5 Takeaways: No. 1 Tennessee 92, South Carolina 70
Photo by Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee earned a 92-70 road victory at South Carolina on Tuesday night. It was a close game for the most part, but the Vols pulled away in the final stretch. The Vols jumped out to a 4-0 lead, as Grant Williams stole the ball and Kyle Alexander forced an inside shot to go.
Then, the Gamecocks led 10-8, before Tennessee went on a 16-7 run to take a 7-point lead. Grant’s jumper with just over 6:00 remaining in the first half forced South Carolina into a timeout and put the Vols ahead, 35-23. Chris Silva scored South Carolina’s final points before halftime, but Tennessee led 47-38 at the break.
The Gamecocks slowly cut into their deficit to start the second half and trailed 60-58 with 13:00 left in the contest. Then, Jordan Bone put a stop to that by scoring 5 points in under a minute. The Vols tripled the Gamecocks over the final 11:00 of the game, outscoring them 27-9. It was complete domination, as the Vols walked out of Columbia with a 22-point win.
Jordan Bone recorded 19 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds. He want 7-13 from the field and 3-5 from 3-point range, quite possibly having the best performance of any Vol on the night. Lamonté Turner logged 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals, while burying 3-6 shots from downtown. John Fulkerson added 6 points and 3 rebounds.
Here are 5 Takeaways from Tennessee’s win, as they improve to 19-1 overall and 7-0 in conference play.
PB&J Combine to Score 47 Points
Grant and Admiral complimented each other well on Tuesday night. Their stats were nearly identical. Grant had 23 points on 9-15 shooting and Admiral had 24 on 9-17 shooting, emerging from his slump. They both recorded 9 rebounds, with 7 coming on the defensive end for each of them.
Admiral totaled 4 assists, and although Grant has none, Grant did have 4 steals. Admiral has 1 steal on the night. Grant went 5-8 from the charity stripe and Admiral was 5-5. It was fun to see the dynamic duo play exceptionally well in such a key road game.
Bowden Was Unable to Play
Numerous aspects of this team are amazing. Depth is one of them. On Tuesday, Bowden injured his knee during shootaround and had to sit out the contest. The Vols probably could have used his perimeter shooting and his driving abilities as the Gamecocks made their run to start the second half, but others stepped up and the Vols didn’t miss a beat.
Derrick Walker and Jalen Johnson saw more minutes as a result of the injury. Walker finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds and a steal in 13 minutes, while Johnson had 2 points and a rebound in 14 minutes. Derrick impressed with a strong and-1 that excited his teammates. Fortunately, Bowden’s injury looks to be minor and he should be good to go on Saturday.
Good Bye, Slump
Admiral officially ended his slump by shooting 53% from the floor on 17 shot attempts. His 24 points led the team and he was just 1 rebound shy of a double-double. While he only shot 1-5 from beyond the arc, he used the second half to show that he was back to his normal self. He started the game with just 4 points in the first half, but went 8-13 from the field in the second half. It may have begun to be a mental thing for him, but fortunately, it looks like he is putting his struggles behind him. It’s good to have the Admiral back.
Strong Finish
The Vols had their lead cut to a 1-possession game with 13 minutes to go. From here, they allowed the Gamecocks to score a mere 9 points over the final 11:00 of the game. Tennessee played with assertiveness down the stretch, recording 8 steals and 4 blocks, while forcing 14 South Carolina turnovers.
The Gamecocks were held to 40% shooting, including making just 7-22 3-point attempts (32%). They also struggled from the free throw line, going 17-29. Tennessee out rebounded South Carolina, 39-31 and dished out 17 assists, to the 7 of South Carolina. The Vols outscored South Carolina in the paint, 42-22, as they ran away with a dominating win.
Tennessee is Unfazed
Tennessee is the No. 1 team in the country. Criticism from the media is raging, as well as hate from opponents. On the Sunday before the game, South Carolina’s 4-star quarterback signee, Ryan Hilinski said in a promotional video, “We’re about to bury the No. 1 team in the nation. You wear black to a funeral, so it’s a blackout.” Things didn’t quite go as he had planned, but it shows the maturity of this Tennessee team.
The Vols don’t care what anyone has to say about them. They are going to go out there and beat their opponent for 40 minutes, regardless of what anyone thinks. In fact, this team seems to enjoy their new role. Scroll through Admiral’s Twitter to see that he likes many tweets that insult him or Tennessee as a team.
It is fun knowing that the Vols can make light of the outside noise prior to the game and emerge with a 22-point road victory. I have to admit, I was a little nervous heading into the game, but the final 11 minutes proved why I shouldn’t have been.
Player of the Game: Admiral Schofield
