Lucas Panzica discusses how the Tennessee Volunteers can take down the Kentucky Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
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00:00The Tennessee Vols are sweet 16 bound.
00:02They move on to the second weekend after accomplishing something over the weekend
00:06that has never been done in the history of the men's basketball program.
00:11And it also sets up one of the biggest games in program history this coming Friday.
00:19Hey, Lucas Panzeca here from 104.5 The Zone and A to Z Sports.
00:22That's right.
00:23The final score, Tennessee 67, UCLA 58 in Lexington in the second round.
00:29And the Vols head to the sweet 16 after a stifling defensive performance.
00:34Sakai Ziegler was in control.
00:36The Vols out rebounding UCLA by 10 and another red hot day from three
00:41by Vols guard Chaz Lanier, four of five from beyond the arc.
00:45And Rick Barnes now has led this team to its third consecutive sweet 16 appearance.
00:51That is the best streak in Tennessee men's basketball history.
00:56Yet another notch in the belt of Rick Barnes as the best head coach
01:00in Tennessee men's hoops history.
01:03And of course it sets up a matchup with a very familiar opponent.
01:07It's the Kentucky Wildcats who took care of business beating
01:10Illinois in the second round.
01:12They move on and that's who Tennessee will play at Lucas oil stadium on Friday,
01:16seven 40 Eastern six 40 central time for a spot in what would be only Tennessee's
01:22third ever elite eight appearance.
01:24Now, Tennessee obviously has faced Kentucky twice this season.
01:28Tennessee has overall been a better team than Kentucky.
01:31As far as the resumes are concerned, but the Vols dropped both matchups
01:35against the cats in the regular season.
01:38They say it's hard to beat a team three times in one year, but this
01:41game is really going to test that out.
01:43Now there was one very clear difference between these two teams in both of
01:48these matchups, and that was three point shooting Tennessee, when a stunning 11
01:53of 45 from beyond the arc in that first meeting in Knoxville, and then the Vols
01:57again, struggled to hit the three.
01:59In the meeting in Lexington with Chas Lanier's a Kai Ziegler and Jordan
02:03Ganey, all going over from beyond the arc in that game, Tennessee combined
02:08against Kentucky in the two games this year has shot just 22% from three.
02:13Meanwhile, Kentucky couldn't miss in those games.
02:15They shot a combined 50% in those two matchups.
02:20Tennessee has been a fantastic three point defending team all year long.
02:24One of the best, not just in the sec, but in the country, Kentucky
02:28seemed to be the kryptonite for that defensive mark of the Vols.
02:33We'll see if they can get that right this coming Friday, because Tennessee
02:37has been a red hot from beyond the arc.
02:39More specifically, Chas Lanier has been excellent shooting the three ball,
02:43really for the entirety of the post season sec tournament included Lanier.
02:48So far in the NCAA tournament, 10 of 18 from beyond the three point line, he is
02:53going to want to get right and right the wrongs from those first two Kentucky
02:58matchups in this sweet 16 battle in what amounts to the biggest Tennessee
03:02Kentucky men's basketball game in the history of the rivalry they've never
03:07met before in the NCAA tournament playing for a spot in the regional final.
03:12I don't think it's particularly close.
03:14This matchup has had some huge games over the years, whether in the regular
03:17season or in the sec tournament, but never in the big dance.
03:21So it is a huge moment for both programs.
03:24Tennessee has had a great run so far this season, not just for the men's
03:28basketball program, but athletically for the entire department.
03:32There is no other school in the country that can say they made the college
03:35football playoff, the men's basketball suite, 16, the women's basketball suite,
03:4016, and the college world series in the 2024 to 2025 calendar years.
03:45Tennessee is the only school in that category, but they're going to want to
03:49keep this run going against Kentucky on Friday and one of the biggest
03:53games in program history.