The Vols have racked up 164 assists through their 7-2 start and have committed 97 turnovers for a plus-1.69 margin per game that ranked seventh nationally entering Monday night's slate of contests. The Vols are 10th in the NET rankings that are used by the NCAA tournament selection committee. Tennessee slipped in Monday afternoon's Associated Press poll as a result of last Tuesday's 57-52 overtime loss to Texas Tech in New York City, falling from 13th to 18th. "In the game of basketball, if you take more shots than the other team, you'll probably make more shots than the other team, and you'll probably win the game." On offense, we want to get a shot every time, and if we don't, we'll be disappointed.
"I think it's really important to keep that up, especially as we get into the meat of our schedule," Vols junior guard/forward Josiah-Jordan James said. For the time being, however, protecting the ball is an early season trend paying dividends for the Volunteers. Yet that particular stat line from Saturday's 76-36 smothering of UNC Greensboro won't be as easy to replicate against Alabama, Auburn and the other expected big boys of this season's Southeastern Conference race. Dishing out 22 assists while committing only seven turnovers is definitely a recipe for a highly successful Tennessee men's basketball season.