Kansas Jayhawks vs Tennessee Volunteers Predictions: Make Your Shots

The Kansas Jayhawks ran into a brick wall against the Marquette Golden Eagles, whether you consider it to be a shooting slump or the Marquette defense. But they don't have a lot of time to dwell on that performance, as another tenacious defense and 3-point shooting team is waiting in the Tennessee Volunteers.

We didn't get the matchup against Purdue that we were hoping for, but this is still a quality opponent and a huge test for Kansas early in the season. Will Kansas turn around their shooting, or will the slump continue?

Do you disagree with our assessment? Make sure you read them all and then hope 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

Watching Kansas play against another smothering defense is probably not how most Jayhawk fans envisioned spending their day before Thanksgiving but that’s likely what we’ll get. If KU wants to have any chance, they have to take care of the ball much better than they did against Marquette when they turned in over 18 times, wilting under the pressure. Bill Self will look to the game that Purdue big man Zach Edey had against the Volunteers, going seven of ten from the field but getting to the free throw stripe 17 times. The foul-filled game will be something that both teams will want to avoid, but if Dickinson can do anything close to what Edey did and actually convert his free throws (Edey missed eight), then I can see KU salvaging the final game of this tournament and going into Thanksgiving with some positive momentum. 

Kansas 77, Tennessee 73.

Brendan Dzwierzynski

 I genuinely believe in and trust in KU’s ability to bounce back from a loss like the one to Marquette, but I also think it’s entirely fair to be concerned about another matchup against a defense that can be excruciating to face. This boils down to my belief that Kansas isn’t going to commit 18 turnovers for a second consecutive game, and someone will shoot/score the ball well outside of Kevin McCullar and Hunter Dickinson. I really don’t care who it is, either, it’s just got to be someone because those two can’t shoulder the entire offensive load. I’ll take the Jayhawks in a rebound spot, but I feel like this one may be ugly. 

Kansas 70, Tennessee 68.

Andy Mitts

With the exception of Kevin McCullar, the Jayhawks were just completely off last night. Sure Hunter Dickinson played ok, but he wasn't his usual explosive self, and everyone else struggled from the field. I don't know how much of that gets fixed in 14 hours, so the main hope is that Tennessee is just as tired and prone to making mistakes as the Jayhawks are.

McCullar is going to get his this game, and Dickinson has to shoot better in this one, but I'm looking to Dajuan Harris to step up and score like he did against Kentucky and KJ Adams to improve his shot selection. And of course they have to fix the turnovers. Keep it down to 10-12 and I think they pull this out.

Kansas 71, Tennessee 68.

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