Tennessee basketball shocks Mizzou 69-59: Three takeaways from Vols road win
In their first SEC road game, Tennessee basketball upset the Missouri Tiger 69-59. Here are three things we learned from the Volunteers’ victory.
Maybe this team isn’t in so much trouble after all. Tennessee basketball has lots of things to work out, but the Vols got their first SEC win of the year by upsetting the Missouri Tigers on the road Tuesday night 69-59.
With the win, Rocky Top improves to 9-5 and 1-1 in league play. Mizzou, in its third year under former UT head coach Cuonzo Martin, fell to 8-6 and 0-2 in SEC play. This was a huge victory for the Vols after they lost their SEC opener at home to the LSU Tigers 78-64 and had not won a game since Lamonte Turner’s season-ending shoulder surgery.
Although the Vols built a 10-point early in the second half, Missouri took a 53-50 lead with just under seven minutes to go. But Rick Barnes’s team controlled things the rest of the way, withstanding early foul trouble and serious dry spells. Here are three takeaways from Tennessee basketball’s huge win.
1. Three-point shooting carried the way.
Honestly, what happened in this game is not necessarily an anomaly, but the Vols won’t be doing this every night. They went 11-of-24 from three-point range. Josiah-Jordan James hit three of them, Jordan Bowde and Santiago Vescovi, who continues to be red-hot shooting, hit two of them, and Yves Pons hit one of them.
What was slightly an anomaly, though, was Jalen Johnson coming off he bench an d hitting three three-pointers. The Vols win with great outside shooting and John Fulkerson then taking advantage inside, which he did in this one with 11 points and six rebounds, resulting in six guys hitting double-figures. But it’s going to be tough to continue that.
2. Defense and free throws made their return.
Even if other things aren’t working, Rick Barnes’s staple with Tennessee basketball is making sure the Vols win games even if they are struggling shooting the ball and the other team is red-hot. It finally came back in this one. The Vols forced Mizzou to shoot 35.2 percent from the field and held them to 59 points.
When it came to free throw shooting, UT went 12-of-17, crossing the 70 percent mark. And they also out-rebounded the Tigers 33-29. James actually led the way on that front with seven. But it was a team effort overall, and if these little things come back, the Vols have a chance.
3. No clear point guard led to more turnovers.
Santiago Vescovi can shoot, but he still struggles on other fronts. As a result, Rick Barnes has to go by-committee at point guard. Combine that with ticky-tack calls in the first half that put stars in foul trouble, and the Vols showed they clearly have an issue with turnovers.
This team committed 21 on the night, with five coming from Vescovi and four coming from Josiah-Jordan James. John Fulkerson didn’t help matters, though, with five, and Yves Pons was reckless with three. Those two veterans have to be better to help Vescovi and James.