Tennessee basketball: No.3 Vols keep it rolling with dominant win
Tennessee basketball improves their winning streak to seven games with the 96-53 win over Tennessee Tech. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Well, the Vols didn’t start the go off slow. From the opening tip, the entire team brought energy to the court and attacked the Golden Eagles. The Tennessee basketball team will start conference play with an 11-1 record and ranked in the top-3 in the country.
The Vols had a 19-point lead halfway through the first half, and they kept rolling by taking 51 points to the locker room. Tennessee shot 74 percent from the field, and many were easy baskets around the rim.
There really isn’t much to say about the game other than Tennessee is legit, and they aren’t going to lose to many teams they are supposed to beat. Here are three takeaways from the dominant performance.
1. Throwdown-Showdown
Tennessee not only looked like the best team in the nation but they looked like the most exciting team.
Sure, Duke is the team that everyone is going to fall in love with, or at least they are the national media’s darling. But, the more you watch Tennessee, the more you have to love how they can beat you in any way. Today they wanted to put on a throwdown show.
Whenever you talk about dunks and alley-oops Yves Pons should come to mind. If it doesn’t just watch the game against Tennessee Tech. But, Pons wasn’t the only player to show off their hops. Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, and John Fulkerson had to get their time on the highlight reels.
2. The FULK was raging
John Fulkerson gets a lot of criticism from me because I’m not sold on the idea he has SEC talent. I would never question his effort. He undoubtedly gives the best effort on the team. He’s always willing to do the dirty work, and I’ve honestly never seen a player hustle as much as he does.
Maybe the injury has held him backand he does have SEC talent. We just haven’t seen a consistent level of play to make us think he can hold his own against the best teams in the nation.
However, if Fulk can play like he did today, Tennessee will win a National Championship. One of the things I question is the depth of this team. You have to think Lamonte Turner will be available before March. And, if Fulkerson can stay consistent as the first big off the bench, then watch out.
The Fulk scored a career-high 15 points against the Golden Eagles. And, of course, in typical Fulkerson fashion, he contributed two blocks, two steals, one assist, and three rebounds.
3. Tennessee is the best team in the nation
No disrespect to the Golden Eagles but they were no match for the Vols. Have you ever played NBA 2K on the easiest level? That’s what it looked like Tennessee was doing. They got any shot they wanted and was running any chance they got.
Surprisingly enough, the Vols didn’t settle for many three-point shots. They were getting to the rack at will and shot a near 70 percent from the field.
Yes, we know the opponent, but the Vols held Tech to under 55 points. It could have been even lower, but the game was clearly out of hand since early in the first half.
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Tennessee will be in action again next Saturday when they host the Georiga Bulldogs to open conference play. It will be interesting to see how the Vols handle the pressure of being the best team in the league. They will be heavy favorites on Saturday but as we all know they will have to bring their “A” game to get the win against an upset-minded conference foe.