Vols Tame the Tigers

Nov 22, 2013; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Antonio Barton (2) brings the ball up court against Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles guard Jeremiah Samarrippas (2) during the first half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Friday night at Thompson-Boling Arena, Tennessee coasted past Tennessee State 88-67.  The Vols (3-1) carried an 8 point lead into half and were never really challenged by the Tigers (0-6).  After going up 16 points in the first half, UT eased off the gas over the last few minutes and headed into halftime with a 38-30 edge.

Tennessee finished off the wire-to-wire victory in the second half by outscoring TSU 50-37.  The Vols had the cruise control on for most of the game, as 10 players logged at least 6 minutes, and nobody played more than 29 minutes.  Jordan McRae led the Volunteers with 25 points on 9-13 shooting.

The Vols have drastically improved their free throw shooting over the past several games since their opening game defeat to Xavier.  Tonight, UT shot 22-28 from the FT line and only committed 7 turnovers.

Tennessee State was led by Patrick Miller with 20 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds.  Even with the loss, the Tigers shot an astounding 92% from the FT by going 24-26 from the charity stripe.

Next up, the Vols head down to the Bahamas to compete in the Battle for Atlantis tournament.  Their opening game is Thursday November 28 against UTEP (3-1).  Tennessee State will head to Auburn (2-1) on Tuesday in search of their first victory.