5 Takeaways: No. 7 Tennessee 76, No. 1 Gonzaga 73

Photo by Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

They did it! Tennessee knocked off No. 1 Gonzaga on Sunday. It was one of the best days for the basketball program since the Bruce Pearl era. The Vols won 76-73, moving to 7-1 on the year as they handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season, as well as their first regular season loss since January 18, 2018. I knew they could do it and on the Monday before the game, even predicted that they would get the job done.

The first 2 minutes of the game boosted my confidence, as Tennessee jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Admiral Schofield’s career day was foreshadowed by his made 3-point shot just 25 seconds into the game. On the Vols’ second trip down the floor, Kyle Alexander rebounded a missed 3 by Jordan Bone, but Alexander missed the putback. Yves Pons corralled the rebound and banked in a close shot. Then, Grant Williams’ layup gave the Vols a 7-point advantage. From this point on, I knew Tennessee's hustle and focus gave them a great chance of winning.

Tennessee continued to flex their muscle, leading 14-5, but Gonzaga used a 17-7 run to take their first lead of the game, 22-21. A 3-pointer by Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 33-27 with just over 3 minutes left in the first half. The Vols made 5 free throws during their 7-0 run to end the half, as a Jordan Bowden jumper just before the buzzer gave Tennessee a 1-point halftime lead.

Gonzaga lead for nearly all 20 minutes of the half. They took a 64-55 lead with just over 6:00 remaining. At this point, facing a 9-point deficit, my confidence was not as high as it had been. Then, on 3 consecutive possessions, Bowden made a 3-point shot, Bone drove to the basket for a smooth layup and Bowden buried another wide-open 3. This narrowed Tennessee’s deficit to 66-63 with 5:00 to go.

The final 3:15 of the game will go down as one of the most memorable stretches in Tennessee basketball history. Schofield’s 3-point shot with 3:15 to go tied the game at 68. With 2:30 left in the game, Vol fans has terrible flashbacks of the loss to Kansas earlier in the season, as Grant Williams fouled out of the game. Many, including myself, felt that Tennessee would have beaten the Jayhawks had Williams been available for the overtime period. In reality, the players feel that this foul on Sunday actually helped them win the game. Grant knew they couldn’t give up a big dunk and allow Gonzaga to gain momentum late in the game, so he denied the dunk and fouled out to show that Tennessee wasn’t going to back down and allow Gonzaga to win.

Admiral responded by making a clutch jumper and Tennessee trailed 71-70 with 2:17 remaining. On defense, Schofield slapped the ball away from Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura and Yves Pons controlled it. Schofield received the ball on the other end and banked in an NBA 3-pointer to claim the lead. Tennessee’s bench was elated, as were the Vol fans, but there was still work to be done on the defensive end.

After calling a timeout, Gonzaga missed a jumper, but Bone was undercut by Schofield, who was already on the ground and a traveling violation was called. The Bulldogs maintained possession with 49 seconds left. They drew a foul and made both free throws.

Then, with the game tied at 73, Admiral calmly stepped into a wide-open 3-point shot from NBA range and buried it. It was one of the most confident shot attempts I have ever witnessed. It was incredible. On the other end, Gonzaga missed a 3 and intentionally fouled Kyle Alexander. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1, leaving the door open for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga badly missed a 3-pointer and Pons slammed the ball to the floor as the buzzer expired. The Vols headed to the stands to celebrate with the fans.

Yves Pons logged 7 points, 6 rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block. Jordan Bone scored 5 points, while dishing out 9 assists. Jordan Bowden recorded 11 points, 4 assists and a rebound. As a team, Tennessee shot 40% from the field (29-72), including making 12-29 shots (41%) from 3-point range. The Vols assisted on 22 of their 29 made shots, as they continue to share the ball tremendously this season.

Here are our 5 biggest takeaways from the Vols’ huge victory over No. 1 Gonzaga.

