5 Takeaways: No. 3 Tennessee 96, Georgia 50

Photo by Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee trounced Georgia by a score of 96-50 on Saturday. It was a complete domination, one that even Vol fans didn’t see coming. SEC play couldn’t have gotten off to a better start for the Vols, as the 46-point win is Tennessee’s second-largest margin of victory in an SEC game, all-time. Thompson-Boling Arena saw its first sellout of the season and Tennessee moved to fourth in national home attendance this year, with an average of 17,499.

Grant Williams was eager to begin SEC action. Within the game’s first 57 seconds, he drew 2 fouls on Georgia’s Derek Ogbeide and forced him to have a seat on the bench. It took the Vols over 2 minutes to make their first field goal, but Jordan Bone knocked down a 3-pointer to open the floodgates for a terrific performance. At the 17:21 mark of the first half, Grant drew the first foul on Nicolas Claxton. He seemed to be on a mission to eliminate Georgia's post players one by one.

The Vols led 11-10 at the 13:00 mark and it seemed as if it was going to be another tightly contested matchup between the 2 squads. Jordan Bowden was a key spark off the bench in the first half, contributing to Tennessee’s efficient 53-point half. The Vols ended the first half on a 13-3 run and Kyle Alexander ended the half with an emphatic block as time expired.

Grant began the second half with a 3-point shot to stretch Tennessee’s lead to over 30 points. Tennessee made the Bulldogs look silly in the second half. Tennessee was hot from the floor and whenever the Vols got the ball into the post, it was an automatic 2 points.

With 7 minutes remaining in the blowout victory, I looked up at the scoreboard and saw the craziest score I have ever seen in a game featuring 2 SEC foes. Tennessee led 84-35 at that point. At first, I was shocked. Then I began to laugh at how insane this dominance really was. Don’t get me wrong. I consider Tennessee to be the top team in the nation, but I would have never guessed that the largest lead of their SEC opener would be 49 points. This is such a large margin, especially for a conference game.

Late in the game, Lucas Campbell entered, stole the ball and raced to the other end of the court to finish with a sweet lefty lay-up. It appeared as if Georgia may be held under the 50-point mark, but they reached 50 with under 20 seconds to go.

Grant Williams logged 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block on the day. Admiral Schofield also scored 18 points, with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Kyle Alexander had 12 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and 2 assists. Jordan Bone posted 11 points and 5 assists. Derrick Walker had 5 points off the bench, throwing down 1 dunk.

Here are 5 Takeaways from Tennessee’s 46-point win.

Bowden Was in Attack Mode

Jordan Bowden had a tremendous performance to begin SEC play. He came off the bench and played 23 minutes, totaling 20 points on 8-13 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. He only went 1-4 from beyond the arc, but his defensive hustle and offensive mindset of getting to the basket were what stood out from his play.

Last season, Bowden went on a stretch of great 3-point shooting. He may not be relied on as much from the perimeter this season, but his driving abilities will be needed for the remainder of the season. He showed Vol fans that he is ready for the SEC slate.

The Throwback Uniforms Were Not the Only Surprise

Tennessee surprised fans with dawning their throwback uniforms for the first time in Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday. This turned out to be the lesser of 2 surprises for Vol fans. Early on in the first half, Lamonté Turner checked into the game for the first time since the Kansas game. Thompson-Boling Arena gave him a loud standing ovation. This furthered the electric atmosphere inside the arena.

He only played for 15 minutes, but recorded 6 points, 2 assists, a rebound and a steal. It wasn’t a breakout performance, but that wasn’t the goal. He had 2 drives to the basket that showed he has the right mindset in order to return to his potential. He wanted to get back into the flow of things and that’s exactly what he did.

Tennessee Dominated in Every Category

Tennessee controlled every aspect of this game. They shot 53% (34-64) from the field, making 6-18 of their 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, Georgia shot 32% from the floor and made 1-20 shots (5%) from beyond the arc. That’s embarrassing.

Tennessee made 22-26 free throws and Georgia managed to make just over 50% of their free throws (15-27). The Vols out-rebounded the Bulldogs 45-30 and dished out 25 assists, to the 8 of Georgia. Tennessee blocked 7 shots, turning the ball over just 9 times. Georgia blocked only 2 shots and turned the ball over 14 times.

Kyle Alexander recorded a career-high 14 rebounds. He was a dominant force in the paint, scoring 12 points and giving extra possession to the Vols, with 3 of his rebounds coming on the offensive end. The Vols overpowered Georgia in every imaginable way, en route to the most lopsided game in series history.

The Vols Remain Even-Keeled

This team heard all of the hype surrounding them this past offseason. They didn’t let it affect them. They lost to Kansas in a heartbreaking overtime defeat as Grant Williams fouled out. They didn’t let it affect them. They beat No. 1 Gonzaga at a neutral site and moved to No. 3 in the rankings. They celebrated and moved on, handling their business professionally.

Rick Barnes has gotten this group to a mindset of maturity and the leadership of Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield is a key part of that. No matter what happens to this team, they will respond appropriately. In front of a sellout crowd to start SEC play, they came out and beat Georgia into the ground for 40 minutes.

Off the court, they have lots of fun and are very connected with the fanbase. For the 2 hours in which they are playing a game, they are as focused and gritty of a team as I have ever seen. This squad is capable of winning a national championship this season, due to the fact that they control their emotions and are playing as the hunters.

Tennessee Showed They Are the Best Team in the Country

Not only are the Vols the clear favorite to win the SEC this season, but they are proving that they are currently the best team in the nation. The fact that Tennessee could have gone scoreless in the second half and still won by 3 points is enough evidence of this. There were 5 SEC basketball games on Saturday. The combined margin of victory in the 4 games besides Tennessee's was 16. The Vols won by 46. Beating a non-conference team is one thing. Beating an SEC team this badly is an entirely different story.

On December 15, Georgia narrowly lost to Arizona State, 76-74. This is the same Sun Devil team that upset Kansas just a week later. Tennessee has now won 17 consecutive home games, 9 of which have been against SEC opponents. They have built a tremendous home court advantage that no team will want to play on this season. I don’t see the Vols dropping a home game this season.

Player of the Game: Jordan Bowden