Both Tennessee and Creighton come into the Sweet 16 after two scares in the second round. The Bluejays took down Oregon in 2OT, while the Volunteers survived a late run from Texas. Both teams are very well coached. This is setting up to be a great Sweet 16 matchup.
Creighton relies on the three point shot more than most teams. They used the deep ball to pull away from the Ducks in double overtime. They are 36th in the country in three point percentage. Trey Alexander, Baylor Scheierman, and Steven Ashworth are all capable of taking over games and can get hot from deep. Down low they are anchored by Ryan Kalkbrenner. The seven footer had 19 pts and 14 rebs last game. He had 23 & 8 in round one against Akron. All this to say their offense is very good, ranking 31st in the country in points per game.
It’s no secret that Tennessee’s best player is SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht. He is coming off a poor 5-18 shooting performance against Texas. However, he still finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. They also have a great point guard in Zakai Zeigler. The junior is a Defensive Player of the Year finalist and played all 40 minutes in the R32 vs. Texas. It’s no secret the Vols emphasize defense. They are 47th in scoring defense and 31st in defending the perimeter. Tennessee will be looking to get back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2010.
