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Tennessee basketball: Senior Night had everything fans love about the Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball’s 71-54 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Senior Night had everything that fans have grown to love about the Volunteers.

Coming off a huge win against the Kentucky Wildcats, you wondered how Tennessee basketball would handle the Mississippi State Bulldogs. There was fear of a letdown, and they also would have the distraction of Senior Night. After all, this was a tough opponent led by a great coach in Ben Howland.

Well, in the last home game for Admiral Schofield, Kyle Alexander, Brad Woodson and Lucas Campbell, we saw the exact opposite. Everything fans have loved about this team and this program was on display as they beat Mississippi State 71-54. It was as if Senior Night only propelled it. First, let’s look at the basics of what was great about it.

Quality win? Check. Remaining in the SEC title race? Check. Blowout victory in front of a home crowd? Check. Those are all the basics when it comes to what the focus has been for this team all season, and it was on full display.

But beyond that, the specific play in the game was also evident. Schofield’s profile throughout his career has been a guy who could play big inside but makes his team unbeatable when he’s hitting from the perimeter. Well, on Tuesday, he went 3-of-4 from the three-point line and led the team in scoring with 18 points.

Alexander, meanwhile, has been known for playing big down low and blocking shots. On Tuesday, he only had 6 points, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked an astonishing 4 shots. He was unselfish, which is why he only had 6 points, but he knew his role. And he always was good for a great dunk, which he had in this game.

Campbell and Woodson were known for randomly hitting three-pointers in garbage time. It happened again on Tuesday, as Woodson hit a late three-pointer that had the crowd rocking at its loudest all night.

Then there were the staples of the team. Grant Williams got his points with 14, which is common when Schofield is on, and he also grabbed 10 rebounds to get a double-double. Jordan Bone remained the distributor with 6 assists. Lamonte Turner got 6 as well being the combo guard.

And, as always, one guard did lots of scoring to help out. This time, it was Jordan Bowden, who had 12 points off the bench. He also played big with 6 rebounds and maybe finally found his rhythm, despite struggling a bit from the field.

Anyway, from the standpoint of the game, everything fans love about this Tennessee basketball team was on display. It was so perfect for them that even Rick Barnes couldn’t help but praise their performance.

Now, there is still lots for this team to focus on. They have one game left and control their destiny to clinch at least a share of the SEC regular season title. Then there’s the SEC Tournament. And finally, you have the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee basketball is enjoying its best year since 2007-2008, the first season ever they reached No. 1 and broke 30 wins. They’re on track to break 30 wins again this year. But this time, they’ll be hoping to also make a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament and win the SEC Tournament Championship, two things that eluded them in 2008.

A Final Four is still something that has eluded this program. That is the thing that would send these seniors out the way they want to go. But at least on Tuesday, the pressure was off for them to have a bit of fun as they enjoyed another dominating, quality win. It was all just perfectly laid out for them to deliver, and they did.

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