006 and UT winning in the 2008 NCAA Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
• The Volunteers are 30-27 all-time against current members of the Big East Conference.
• Rick Barnes is 42-50 as a head coach vs. the current Big East configuration—which differs from his tenure as the head coach at Providence (1988-94)—and he is 0-2 against Butler.
• During Tennessee's trip to Indy for last season's NCAA Tournament, the Vols practiced at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• First-year Butler Strength & Conditioning coach Tyler Watson recently spent two seasons (2019-21) as the director of women's basketball sports performance on Kellie Harper's staff at Tennessee.


Former Hiwassee College men's head coach Hugh Watson has a son named Tyler and I wonder if this is the same guy.
 
#10
#10
I didn't realize Thad Matta was back coaching. We owe that m-f'r



I was watching A Locked On Vols podcast about this tournament and Issac Schrade of Locked On College Basketball was talking about a possible Kansas-Tennessee championship game match up on Friday.
 
#14
#14
SCOUTING REPORT

• Senior big man Uroš Plavšic suffered a right ankle injury early in Tennessee's game vs. Colorado Nov. 13. He sat out the Florida Gulf Coast game last Wednesday and is aiming to return to against Butler.
• Senior wing Josiah-Jordan James is shooting an SEC-best .526 from 3-point range this season (10 of 19).
• Santiago Vescovi needs only two 3-pointers to become the seventh Vol ever to make 200.
• With Zakai Zeigler as the primary defender, opponents this season are shooting 5-for-23 (.217).
• According to KenPom, the Vols rank fourth in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing only 86.5 points per 100 possessions.
• 57.1 percent of Tennessee's shot attempts this season have been 3-pointers. That's the highest rate in the country. And 48.5 percent of UT's made field goals have been from beyond the arc.
• The Volunteers are averaging 13.7 steals per game and are scoring 19.3 points per game off turnovers.
• Tennessee's projected starters—Tyreke Key, Santiago Vescovi, Julian Phillips, Josiah-Jordan James and Olivier Nkamhoua—combine to account for 370 games played, 280 starts and a staggering 3,785 collegiate points scored.
What's the scouting report on Butler?
 
#18
#18
I went to the game @ Butler in 2015 and still have a bad taste in my mouth.

I've been to Hinkle for Butler games, HS playoff games etc but being there as an opposing fan wasn't something I was prepared for. It's genuinely a really hostile environment and as somebody who generally roots for Butler on the side, I hated leaving with a L.
 
#20
#20
I went to the game @ Butler in 2015 and still have a bad taste in my mouth.

I've been to Hinkle for Butler games, HS playoff games etc but being there as an opposing fan wasn't something I was prepared for. It's genuinely a really hostile environment and as somebody who generally roots for Butler on the side, I hated leaving with a L.
It's beautiful arena. Very old but historic. But UT gets revenge and wins 87-69 tonight.
 
#22
#22
Did a little scouting. Bulter is probably going to be a team in the 40-50 group. Perhaps on the bubble for the tourney.

New coach. Leading scoring returns. Four key players back. 3-4 portal transfers who can help.

Probably playing the old Ohio State type game. They are good enough to let us beat ourselves.

My guess is a game in the 60's scoring. If we hitting from perimeter in the funny Atlantis ballroom, I will guess Vols 69, Bulldogs 64. If we are forced to score from the blocks, probably looking at an L.
 
#23
#23
Lovely. BYU got hot in the final 2 minutes to close the gap and now it’s going to be a foul fest for the next 20 minutes.
 

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