Wisconsin @ Tennessee preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 21, 2016 ) Tennessee 62, Wisconsin 74

Tennessee dropped consecutive games to No. 10 Memphis and Cincinnati but not even a win over Jacksonville State could return smiles because senior point guard Lamonte Turner announced after the game that he was going to have season-ending shoulder surgery, thus ending his career with the Vols. That leaves coach Rick Barnes little time to find a replacement for his leader who ranks sixth in the nation in assist rate (42.3) before Wisconsin arrives Saturday.

Turner, who scored 1,086 career points, is tied for 10th in school history with 171 3-pointers and was averaging 12.3 points and 7.1 assists this season, had been battling shoulder problems for several years. “I cried when I came back in the locker room just knowing that was my last time stepping out there,” Turner said after the 75-53 win over the Gamecocks last Saturday. “I have cried plenty of times thinking about it and I have cried plenty of times through this injury.” Turner dished out 11 assists in the game, becoming the third player in Tennessee history to hand out 11 helpers in a game three times during a career. Wisconsin is coming off an 83-64 win over Milwaukee last Saturday behind a career-high 31 points and five 3-pointers from junior guard D'Mitrik Trice.

TV: 1:30 p.m. CBS

ABOUT WISCONSIN (6-5): Trice shot 11-of-14 from the floor and added four rebounds and five assists, Nate Reuvers matched a career high with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting and Ohio State transfer Micah Potter had 12 off the bench in his first game since becoming eligible. Trice had scored just 18 points in his last three games and hadn't topped 11 all season. The 6-11 Reuvers leads the team in scoring (15.2 points), rebounding (5.2) and blocks (2.5) - the last of which ranks 24th in the country and tied for third in the Big Ten. Kobe King (11.5 points) has seen his scoring average jump 7.2 points from last season despite going scoreless against Milwaukee.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (8-3): Senior Jordan Bowden (13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists) scored a game-high 19 points and junior John Fulkerson (11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 67.1 field-goal percentage) added 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Jacksonville State. Junior forward Yves Pons (11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks - second in the SEC) tied Tennessee's single-game record with six blocks and has rejected at least one shot in 11 straight games - the longest such streak by a Volunteer since Wayne Chism authored a 14-game block streak in 2009-10. Josiah-Jordan James (7.4 points, team-high 6.3 rebounds), a 6-6 freshman, ranks 14th in the SEC and first among freshmen in rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. The all-time series is tied 2-2 with the Volunteers winning the first two and the Badgers the last two, including a triumph at the 2016 Maui Invitational.

2. Tennessee leads the SEC and ranks ninth nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 57.2 points per game. The Volunteers are a perfect 23-for-23 at the free-throw line over its last two games.

3. Wisconsin averages 11.6 assists per game, 291st in the country. Trice is the only Badger who averages more than three per game.

PREDICTION: Tennessee 60, Wisconsin 54