Volunteer State Rivalry: Memphis at Tennessee

Memphis Tigers at Tennessee Volunteers, Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN
Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 9:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Tennessee -6
Current Line: Tennessee -7
Opening Total: 147 1/2
Current Total: 145
Money Line: Tennessee -300 / Memphis +250

The Memphis Tigers go on the road for the first time this season at in-state rival the Tennessee Volunteers. The Volunteers are 7 point home favorites.

The #22 11-2 Memphis Tigers travel to Knoxville to take on their in-state rivals the Tennessee Volunteers who are 9-4. This is Memphis’s first true road game of the season though they have played two neutral site games in Tupelo, MS against LSU and in New York against Kansas. They have two losses on the season to Kansas and Georgetown. They have wins on the season against Miami (FL), LSU, and Western Kentucky. Tennessee won their first 7 games of the season including wins over Villanova and Pittsburgh. They have lost 4 of their last 6 games with losses to Oakland, Charlotte, USC, and Charleston. This is Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl’s last game before he has to serve an 8 game suspension in SEC games because of NCAA violations. Tennessee leads the overall series against Memphis 13-8. The Volunteers won last year in Memphis 66-59. Though Memphis has won a lot of games straight up they are only 2-8 ATS this year. Tennessee is 5-7 ATS this year.

Memphis is battling injuries and possible suspensions for this game against Tennessee. Forward Tarik Black nearly left the bench in a near brawl in Memphis’s last game a 91-86 win over Tennessee St. He won’t be suspended for this game against Tennessee but could be later. Forward Charles Carmouche is listed as probable with an illness. The Tigers are very young with freshmen getting more than 60% of the minutes. Freshman Will Barton leads the team in scoring with 12.8 points a game. He also averages 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1.5 steals a game. Junior guard/forward Wesley Witherspoon averages 12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds to lead the team, 1.5 assists, and 1.6 steals a game. He is shooting 55% from 3 point range, but doesn’t attempt that many 3 pointers. Joe Jackson scores 10.8 points, and leads the team in assists with 4.3 a game. Carmouche leads the team in steals with 1.9 a game. Black and Forward Will Coleman are tied for the team lead in blocks with 1.3 a game. Memphis outscoring opponents 81-70 on the season. The Tigers shoot 45.6% from the field and 35.4% from 3-point range. Tiger opponents shoot 41.3% from the field. The Tigers make 70.7% of their free throws. They average 37.8 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +1.9. The Tigers average 17.1 assists and 15.8 turnovers a game. They force 17.2 turnovers a game on defense. Memphis averages 10.1 steals and 5.6 blocks a game.

Tennessee doesn’t have any significant injuries but the team has fallen apart after a hot start. They have lost 4 out of 6 games, and the teams two wins are a 66-65 victory over Belmont, and a 68-62 win over Tennessee-Martin. Both games were in Knoxville. the Vols beat Belmont earlier in the season by 9 points in Knoxville. Tennessee-Martin lost by 60 at Ohio St in their previous game. Guard Scotty Hopson leads the team in scoring with 16.8 points a game. Tobias Harris averages 15 points, and 6.6 rebounds a game. Cameron Tatum averages 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists a game. Guard Melvin Goins leads the team in assists with 2.8 a game and steals with 1.8 a game. John Fields leads the team in blocks with 1.5 a game. The Volunteers are outscoring opponents 74-68 on the year. They are shooting 43.4% from the field and 30.3% from 3-point range. The Vols are holding opponents to 39.8% shooting form the field. The Volunteers shoot 68.5% from the free throw line. Theya verage 39.9 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +5.9. They average 13.1 assists and 14.5 turnovers a game. They force 14.6 turnovers a game on defense. They average 6.8 steals and 4.0 blocks a game.

It will be interesting to see how Tennessee plays knowing Bruce Pearl isn’t going to be the coach for the next 8 games. These teams don’t like each other and compete for the same recruits each season. Both teams force a lot of turnovers and are pretty good at rebounding. I think it will be a close game played in the 60’s. Memphis would prefer a game played in the mid to upper 70’s.