Unicoi County hasn't had much luck against Tennessee recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Unicoi County Blue Devils are taking a road trip to challenge the Tennessee Vikings at 8:00 p.m. Unicoi County is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 62.9 points per game this season.
Last Tuesday, Unicoi County slipped by David Crockett 52-51. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Blue Devils.
| 01/28/25 vs David Crockett | 16 |
| 01/24/25 vs Sullivan East | 34 |
| 01/23/25 @ Elizabethton | 27 |
Jackson Simmons continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, going 6 for 15 en route to 16 points and three steals. The game was his third in a row with at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Kaden Cutlip, who posted ten points.
Meanwhile, Tennessee entered their tilt with Morristown-Hamblen East on Monday with six consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with seven. They blew past the Hurricanes 88-49. Given the Vikings' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Hurricanes are ranked 234th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Tennessee's win came from a few key players Unicoi County will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Reed Miller, who went 6 of 10 on his way to 14 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists. He is also on a roll when it comes to blocks, as he's now posted two or more in the last six games he's played. Colin Brown was another key player, going 6 for 11 en route to 15 points and four steals.
Tennessee was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. That's the most assists they've posted since the start of last season.
Unicoi County has been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 13-9 record this season. The wins came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 63.8 points per game. As for Tennessee, their victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-5.
Friday's contest will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Simmons and Brown. Simmons has been dynamite this season: he has averaged 21.4 points, 1.4 steals, and 4.2 boards while shooting 43.7% from the three point line. For his part, Brown has averaged 24.5 points, 3.1 steals, and 3.1 assists on 50.3% shooting.
Unicoi County came up short against Tennessee when the teams last played on January 14th, falling 73-64. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Brown, who went 12 of 23 on his way to 31 points and five rebounds. Now that Unicoi County knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
