Tennessee basketball: Vols showed promise in the NIT Season Tip-Off

Tennessee basketball finished the NIT Season Tip-Off 1-1 with a loss to the Kansas Jayhawks. Here is how the tournament broke down by the numbers.

If you’re a fan of college basketball, you were in luck, the NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament didn’t disappoint. The Tennessee basketball team was on display against Louisville on Wednesday night, and with the win, the took on the Kansas Jayhawks in the Championship Game on Friday night.

Despite the loss to Kansas, the Vols showed a lot of promise for the season ahead. Sure, Volnation wanted the win but its college basketball and its November. Even nothing else, Tennessee learned they have a Final Four caliber team. Maybe the loss will help them the next time they are in a tight game with a talented team like Kansas.

Here is how the NIT Season Tip-Off broke down by the numbers for the Vols.

54- percent is how well the Vols shot against Louisville. The Cardinals controlled the pace of the game and made Tennessee play faster than they wanted. However, the Vols showed they can play that style and win playing that style.

50- percent is what Kansas shot from the field against the Vols. It’s not often you see a team shoot so well against the tough Tennessee defense, but the Jayhawks did.

42- points scored by Grant Williams the past two games. He scored 24 against Louisville and added nine rebounds, four assists with three blocks. The Cardinals really had no answer for Williams the entire game.

He scored 18 against Kansas and again was unstoppable throughout the game. Despite fouling out of the game, Williams scored 18 points and added eight blocks, six assists with one block.

41- points from Vols’ Admiral Schofield. The senior forward had back-to-back 20-point games for the first time this season. Schofield attempted 16 three-points throughout the two games connecting on six of them.

40- minutes played from point guard Jordan Bone in the Kansas game. Yes, the game went into overtime but it felt as if Bone didn’t come out of the game. He has scored in double digits in each of the first five games.

24- points from junior forward Dedric Lawson. It was the second-straight 20-plus performance from Lawson in the NIT Season Tip-Off. He scored 26 against Marquette on Wednesday. Neither the Golden Eagles nor the Vols had an answer for him.

9- points is all Kansas’ Udoka Azubuike scored. It was huge for Tennessee to limit his production and it really kept them in the game. Azubuike even fouled out in the second half, which Tennessee couldn’t take advantage of.

2- games from Lamonte Turner. The junior guard saw action for the first time this season against Louisville. Turner scored 23 points in the two games of the tournament but didn’t score particularly well. He was just 5-of-19 from the three-point line. Turner will be fine, just showing a little rush and bad shot selection.

1- win and one loss during the tournament. Tennessee beat the Louisville Cardinals 92-81 on  Wednesday night and lost to the Kansas Jayhawks 87-81 in overtime on Friday night.

All in all, it was a good tournament for the Vols. There is a lot of promise in the orange and white. They can walk away with their heads held high because this is a team that can make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.