3 Takeaways: No. 1 Tennessee 85, South Carolina 73

Photo by Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee picked up their third consecutive 12-point win, as they defeated South Carolina 85-73 on Wednesday night. Yves Pons returned and is playing with a mask, which is quite intimidating for opponents.

It was a tightly contested game early on, but once the Vols got rolling, they never looked back. The Gamecocks led 15-12 in the early going, but Tennessee responded with a dominating 21-3 to take full control of the game. The Vols led 33-18 at that point.

After leading by 13 points at halftime, Admiral Schofield opened the second half with a dunk and it was smooth sailing from that point forward. Tennessee led by double digits for the entirety of the second half and Admiral was a key part of that. He scored 21 points on 9-19 shooting (2-4 on 3’s) and completed the double-double with 10 rebounds.

Jordan Bowden scored 16 points off the bench, after making 4-6 shots from 3-point range. Jordan Bone, Lamonté Turner and Admiral each scored 10 points in the win. Bone dished out 6 assists, while Grant Williams neared a triple-double, logging 8 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. He also blocked 3 shots on the night.

Here are 3 Takeaways from Tennessee’s 23rd win of the season.

Grant Can Get Quiet Stats

Grant is undoubtedly Tennessee’s best player. He rarely has off-nights. In fact, it seems unfair to even call his quieter games “off-nights” because he still manages to impact the game in various ways. He was limited to 8 points on Wednesday, but as the final horn sounded and fans looked at the stats, Grant was just 3 assists and a rebound shy of recording a triple-double. He only attempted 8 field goals, but assisted 7 times, refusing to leave the court without positively impacting the game.

Tennessee Will Simply Outplay Opponents

South Carolina shot 41% from the field and made 14-23 shot attempts from beyond the arc. That’s 61% and extremely difficult to repeat. Still, Tennessee made 9-20 shots from the perimeter, out-rebounded the Gamecocks by 7 and assisted on 22 of their 34 made field goals. Simply put, the Vols understand how to respond when their opponents have success. South Carolina was hot from downtown, so Tennessee knocked down 9 3’s themselves and attacked the glass all night. That’s what makes this team dangerous.

Can’t Complain

With a big matchup at Kentucky looming, Tennessee took care of business in impressive fashion. The team combined to total 40 rebounds and shot 49% from the floor. Bowden was hot from 3-point range, as he continues to impress off the bench for Tennessee. Defensively, they logged 5 steals and 7 blocked shots, while committing just 10 fouls on the night. The Vols are on a roll and there’s not much to complain about in Knoxville right now.

Player of the Game: Admiral Schofield