3 Takeaways: No. 3 Tennessee 106, Arkansas 87

Photo by Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee dominated Arkansas on Tuesday night, winning 106-87. It’s the most points the Vols have scored all season and it marks just the second time all year that they have surpassed the 100-point mark in a game. Their 106 points are the most points scored by the Vols in a game since 2009.

The start of the game was certainly not indicative of what was to come. Tennessee led 4-3 at the first media break, but an important 17-1 run in under 4 minutes broke the game open and gave the Vols a commanding 23-6 advantage with just over 12:00 left in the first half. Tennessee held a controlling, 55-34 lead at the break.

Admiral struggled in the first half, as he went scoreless after getting into early foul trouble. He responded by scoring Tennessee’s first 14 points of the second half. The 19-point win wasn’t even that close. The Vols led by 30 points with 7:30 to go, but their defensive intensity was not sustained for the final minutes of the contest. While Tennessee’s defense wasn’t impressive to close the game, the offense scored another 51 points to culminate a dominating victory.

Grant Williams posted 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. He went 14-14 from the charity stripe. Kyle Alexander logged 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, while Jordan Bone had 8 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Additionally, John Fulkerson was a tremendous spark in 17 minutes off the bench, scoring 7 points, along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Here are 5 Takeaways from Tennessee’s 11th consecutive win.

Thunder and Lightning Combine For 40 Points Off the Bench

This refers to the duo of Jordan Bowden and Lamonté Turner. After the game, on Wednesday morning, they had a Twitter conversation that declared the new nickname. Lamonté finished by saying, “I think we just started something.” The nickname fits perfectly, as Bowden has been driving to the basket more often this season and Lamonté has been on fire from 3-point range.

Bowden (Thunder) played 24 minutes and scored 19 points on 6-7 shooting, including 5-6 from 3-point range. Lamonté (Lightning) played 19 minutes, finishing with 21 points on 6-8 shooting, 3-4 from beyond the arc. He also recorded 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

This duo of Thunder and Lightning are very dangerous, seeing as though they had these performances off the bench. If the trend continues, there is a high chance of severe thunderstorms for the remainder of the season.

Admiral Can Dominate At Will

Schofield understood that, despite their lead, he had let his teammates down by scoring 0 points in 6 minutes and getting into foul trouble in the first half. His response was to dominate, whether the Razorbacks liked it or not. He scored 14 consecutive points to open the half and it was remarkable to watch.

The first 2 shots of his run were a 3-pointer and a dunk. At that point, I knew he was on a mission. His spark set the tone for a half in which the Vols scored 51 points. On the night, Schofield logged 17 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Offensive Efficiency

Tennessee shot over 50% from the field for the eighth consecutive game. The Vols made 30-57 field goal attempts (52.6%), knocking down 11-18 shots from 3-point range. They also found tremendous success at the free throw line, making 35-39 attempts.

As a team, Tennessee assisted on 19 of their 30 made shots. This offense is on a roll as of late and they are continuing to gain momentum with each win.

Player of the Game: Lamonté Turner