Kansas Jayhawks vs Tennessee Volunteers Predictions: Doing Just Enough
After just barely sneaking by the Wisconsin Badgers on an overtime tip-drill rebound by Bobby Pettiford, the Kansas Jayhawks take on the Tennessee Volunteers in today's Battle 4 Atlantis title game.
Will the Jayhawks continue to struggle inside? Can they find a way to finish a game when they are ahead? Or will this be the first opportunity to see how they react to being behind, given the strengths of this Tennessee team?
Do you disagree with our assessment? Make sure you read them all and then hop over to the Discord or on Twitter to share your own thoughts.
Kyle Davis
Check out our Tennessee Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.
Derek Noll
Although completely different than KU’s 2021-22 title winning squad, this version of the Jayhawks also just seems to be able to find a way to win. And even though a comfortable win would be a nice cap to the holiday weekend, I just don’t see it. Old friend Rick Barnes knows a thing or two about Kansas and this game won’t be easy. If Kansas can just stifle those long runs teams like to go on against them, we can mark that as an improvement. That said, it’s still a title game, and this is Kansas so I’ll take KU to win.
Kansas 75, Tennessee 73.
Lucas Murphy
The Kansas Jayhawks miraculously pulled off a victory against the Wisconsin Badgers. I am still sitting on the edge of my seat trying to process Bobby Pettiford’s layup, but we are moving on and will take on the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols are coming off a win against the USC Trojans and look to steal a victory from KU. Tennessee will offer some experience but also size. That formula did not phase the Jayhawks when they played Duke but seemed to have issues against Wisconsin. The Volunteers are led by senior guard Josiah- Jordan James who is averaging 13.7 points per game. I expect this to be a good basketball game so with that being said there are a few things I am going to watch in this matchup. Who is willing to drive the basketball to the hoop other than Jalen Wilson? Wilson was 9-20 from the floor against Wisconsin and it was almost not enough even with his 29 points. I will take it even further and say who is willing to step up in the big moments? A similar scenario could happen where the Jayhawks are neck and neck with their opponent and Wilson may not be an option. The next item on my watchlist is free throws. This team yet again struggles to make their free throws. This is an area that will have to progress positively throughout the season. I believe Kansas will have a tough time but win in the end.
Kansas 75, Tennessee 70
Brendan Dzwierzynski
There’s almost a lingering feeling that a letdown game is coming for KU after two games in a row that took every ounce of effort to win, and especially after an emotional, taxing win over Wisconsin. I imagine this will be another close one, but I do think KU will have enough firepower to sneak away with a win. The biggest key for me is getting someone else to score consistently outside of Jalen Wilson. McCullar, Dick, doesn’t matter; just get a legitimate, consistent scoring threat and I think the Jayhawks will have enough to score the win.
Kansas 77, Tennessee 73.
Andy Mitts
I don't think that any of the games so far can be considered "letdown" games for the Jayhawks. Instead, this feels very much like a team that is still trying to figure itself out and is playing to the level of the competition. They are fortunate it hasn't come back to bite them yet. While this team definitely has toughness, it doesn't yet have that killer instinct that we saw at the end of last season. But that was something that took last year's team quite a while to develop, so I'm not worried yet.
Tennessee has the type of team that could give Kansas plenty of problems, but they are missing some pretty significant production, whether he plays at less than full strength or is completely out. I expect Kansas to do enough to get out of here with the win, but I'm much more interested in seeing if anyone down low can get going. Ernest Udeh or Zuby Ejiofor need to develop for this team to reach it's full potential, even if KJ Adams stays as the "starting" big man.
Kansas 67, Tennessee 65.
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