An outside shot for the Vols
If Tennessee relies on the outside shot against MSU, it likely won't be enough
The "Instant Intel" series is designed to immediately respond to a team's victory by looking ahead to its next opponent.
Tennessee entered its Sweet 16 matchup against Ohio State with one goal: Make Evan Turner work for a full 40 minutes. The 6-foot-7 guard uses 34.3 percent of the Buckeyes' possessions (by far, the most on the squad), and both UC Santa Barbara and Georgia Tech had ideas for stopping him: either by hounding Turner with smaller guards the entire length of the court, or by using pressure defense to force the ball out of the junior's hands. But both of those plans worked to little avail.
So Tennessee opted to try a mixture of both strategies: Pressure Turner with Melvin Goins, Cameron Tatum and Josh Bone (all guards), then switch to the long arms of J.P. Prince and force Turner to give up the ball.
During the first half, however, UT's plan seemed shaky as the Buckeyes proved they weren't just Evan Turner and the Villainettes. Turner's backup band had names: William Buford had 12 points and Jeremie Simmons had 9 while the lead Villain -- Turner -- added 10. The Buckeyes shot 55.6 percent in the first 20 minutes and were already scheduling their Saturday workout.
To read about the tacts the Vols and Spartans will take into Sunday, and about who has the edge, you must be an ESPN Insider.
-
ESPN The Magazine subscribers
-
Need more information?
SPONSORED HEADLINES
MORE MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL HEADLINES
- Report: Coach K considering Team USA return
- Washington's Wilcox undergoes foot surgery
- Ex-coach Alford, New Mexico agree on buyout
- Kansas St. adds former Hoyas forward Bolden
MOST SENT STORIES ON ESPN.COM
NCAA TOURNAMENT

NCAA Tournament home page
STORIES
- College Basketball Nation home
- Forde: Perfectly flawed Spartans are back
- O'Neil: Smith's game honors late father
- Katz: Mazzulla turns in game of his life
- Katz: Despite loss, Kentucky is back
- Schlabach: Butler knows Final Four path
- Schlabach: Butler's best defense? Guards
- Katz: Huggins, Calipari show ability to mesh
- Forde: Izzo continues to work his magic
- O'Neil: Duke isn't afraid to ugly it up
- Forde: A Prince of an effort on defense
- O'Neil: Baylor believes something special
- Forde: UNI's Jacobson stays grounded
- O'Neil: Jardine brings flash to Orange
- Katz: Huskies end up where they expected
- O'Neil: Cornell shatters glass ceiling
- Forde: Picking sides never easier
- Leung: Saint Mary's rings in Sweet 16
- Forde: Early winners and losers
- Katz: Will Sweet 16 be just as wild?
- Wojciechowski: A maddening March
- O'Neil: Butler's attitude gives him an edge
- Forde: Best- and worst-case scenarios
- Schlabach: Historically entertaining weekend
OPENING WEEKEND
- Katz: Samhan leads Gaels to the big time
- O'Neil: Johnson's hand doing fine
- Bennett: Red-hot Big Red keeps on rolling
- Low: Kentucky hitting its stride
SELECTION SUNDAY
- Forde Minutes: Big Dance edition
- Katz: Committee chair explains tough calls
- O'Neil: Behind the bracket
VIDEOS
- Vitale: East | Midwest | South | West
- Andy Katz: Sweet 16 breakdown
- Mike And Mike: Bracket reactions
- Lasting opening-weekend impressions
- What happened to KU?
- WVU thriving with physicality
- Can Kentucky run through the field?
- Looking at K-State's Final Four chances
TOURNEY TOOLS
- Tournament Challenge
- Lunardi's team-by-team breakdowns
- Lipscomb/Fallica: Bracket bits to chew on
- By the numbers: NCAA tournament 1-65
- Brackets: HTML | GIF | PDF
INSIDER
- Sweet 16 simulation: Duke wins it all
- Experts' Roundtable: 8 burning questions
- Dance Lessons: How Butler can do it again
- Dance Lessons: Misses are key for UK, WVU
- Lundblad/McCrystal: Title formula
ESPN COLLEGE BASKETBALL ENCYCLOPEDIA
- Insider: How will two freshmen help Florida?
- Insider: Will Kentucky live up to the hype?
- Insider: Memphis a top-15 team in '13-14?
- Ford: Why Wiggins would go No. 1 in NBA draft
- Recruiting: Most impressive on AAU circuit?
