Tennessee basketball: No.1 Vols take care of business in Cuonzo’s return

The Tennessee basketball team continues to win. Here are three takeaways from 72-60 wins in Cuonzo Martin’s return.

Welcome back to Rocky Top Cuonzo Martin.

Missouri is a tough bunch, from the opening tip they were making everything tough on the Vols’ offense. Jordan Bone was trying his best to carve up the Tigers defense, but they were collapsing on every time the ball found the painted area.

The first half felt like a typical Cuonzo Martin game. Tennessee was able to go on an 18-2 run with a couple of Admiral Schofield three-point jumpers. However, Missouri fought back and was only down six at halftime.

It was a great start to the second half for Tennessee. After Missouri cut the lead to 37-33, the Vols responded with an 11-2 run to extend their lead to 48-35.

It happens just like that. And, it can happen at any point of the game. It also helped the defense was a tad bit better. It was suffocating at times; it looked a lot like the defense that was played last season, one of the best defenses in the nation.

For the majority of the second half, Tennessee lead by ten points or more. Tennessee ended up pulling out a 12 point victory. Here are three takeaways from the game.

1. Tennessee hosted a blocked party

Man, where did that come from?

It looked like vintage Tennessee, and when I say vintage, I mean last season’s defense. At times the Vols were suffocating not allowing Missouri many good looks.

The Tigers only shot 35.4 percent from the floor, including a low 29.6 percent from the three-point line. One of the reasons Missouri didn’t shoot well is because they couldn’t get anything going in the paint.

Kyle Alexander led the way with four blocks. He also added six points and eight rebounds in what is one of his most productive games of the season. If Vols want to make a deep run, they need Alexander to protect the rim that well.

Grant Williams added two blocks, while Admiral Schofield, Yves Pons, and Jalen Johnson got in on the action for a total of nine blocks as a team.

2. Welcome back…Admiral Schofield

This is the Admiral Schofield we’ve all came to know.

We mentioned the shooting slump, but it appears that he’s found his rhythm. Schofield scored 13 points on 5-for-10 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from deep.

Surprisingly this was the first game since Arkansas that Schofield knocked down at least three long-range jumpers. However, this was his third game in a row shooting at least 50 percent from the field.

3. Yet another double-digit win

Were the Vols tested? Yeah, they were. But, once again they overcame the opponents best shot and still won by double digits.

The 12-point win gave Tennessee their 7th double-digit win in conference play and their 18th of the season. Whenever a team gets close, somehow someway the Vols pull away. Tonight was a mixed effort with four players in double figures, and Lamonte Turner poured in nine.

The Vols are in action next on Saturday when the Florida Gators come to town. The game will be televised on ESPN at 4:00 pm E.T.