LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On the heels of the game and the No. 1 win of the Pat Kelsey era, the Louisville men’s basketball program is getting its first real test of the young 2024-25 season, with No. 12 Tennessee advancing to the KFC Yum. ! Center this weekend.

Here are the top three things Cardinals fans need to know about the Volunteers ahead of their matchup this Saturday at 12:00 pm EST:

Vols defense leads the way

Most well-versed college basketball fans know it’s a guard game. If you’re going to be a serious contender in a power conference or even a national championship, you need a strong defenseman. Well, Tennessee has just that.

For the Volunteers, it all starts with veteran guard Zakai Zeigler. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound guard is coming off a stellar 2023-24 season, one in which he was named First Team All-SEC and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. In 36 games last year, he averaged 11.8 points, 6.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game, on 39.3/34.4/70.6 shots. He is the definition of a court general on both ends of the court.

Zeigler also has excellent left and right hands in Chaz Lanier and Jahmai Mashack, and they complement each other.

Lanier, a transfer from North Florida, is a sharpshooter who routinely torched opposing teams last season. The 6-foot-4, 175-pound guard averaged a whopping 19.7 points per game last season while shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 44.0 percent from deep. Their defense falls a little behind (a lot), but their scoring ability makes up for it.

As for Mashack, he is on the other end of the spectrum and is a tenacious defender. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound guard has no problem defending from the 1 through the 5, and while his 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks per game last season might not suggest that, his impact goes beyond the sheet of statistics. He leaves something to be desired as a scorer, averaging just 4.5 points last year, but scored 10 points in the Vols’ season opener against Gardner-Webb.

Off the bench, Tennessee also has a solid option on defense in Jordan Gainey. While he scored just 6.8 points per game last season, he averaged 15.2 per game as a senior at USC Upstate and scored 16 points off the bench against Gardner-Webb.

Potential questions still pending in Tennessee front court

While Tennessee is a team that relies on its backcourt play with established options, down in the paint, the Vols aren’t as reliable. Sure, they have the potential to be great here. But some doubts also arise regarding the floor area in general.

It starts with the fact that UT lost its leading rebounder, leading shot blocker and third-leading scorer to the transfer portal, as center Jonas Aidoo is now at Arkansas.

Felix Okpara is now the middle man for Tennessee, coming over from Ohio State during the offseason. The 6-foot-11, 220-pound big man is a good rebounder and a great blocker, averaging 6.4 and 2.4, respectively, last season with the Buckeyes. But he’s not a polished passer (0.5 assists per game) and he’s nowhere near the scoring threat that Aidoo was at 6.6 points per game last season.

At the fourth spot, Tennessee has a more offensive option in Igor Milicic. The 6-foot-10, 224-pound four from Charlotte scored 12.8 points on 48.7/37.6/81.8 shooting last season, primarily from beyond the arc. He was able to show that he can play around the rim last season, grabbing 8.5 rebounds and blocking 1.1 shots per game, but a big red flag is that he averaged 2.0 turnovers per game.

Beyond this one-two punch, Tennessee isn’t very deep in the frontcourt, which is partly a byproduct of having too many guards and wings. Forwards JP Estrella and Cade Phillips combined to average just 2.5 points and 2.2 rebounds last season for the Vols, but both are heading into their second years in college.

There’s also guard/forward Darlinstone Dubar, who averaged 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists on 53.9/39.9/73.4 shooting last season at Hofstra, but may not play against Louisville. He missed the Vols’ season opener for an unspecified personal reason, and head coach Rick Barnes He did not specify when he could return..

A rocky start (above)?

On paper, Tennessee has the makings of a team that can compete for the SEC and has the potential to make a breakthrough in March. That said, the Volunteers haven’t played their best basketball leading up to and starting the regular season.

Tennessee faced No. 17 Indiana in a charity exhibition in Knoxville before the start of the regular season, and lost that matchup 66-62. The Vols were very slow on the offensive end, shooting just 30.5 percent from the field, starting the game 1 of 15 from three and having as many turnovers as assists (15).

While they defeated Gardner-Webb 80-64 in their season opener, Tennessee was not accurate on the defensive end, something that has been a staple of teams coached by Rick Barnes. The Runnin’ Bulldogs managed to penetrate the Vols and shot 43.6 percent from the field, while scoring 1,000 points per possession.

Of course, this is just a sample of two games, and one of these games didn’t even count. But that being said, Tennessee has shown some early vulnerability on both ends of the floor.

(Photo by Zakai Zeigler: Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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