What to know about Longwood basketball, Tennessee's first-round NCAA Tournament opponent

Nick Gray, Knoxville News Sentinel

Tennessee basketball begins its NCAA Tournament run as a 3-seed against 14-seed Longwood on Thursday in Indianapolis.

The Lancers won the Big South Tournament and are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

Who are the Longwood Lancers? Let's take a look.

Where is Longwood?

Longwood University is located in Farmville, Virginia, about 65 miles east southeast of Richmond. The university became a Division I member in 2007.

Who is Longwood basketball's coach?

Griff Aldrich is the Longwood Lancers' head coach. He has been Longwood's coach since the 2018-19 season. Prior to Longwood, Aldrich was the director of recruiting for UMBC from 2016-18, and his time there included 2018 NCAA Tournament win over 1-seed Virginia.

How did Longwood basketball fare in 2021-22?

The Lancers are 26-6 and won the Big South Tournament title via a 79-58 win over Winthrop. Since a loss to Abilene Christian on Dec. 22, Longwood is 19-1. The Lancers did not play a difficult non-conference schedule (0-2 against Quadrant 1 and 2 opponents); in fact, Longwood had the fourth-easiest non-conference and overall strength of schedule among NCAA Tournament teams, according to KenPom. The Lancers are No. 144 overall in KenPom and No. 126 in the NET rankings.

Which players will Longwood lean on?

The Lancers have three double-digit scorers at guard — Justin Hill, Isaiah Wilkins and DeShaun Wade — but do not have a player listed over 6-foot-8 on their roster. Longwood makes about 38% of its 3-point shots, which ranks 18th in the country. Wade, who leads the team in 3-point attempts, is a 44% 3-point shooter this season.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What to know about Longwood, Tennessee basketball NCAA Tournament foe

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