5 Takeaways: No. 1 Tennessee 88, Vanderbilt 83

Photo by Tennessee Athletics

What a game that was! No. 1 Tennessee prevailed for the 88-83 overtime win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday. After all the talk about Vanderbilt’s upset of the top-ranked Vols in 2008, history nearly repeated itself. It was the historic performance of Grant Williams that protected Tennessee’s hold on the No. 1 spot in the nation.

Tennessee scored 8 points before the Commodores got on the board. After just 5 minutes of play, the Vols held a dominating 15-2 lead and it seemed as if this was going to be the easiest win of the season. There was going to be no pressure. Grab a 20-point halftime lead and sail to a win in your instate rival’s home gym. Wrong. Little did Vol fans know, but outside of the Kansas and Gonzaga games, this was going to be the toughest game to date.

Vanderbilt’s 14-4 run got them back into the game and they trailed 38-37 at halftime. Kyle Alexander scored the first 4 points of the second half and there was hope that Tennessee would pull away for good. Again, this was not the case. Vanderbilt took the lead with just under 9:00 remaining. Although Tennessee would tie the game momentarily, the Commodores did not surrender the lead for the remainder of regulation.

The Vols trailed 76-70 with 1:22 left. I haven’t given up on this team all season, but I was not all that confident that Tennessee would be able to win. Then, a flagrant foul was called on Vanderbilt, giving Tennessee 2 free throws and possession of the ball. Grant made a pair of free throws and then received the inbounds pass for en easy layup. He scored 4 points in the span of 2 game seconds. The game was sent to overtime as Admiral Schofield made a jumper with just over 30 seconds to go.

Tennessee outscored Vanderbilt 12-7 in the overtime period, with Grant scoring the first 10 points for the Vols, going 6-6 from the charity stripe. Jordan Bone scored the final 2 points to close out an intense, 5-point victory.

Bone finished the night with 14 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds. Jordan Bowden recorded 9 points and 4 rebounds, while Lamonté Turner had 8 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds. Kyle Alexander accounted for 6 points and 5 rebounds. As a team, Tennessee shot 47% from the field and made just 5-20 shots from 3-point range. The Vols were out rebounded by 3, but only turned the ball over 8 times, to the 15 of Vanderbilt.

Here are 5 Takeaways from a gritty performance by the nation’s No. 1 team.

Grant Williams Owns Memorial Gymnasium

Grant Williams absolutely deserves all the credit for this win. His spectacular performance included scoring nearly half of Tennessee’s total points. He scored a career-high 43 points on 10-15 shooing and a remarkable 23-23 from the free throw line. He secured 8 rebounds, while accounting for 2 assists and 4 blocks. It marks the first time a Vol has scored 40+ points in a game since Allan Houston had 43 in 1990.

Grant must enjoy dominating Vanderbilt in their own building, because he has done so 2 times in a row. His early bucket less than 15 seconds into the game foreshadowed his career night. Still, nobody saw this type of performance coming. Last season, Grant scored 37 points at Vanderbilt, going 13-15 from the free throw line. After Wednesday, he has accumulated 80 points, shooting an incredible 36-38 from the charity stripe in his past 2 trips to Nashville.

He became the 10th Vol to ever score 40+ points in a single game and his 43-point night is tied for the 5th-most points in a game in program history. His perfect 23-23 mark from the charity stripe is a school record for a single game. Additionally, of the 50 points scored by Tennessee in the second half and overtime, Grant was responsible for 35 of those. This goes down as one of the greatest performances in Tennessee history.

Tuning Out The Noise

In 2008, Tennessee knocked off top-ranked Memphis to move to to No. 1 in the nation rankings. Then, in the very next game, the Commodores defeated Tennessee in Nashville. The difference in the game and this year was that Vandy was ranked No. 18 and this year’s Tennessee team is better than the 2008 squad. There was much talk about this, especially from the commentators during the broadcast.

I didn’t really give the Commodores a chance, but they gave Tennessee their best shot and made 10-21 shots from 3-point range. The Vols overcame major adversity by overcoming a late 6-point deficit to continue their winning ways.

Vanderbilt Got Lucky

The Commodores deserve a good amount of credit. Every team that plays the No. 1 team will give maximum effort. Still, after shooting 28% from 3-point range in SEC play prior to Wednesday, Vanderbilt shot abnormally well against the Vols, going 48% from beyond the arc. This was the perfect recipe for an upset, but the greatness of Tennessee prevailed in overtime.

Admiral Struggled

After going 4-17 from the field against Alabama, Admiral scored just 6 points on 2-9 shooting (0-6 from 3-point range) against Vanderbilt. He also had 4 rebounds and 2 steals. He should get out of this mini-slump soon, which it’s odd to call it that, since he managed a double-double in a poor shooting night against Alabama.

He came up with a clutch bucket that sent the game to overtime on Wednesday, helping the Vols avoid an upset. Great players make big time plays even on off nights. Therefore, Admiral is a great player.

Survive and Advance

The Vols move to 17-1 (6-0 in the SEC) after their victory over Vanderbilt. The 13-game winning streak for Tennessee is the third-longest streak in program history. Tennessee is the best team in college basketball and will receive top-notch effort from each opponent they face. “Survive and Advance” will be a way of life for the team. Rick Barnes will make sure they stay locked in and don’t take anyone lightly.

The fact that the Vols were able to win when only one other player, besides Grant, scored in double figures is encouraging. It wasn't pretty, but their will to win was stronger than anything the Commodores brought to the table

Player of the Game: Grant Williams