At 3:35 P.M. on Saturday, 14-seed Ohio tips off against 6-seed Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament. The Ohio Bobcats are arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament so far, having ousted third-seeded Georgetown in the first round with a decisive 97-83 win.
The Volunteers, meanwhile, survived San Diego State to advance to the second round of the tournament. Our Tennessee blog, Rocky Top Talk, has a full preview:
If we play defense the way we've played defense all year, we're going to win and advance. Ohio caught Georgetown off guard and shot lights out. Now they're going to catch a Tennessee team that's ready for them, who will do a much better job on the defensive end. Length bothers shooters: Tennessee's very best team in 2008 got blown out by Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen, because they put bigger bodies on Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith in an extended 2-3 zone, and never allowed them a good look. Whether we go to an extended zone or play man-to-man, Pearl will have us ready - bother the shooters, bother Ohio, and take advantage of the mismatch in the paint.
Check the rest of the post for more. Also, Rocky Top Talk has set up a live game thread. Jump in there and say something.