Tennessee Volunteers vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs: stat comparison

by Joel Hollingsworth on Feb 25, 2009 6:52 AM EST in Tennessee Volunteer Basketball

Use whatever metaphor you want, Tennessee (16-10, 7-5) really needs to win its game tonight against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-10, 7-5). The Vols are reeling after back to back losses, including an embarrassment at the hands of rival Kentucky this past weekend. Facing four guards and the nation's best shot blocker in a must-win game is a downright frightening scenario for Tennessee fans.

Observations from the stats

Tennessee's field goal percentage defense is atrocious. What causes that? Who knows? Well, perhaps we can rebound against them, although with all of those guards hitting eight three-pointers per game, you know they're taking and missing a bunch more of them and that those rebounds tend to go conveniently right over the heads of our defenders packed down low. Scotty Hopson, Bobby Maze, Josh Tabb, stay between the shooter and the basket, por favor.

Bulldog players to watch

Jarvis Varnado is currently averaging five blocks per game. Our guys down low will need to mix up interior passing, pump fakes, slams, and quick moves to keep him off balance.

Other Stuff

KenPom's prediction: Tennessee wins 79-70, with an 80% chance of winning. We keep surprising Pomeroy, though, so you know.

The line ups

Tennessee		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
C	4 Wayne Chism	6-9	242	Jr.	13.1	8.4	1.3
F	1 Tyler Smith	6-7	215	Jr.	17.2	5.7	3.4
G	30 J.P. Prince	6-7	205	Jr.	9.7	4.0	3.1
G	32 Scotty Hopson	6-7	185	Fr.	9.1	2.3	1.1
G	3 Bobby Maze	6-2	185	Jr.	8.4	2.4	3.3
Mississippi State		Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG
C	32 Jarvis Varnado	6-9	210	Jr.	13.3	9.3	0.9
G	25 Phil Turner	6-3	170	So.	8.6	5.0	1.6
G	3 Dee Bost	6-2	170	Fr.	11.3	3.3	3.4
G	22 Barry Stewart	6-3	170	Jr.	11.6	3.9	1.8
G	2 Ravern Johnson	6-7	175	So.	12.4	3.5	1.3

The stats

KEY STATS COMPARISON
Category	Rank	Actual	Rank	Actual
Scoring Offense	27	78.3	57	75.2
Scoring Defense	284	72.5	196	68.7
Scoring Margin	79	5.8	69	6.6
Field-Goal Percentage	98	45.2	183	43.5
Field-Goal Percentage Defense	230	44.3	20	39.0
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game	140	6.5	20	8.4
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage	268	30.6	75	36.7
Three Pt FG Defense	122	33.3	203	34.7
Free-Throw Percentage	197	67.9	103	70.8
Rebound Margin	68	3.3	224	-1.0
Assists Per Game	22	16.1	188	12.8
Assist Turnover Ratio	32	1.18	209	0.88
Blocked Shots Per Game	120	3.6	1	8.2
Steals Per Game	139	7.0	80	7.6
Turnovers Per Game	143	13.6	210	14.4
Turnover Margin	74	1.8	166	0.0
Personal Fouls Per Game	241	19.4	59	16.8

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Category	Player	Rank	Actual	Player	Rank	Actual
Points PG	Tyler Smith	100	17.2
FG%				Jarvis Varnado	41	55.8
3-Point FG PG
3-Point FG%
FT %
Rebounds PG	Wayne Chism	53	8.4	Jarvis Varnado	28	9.3
Assists PG
Blocks PG				Jarvis Varnado	1	5.0
Steals PG
Assist-TO Ratio	Bobby Maze	66	2.0