All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball tops Jacksonville State: Three takeaways from Rick Barnes’ 700th win

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - JANUARY 08: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers directs his team against the Missouri Tigers in the second half at Mizzou Arena on January 08, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI - JANUARY 08: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers directs his team against the Missouri Tigers in the second half at Mizzou Arena on January 08, 2019 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

A Tennessee basketball skid ended in a milestone for Rick Barnes. Here are three takeaways from the Vols’ 75-53 win over the Jacksonville St. Gamecocks.

It took three tries, but Tennessee basketball finally got Rick Barnes win No. 700. The Vols scored a dominant 75-53 victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks after back to back losses, at home to the Memphis Tigers and on the road to the Cincinnati Bearcats.

UT struggled in the first half, going seven minutes without scoring a bucket and falling behind 16-13 at one point. They were only up 30-26 at halftime. However, they dominated the second half to pull away and secure a blowout.

With the win, the Vols move to to 8-3 on the year. They are now off for a week before hosting the Wisconsin Badgers next Saturday. Meanwhile, Jacksonville State falls to 4-8 on the year and is also off for a week, returning to action against Carver College next Saturday. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee basketball’s outing.

1. Point guard play showed major development.

Lamonte Turner still has issues, and that’s why he didn’t take any three-pointers in this game. But his patience led him to score eight points, going four-of-six from the field, while picking up 11 assists. Meanwhile, Josiah-Jordan James was also able to move over to point, and he had 10 points and six assists. Turner still had five turnovers, but the improvement was real.

2. Jordan Bowden and Yves Pons got back in rhythm.

To win, Tennessee basketball needs Jordan Bowden to shoot well and Yves Pons to dominate on defense. Neither happened at Cincinnati. But Bowden returned, going four-of-10 from three and dropping 19 points. Pons added 11 points and nine rebounds, and he secured an incredible six blocks. So he came through as well.

3. John Fulkerson remains consistent on offense.

He could improve his rebounding, but John Fulkerson continues to score double-figures inside. The 6’9″ veteran did it again with 16 points, and he was an incredible eight-for-11 from the field. Fulkerson as a scoring threat can really help this offense going forward when it’s not shooting well, and he proved it once again in this game.

Home/Vols Basketball