Men’s Tennessee basketball won its opener for 2017-2018 against the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Here are three takeaways from the Volunteers’ 88-53 victory.
Tennessee basketball capitalized on the excitement heading into Rick Barnes’s third year with a red-hot start at home Friday night. The Vols jumped out to a 28-1 lead over the Presbyterian Blue Hose at Thompson-Boling Arena after allowing the first bucket. They never trailed again en route to a blowout.
The 1-0 start to the season may not be too impressive coming against this team. However, with over 15,000 in attendance, fans are clearly excited about the season.
Perhaps the struggling football program has something to do with that. Rocky Top needs good news somewhere.
They got that good news Friday. Here are three takeaways from Tennessee basketball’s season-opening victory.
1. Defense was suffocating.
Tennessee basketball’s offense was fun to watch with 46 points in the first half, but it was the defense that stole the show. Rick Barnes’s up-tempo style frustrated Presbyterian all night en route to them forcing 19 turnovers.
The Vols seem to have made this a thing so far. Remember, they forced 16 turnovers and 24 turnovers against the Clemson Tigers and Carson-Newman Eagles respectively in their exhibition games. So doing it in their official opener clearly wasn’t shocking. They did struggle a bit in the second half after the first five minutes, but that’s because they went deep into their bench, which leads us to our next point.
2. The depth is real.
Rick Barnes has stacked the roster in Knoxville with a bunch of young, developing talent. And it showed on Friday night. The Vols played 15 guys against Presbyterian, and 11 saw at least 10 minutes or more. Meanwhile, 22 minutes was the most anybody played, and only three guys even reached the 20-minute mark.
Simply put, Tennessee basketball has an arsenal of weapons to use. Yves Pons, who was supposed to be one of the stars of this team as a four-star recruit, is currently buried in the depth chart. That’s how loaded these guys are. And speaking of Pons, that leads us to a specific player to mention.
3. Admiral Schofield is becoming the perfect wing player.
When he first came to Knoxville, Admiral Schofield was one of Tennessee basketball’s key inside players despite his undersized frame. He continued that role last year and struggled with consistency, playing behind Grant Williams.
But Rick Barnes is now starting him on the wing with Williams and Kyle Alexander in the lineup. And he showed his value with 22 points, five rebounds, and going two-for-three from beyond the arc. We thought Pons would step in immediately for Robert Hubbs III, but it looks like Schofield has become that guys. And that could be huge going forward.