No. 20 Tennessee will be coming off a long layoff and a three-game losing streak when it welcomes No. 11 Louisville to Knoxville on Tuesday night.
There will be some changes in store for the Volunteers (7-3). Most notably, freshman DeWayne Brown II will make his first start, replacing junior Cade Phillips, who will miss the remainder of the season due to an injured left shoulder. In eight games off the bench, the 6-foot-8 forward has averaged 5.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
When asked Monday why Brown will get the start over other forwards with better stats, coach Rick Barnes told reporters the freshman earned the job by being consistent.
“Everybody has shown glimpses of this or that,” the coach said. “We want to see consistency.”
The move comes as Tennessee has not played since falling 75-62 to then-No. 14 Illinois in Nashville on Dec. 6. That game was the last of five straight games away from Thompson-Boling Arena, where Tennessee is 5-0 this season. The Volunteers have won 41 consecutive home games against nonconference foes, with their last loss coming from Wisconsin on Dec. 28, 2019.
After the Illini loss, Barnes questioned whether his players understood what it took to play winning basketball, adding his team had not played well since beating then-No. 3 Houston in the Players Era men’s tournament on Nov. 25.
“I think what happens is some guys play the game (and) other guys know how to work the game,” Barnes said after the Illini loss.
The Cardinals (9-1) have won two straight, including easily handling Memphis at home on Saturday, 99-73. Louisville shot 55.6% from the field (30 of 54) and knocked down 51.4% of its 3-pointers (18 of 35), both season highs.
Coach Pat Kelsey said after the win that his team will have a short window to get ready for one of the most physical teams in the country. His team’s only loss this season came at Arkansas on Dec. 3, with the Razorbacks taking advantage of Louisville’s 25 fouls to go 27-for-35 from the foul line and beat the Cardinals 89-80.
In their last two games, the Volunteers have made just 16 of 33 shots from the charity stripe.
Similar to Arkansas, Tennessee is big inside, with 6-foot-11 center Felix Okpara (7.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and 6-foot-10 freshman forward Nate Ament (16.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg). The Volunteers also have 6-foot-11 forward J.P. Estrella (11.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) off the bench.
The Cardinals could get a boost inside from Kasean Pryor to help 6-foot-11 Sananda Fru (10.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg). The 6-foot-9 senior, who missed most of last season due to a knee injury, scored a season-high 11 points in the win against Memphis. His 11 minutes Saturday were the most he’s played this season since getting 16 minutes of court time in his season debut against Jackson State on Nov. 6.
“He went in, he guarded his butt off,” Kelsey said of Pryor. “He was on his assignments. He was playing hard. He’s making plays.”
Both teams are led by senior guards, with Ja’Kobi Gillespie averaging 17.3 points for the Volunteers, while Ryan Conwell averages 19.4 for Louisville.
Tuesday’s game will also feature two of the nation’s most touted freshmen. Besides Tennessee’s Ament, a five-star recruit who has scored 18 or more points six times this season, Louisville features 6-foot-5 guard Mikel Brown Jr. (16.6 ppg), another five-star who dished out five or more assists six times this season.
