Scouting Tennessee
Tennessee has taken the approach of playing anyone, anywhere this season.
The No. 12-ranked Volunteers are off to a 7-3 start with wins at Wisconsin, vs. Syracuse and vs. Illinois. Tennessee's three losses were against Purdue and Kansas in Hawaii and at North Carolina.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, who is from Hickory, N.C., beat up Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last March, and then lost at North Carolina on Nov. 29 after a shockingly bad first half, and now play NC State at 10 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2 in San Antonio, Texas.
Overview
Tennessee returns three starters, a key reserve and welcomed one of the top transfers in Northern Colorado senior small forward Dalton Knecht.
Guards Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler are veterans, as is forward Josiah-Jordan James. The three have a combined 13 years of experience counting this season.
Add in rapidly improving junior center Jonas Aidoo and the Volunteers have a good nucleus back from last year’s 24-10 squad that reached the Sweet 16.
Rankings
Tennessee is No. 12 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 55.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Volunteers ranked No. 10 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 49.
KenPom.com has Tennessee at No. 8, and NCSU checks in at No. 72 this season.
RealtimeRPI.com has Tennessee was ranked No. 3 in the country, and NC State is No. 50.
Shooting
Tennessee averaged 78.1 points per game and shot 44.0 percent from the field, 32.5 percent on three-pointers and 76.3 percent from the field this season.
James surprisingly leads the squad with 39.4 percent on three-pointers (13 of 33) and Knecht is second at 38.8 percent.
Rebounding
The Volunteers are averaging 39.4 rebounds per game and have a plus-4.3 rebounding margin.
Aidoo leads UT with 7.5 rebounds per game and a team-best 23 offensive rebounds, and James is chipping in 6.7 boards a game.
Defense
UT is allowing 67.0 points per game, with opponents shooting 37.7 percent from the field and 29.9 percent on three-pointers.
Aidoo has a team-best 18 blocks and four players are in double figures for steals, with James leading the way with 16.
Depth
Tennessee has former starter Jahmai Mashack offering defense and athleticism on the wing, South Carolina-Upstate transfer wing Jordan Gainey and post player Tobe Awaka coming off the bench.
The 6-3, 176-pound Gainey, the son of Tennessee assistant coach Justin Gainey, who played and was director of operation at NC State, is averaging 10.0 points in 22.5 minutes per game. He’s 18 of 55 percent from three-point range for 32.7 percent. He averaged 15.2 points per game a year ago at South Carolina-Upstate.
The 6-4, 201-pound Mashack is averaging 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game his junior year. Sophomore Tobe Awaka, who is 6-8 and 250 pounds, is adding 4.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 10.7 minutes a contest.
Star Watch
Tennessee forward Dalton Knecht understands how to get a bucket.
The 6-foot-6, 204-pounder has proven he isn’t a small-school wonder from Northern Colorado. He poured in 37 points in the 100-92 loss at North Carolina, and has scored in double figures in every game but this past Tuesday against Georgia Southern. Knecht also had 24 points and five rebounds in the 80-70 win at Wisconsin on Nov. 10.
Knecht scored at least 20 points in 18 games last year, and he had five double-doubles for points and rebounds. He had a season-high 34 points in a 73-67 win over Idaho on Jan. 21.
Knecht started his college career at Northeastern Junior College in Colorado in 2019-21. He averaged 23.9 points and 7.5 rebounds his sophomore year, and made the move to Northern Colorado.
Knecht averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game his junior year at Northern Colorado. He then exploded for 20.2 points and 7.2 rebounds a contest his senior year, and shot 38.1 percent on three-pointers. Knecht entered the transfer portal and was a hot item, picking Tennessee.
Knecht gives Tennessee four shot-makers around center Aidoo, but isn’t known for his defense.
Likely Starters
NC State
PG — 0 DJ Horne (6-1, 175, R-Sr., 13.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.2 spg)
SG — 1 Jayden Taylor (6-4, 195, Jr., 14.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.8 spg)
G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Sr., 13.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.1 apg)
PF — 11 Dennis Parker (6-6, 205, Fr., 6.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.9 apg, 1.2 apg)
C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Sr., 13.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.6 apg)
Tennessee
PG — 5 Zakai Zeigler (5-9, 171, Jr., 5.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.1 spg)
SG — 25 Santiago Vescovi (6-3, 192, Sr., 7.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 spg)
SF — 30 Josiah-Jordan James (6-6, 224, Sr., 10.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.6 spg)
F — 3 Dalton Knecht (6-6, 204, Sr., 18.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.7 apg)
C — 0 Jonas Aidoo (6-11, 241, Jr., 12.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.8 bpg)
Numbers Of Note
5 Jersey's retired by Tennessee — Bernard King (1974-77), Ernie Grunfeld (1973-77), Allan Houston (1989-93), Dale Ellis (1979-83) and Chris Lofton (2004-08).
25 NCAA Tournament trips for Tennessee, with 16 of them coming since 1998. Only one squad has reached the Elite Eight, which was 2010.
344 Career assists for former NC State point guard Justin Gainey from 1996-00, who is now an assistant coach at Tennessee. Gainey was recruited by Les Robinson, played for Herb Sendek, and then was video manager and director of operations for Sidney Lowe.
Game Within The Game: Tennessee's Jonas Aidoo vs. NC State's D.J. Burns
Tennessee junior center Jonas Aidoo is starting to show why he was a covered post-graduate recruit in the class of 2021.
Aidoo attended Durham (N.C.) Academy and was a mid-major target. Instead of going to college, he elected to spend a post-graduate year at Charlotte Liberty Heights, and the move paid off. Rivals.com ranked the 6-11, 240-pounder as a five-star prospect and No. 25 overall in the class of 2021.
Aidoo originally signed with Marquette thanks to the efforts of Golden Eagles assistant coach Justin Gainey. However, Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski and staff were fired and Aidoo opened up his recruitment again. Gainey was hired by Tennessee coach Rick Barnes, and Aidoo started to look at the Volunteers.
Aidoo picked Tennessee the second time around, but he wasn’t overly needed as a freshman. He averaged 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game. Aidoo’s role grew a little bit last year, and he increased to 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18.3 minutes a contest.
With the center position his, Aidoo has flourished this season, and especially in the last five games. He is coming off getting 29 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes in the win over Georgia Southern. He also had 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the 86-79 win vs. Illinois on Dec. 9.
Aidoo will often go against NC State sixth-year senior center D.J. Burns, who started his college career at Tennessee. He enrolled early at Tennessee and redshirted, and then transferred to Winthrop. Coach Barnes was the Volunteers coach at the time.
The 6-9, 275-pound Burns is shooting 53.4 percent from the field and averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season.
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral
Follow on Instagram/Threads:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