Admiral Schofield’s Career Day

Admiral Schofield scored a career-high 30 points on 12-22 shooting, including a remarkable 6-10 from 3-point range. He also collected 6 rebounds in the win. He only had 5 points at halftime, but erupted for a memorable second half. All 30 of his points were from the field, as he did not attempt a free throw all day.

As the second half progressed, Admiral and Gonzaga’s Zach Norvell Jr. were very chippy with one another. I was excited to watch this because it sends a message that Tennessee is not going to take the back seat to anybody. Sometimes, dialogue with an opponent for an extended period of time can throw one off their game. Admiral made sure this did not happen to him or anyone else on the team.

After one of Admiral’s late 3’s, his teammates began to run out on the court to him as a timeout was called. He motioned his arms downwards in order to keep the team locked in and focused on the fact that the game was not over yet. Admiral had one of the greatest performances in Tennessee basketball history and it was the reason Tennessee won.

Rick Barnes Finally Beats an AP No. 1 Team

Rick Barnes has been a head coach since 1987, but had never beaten a No. 1 ranked team. Until Sunday. He was 0-6 against top-ranked teams entering the matchup with Gonzaga. Not only did he deserve it, but his players did as well. With last year’s loss to North Carolina and this year’s loss to Kansas, it was good to finally win a big-time game.

This was Tennessee’s first win over a No. 1 team since they beat No. 1 Kansas in Thompson-Boling Arena in 2010. This game was great preparation for the NCAA Tournament, as it was at a neutral site and featured top competition. Admiral Schofield said the team wanted to quit losing in big games and hearing it called a “learning experience.” They finally got one.

Grant Williams Made His Presence Felt

The reigning SEC Player of the Year came up big for the Vols on Sunday. He recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 block. He came just 3 assists shy of a triple-double in a fantastic performance. Grant is a National Player of the Year candidate and needed no validation to his game, but he dominated all night. He fouled out with 2:30 left, but his teammates, especially Admiral stepped up in his absence.

That fifth foul stopped a dunk attempt and denied Gonzaga of any momentum. Still, it will be important for him to not foul out in big games down the road for the Vols. He is the centerpiece of this team and his post presence is much needed down the stretch of games.

Defensive Dominance

Coming into this game, Gonzaga was averaging 96 PPG. They had surpassed 100 points in a game 4 times, including a 120-point effort in their season opener. The 73 points that Tennessee held the Bulldogs to is their season low, which speaks volumes about the intensity the Vols brought on defense.

As a team, Tennessee recorded 4 blocks and 2 steals, forcing a total of 11 turnovers on the day. Meanwhile, Tennessee only committed 7 turnovers. Gonzaga shot 45.8% from the floor, but went 12-19 from the free throw line. The Bulldogs narrowly out-rebounded the Vols 41-39, but Tennessee dominated the offensive glass, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds to the 11 of Gonzaga.

Tennessee made everything difficult for the Bulldogs. The Vols offense is explosive enough to keep up with Gonzaga, but it is much more ideal to beat them with defense.

Tennessee Fans Deserved This

Tennessee received much offseason hype. Although they had backed it up prior to this game, they fell just short against Kansas in overtime earlier in the year. That was a disappointing loss and Vol fans didn’t want to feel that again. Tennessee fans are excited about this team’s potential and were thrilled after the win. The team celebrated with fans in the stands immediately after the game. Admiral's dad had surprised him by showing up to the game and was there celebrating. Schofield has texted him and asked him if he was going to be able to catch a flight to Arizona, but he didn't respond because he wanted Admiral to remain focused.

There was a large group of fans ready to greet the team as they arrived back in Knoxville on Sunday night. It was a great day for the program. Personally, I was ecstatic about the victory. An air horn accompanied me as I ran outside in the frigid cold to celebrate. This game was fun to watch, especially because of Admiral’s heroics. This win is one of the best in program history and it will propel the Vols into the rest of their season.

Player of the Game: Admiral Schofield