Tennessee basketball vs. NC State: Score prediction, scouting report
Clear eyes, full hearts, Tennessee basketball is playing in Texas.
The No. 10 Vols (7-3) face North Carolina State (7-2) on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in San Antonio, Texas.
Here is what to know about the matchup:
Freddie Dilione V is settling in for Tennessee basketball
Freddie Dilione V played some of his best minutes for Tennessee against Georgia Southern. The redshirt freshman guard had five points in eight minutes while playing reliable defense and running the court well.
"Freddie did the things we wanted to see," Vols coach Rick Barnes said. "He competed, thought he was locked in. I thought his mindset was terrific. I think it shifted from thinking he's got to make something happen on the offensive end to making it get going on the defensive end."
Dilione missed four games after tearing the plantar fascia in his left foot. He returned against George Mason on Dec. 5 and is working back into the lineup. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 3.0 points and 1.4 rebounds.
Former Vol DJ Burns is the man inside for NC State
Former Vols forward D.J. Burns in in his second season North Carolina State after three seasons at Winthrop. The 6-9, 275-pound Burns is averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game.
“DJ can score," Barnes said. "We knew that when we recruited him. He's got a really a soft touch around the basket. ... I think he really understands where he's effective on the court and he tries hard to get there.”
Burns was an honorable mention All-ACC selection last season after being named Big South player of the year in his final season at Winthrop in 2021-22.
Burns, a former four-star prospect, enrolled early at Tennessee prior to the 2018-19 season. He redshirted on a deep Vols team that spent a month ranked No. 1 in the nation. He transferred following the season.
CONTENT: Josiah-Jordan James is a fifth-year five-star. The Tennessee basketball guard is fine with that.
Tennessee's loaded nonconference schedule has its final power-conference matchup
Tennessee is playing its seventh nonconference game against a power-conference opponent Saturday. It is playing only six against teams outside of power conferences
The Vols have played five ranked teams with wins against Illinois and Wisconsin and losses to Kansas, Purdue and North Carolina. They also beat Syracuse in the Maui Invitational, making for a 3-3 mark against power-conference opponents.
UT closes nonconference play against Tarleton State on Wednesday and Norfolk State on Jan. 2.
Tennessee basketball score prediction vs NC State
Tennessee 83, North Carolina State 67: The Vols go down to Texas and pick up a neutral-site win to move to 2-1 against ACC opponents this season.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball vs. NC State: Our score prediction is in
