SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — No. 4 seed Syracuse (28-7, 13-3 Atlantic Coast) will take on No. 7 seed Tennessee (22-13, 8-8 Southeastern) in the Sioux Falls regional final on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. with a chance to reach the Final Four on the line. This is the Orange’s first-ever Elite Eight appearance after SU stunned No. 1 seed South Carolina on Friday night.

In order to learn more about the Lady Vols, The Daily Orange spoke with Knoxville News Sentinel columnist John Adams. Here’s our conversation.

The Daily Orange: What should Syracuse fans know about Tennessee?

John Adams: They should know they’re playing their best basketball of the year by far. This is a team that late in the regular season lost to Alabama and LSU, two of the worst teams in the SEC. I mean, I can’t believe that this team is actually one win away from the Final Four. I’ve been in Knoxville since 1987 and I’ve never seen a turnaround like this. There was a 10-loss UT team that ended up winning a national championship with Chamique Holdsclaw. This team, it showed no signs of this. I didn’t even know if it would make the tournament.

The D.O.: What are some of the things Bashaara Graves and Mercedes Russell do well and what challenge do they pose to Syracuse?

J.A.: Mercedes Russell and Bashaara Graves are playing differently now in the NCAA tournament, especially Russell, than they have all season. Russell has never played like this since she’s been at UT. The last few games since the tournament started, she’s been a force both offensively and defensively rebounding the ball. She’s been very aggressive. For much of this season and in seasons past, she’s been very passive. There just seemed to be a lack of effort. But now, she’s a player playing very aggressively with a lot of confidence.

The D.O.: What was the key in UT’s Sweet 16 win over Ohio State?

J.A.: Shooting the ball. There have been games this season where Tennessee struggled to hit better than 25 percent of their shots. They hit 50 percent against Ohio State and they managed to get the ball inside against the zone. They have struggled against zones all year and I know Syracuse has a really good 2-3 zone. I would have thought early in the year Tennessee’s cause would be hopeless against a really good zone defense. Not now though. They seemed to be more comfortable attacking the zone.

The D.O.: What do you take away from these teams’ first matchup this season in November, a two-point Tennessee win?

J.A.: I don’t think either one of those teams was playing great at the time. So I don’t think that game means anything. I thought Syracuse is a better team than South Carolina. I’ve been watching South Carolina all year in the SEC but Syracuse looked to me like a better team than Ohio State. It’s balanced, good inside, good outside, perimeter scoring, could drive to the basket, plays tough defense, extends its defense. I really like Syracuse’s team.

Published on March 27, 2016 at 5:13 am

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds