Four Things Iowa State Fans Need To Know About Tennessee

The Iowa State Cyclones are facing off against the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Mar 26, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes during a press conference ahead of the midwest regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have looked great thus far in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, defeating the Tennessee State Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats to advance to the Sweet 16.

As the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, they are set to face off against another SEC foe, the No. 6 seed Tennessee Volunteers. They have gotten here by defeating the Miami (OH) RedHawks and the Virginia Cavaliers.

This will be a competitive game for the Cyclones, who are in the Sweet 16 for the third time under head coach T.J. Otzelberger, but have yet to advance beyond that point. Will they do it against the Volunteers?

Here are four things all Iowa State fans need to know about Tennessee.

Some Ball Security Issues

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Nate Ament (10) rebounds a ball against the Virginia Cavaliers in the second half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Cyclones play a pressure defense, looking to turn opponents over as often as possible. That could come into play against a Volunteers squad that is susceptible to turning the ball over and doesn’t force many themselves.

Tennessee ranked 241st in turnover margin with a -0.6. They forced only 11.09 per game, which was 237th and ranked 195th with 11.7 turnovers per game. That is something Iowa State should be looking to take full advantage of.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie Impact

Mar 26, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Ja'kobi Gillespie (0) shoots during a practice session ahead of the Midwest regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Cyclones are led by one of the best point guards in the country, Tamin Lipsey. He is going to match up plenty throughout the evening against a very talented point guard in Ja’Kobi Gillespie.

He is one of the most impactful performers in men’s basketball this season. As shared by , he is the No. 5 most valuable player in the nation, behind only Cameron Boozer of the Duke Blue Devils, Yaxel Lendeborg of the Michigan Wolverines, Braden Smith of the Purdue Boilermakers and Jeremy Fears Jr. of the Michigan State Spartans. Iowa State star Joshua Jefferson is No. 6.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is the biggest reason why Tennessee has made a Sweet 16, yet very few people are talking about the impact he's having.

Gillespie rates as the 5th most valuable player in the country at https://t.co/cegyfz8ykZ. He's an efficient scorer at all levels and a… pic.twitter.com/h8Q8FdK3Mu

— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) March 24, 2026

Gillespie averaged 18.4 points, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game, making his presence felt on both ends.

Dominant Rebounders

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers center Felix Okpara (34) grabs a rebound against Virginia Cavaliers center Johann Grünloh (17) n the first half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Where the Cyclones are going to miss Jefferson the most is on the interior. This is a tough matchup for an Iowa State squad that will be relying heavily on Blake Buchanan and Dominykas Pleta to do all the heavy lifting on the interior.

Those two, along with Milan Momcilovic, are the only players listed at 6-foot-8 in the rotation right now, but Momcilovic isn’t very impactful on the interior. The Volunteers are a handful on the interior with Nate Ament, J.P Estrella, Felix Okpara and Jaylen Carey all listed at 6-foot-8 or taller.

They give Tennessee a massive advantage on the boards, contributing to the No. 2-ranked rebounding margin in the country at +12.8. They are relentless on the offensive boards, ranking second with 16.03 per game.

Free Throw Shooting Woes

Jan 7, 2026; Waco, Texas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) shoots a free throw during the second half against the Baylor Bears at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

If this game is close, it could very well be decided by which team can figure things out at the foul line in the clutch. This has been a worrisome area for Iowa State all season, and the Volunteers aren’t much better.

Tennessee has a free-throw shooting percentage of 69.4%, which is 279th in the nation. However, while the efficiency isn’t good, the frequency they get to the charity stripe is excellent.

The Volunteers are No. 54 with 23.7 attempts per game and 83rd with 16.4 makes. They get to and make more free throws per game than the Cyclones, but Iowa State has thrived at keeping opponents off the foul line.