Tennessee basketball destroys App St. 79-38: Three takeaways

Here’s what we learned from the Tennessee basketball Volunteers’ win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

In a dominating performance from start to finish, Tennessee basketball improved to 3-0 on the year with a blowout win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers Tuesday. The Vols jumped out to a 13-0 lead and never looked back, pulling away for a 79-38 win.

This was UT’s first game against a non-Power Five opponent. Last week, the Vols beat the Colorado Buffaloes 56-47 and Cincinnati Bearcats 65-56. Meanwhile, Appalachian State fell to 4-2 on the year.

Up next for Tennessee basketball, who is ranked No. 10 in both polls, is a Wednesday matchup against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Here are three takeaways from the Vols’ victory at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. Tuesday night.

1. Dominant defense becoming historic.

Coming into the game averaging nearly 81 points a game, Appalachian State couldn’t hit 40. In addition to a 13-0 start, the Vols had a 32-8 lead over them late in the first half before they went on a 5-0 run. The Mountaineers only shot 27.9 percent from the field, and they were 23.8 percent from the three-point line. Meanwhile, UT forced 18 turnovers, gaining 13 steals and five blocks.

It was a highlight reel. Yves Pons had an epic block off the glass from behind and two steals, as did Santiago Vescovi. John Fulkerson had two blocks and three steals. Keon Johnson had four steals and made one a highlight reel with a transition bucket. Josiah-Jordan James and Uros Plavsic each had a block. Jaden Springer and Victor Bailey Jr. each had a steal, and Bailey was elite defensively.

2. Offense found its rhythm thanks to dominant inside play.

Heading into the game, Tennessee basketball had some clear issues scoring out of their half-court sets. Head coach Dustin Kerns’ entire focus has been to develop a dominant half-court defense, and they came in allowing 66 points a game. Rick Barnes relied on his trademark, though, and used a dominant inside game. At one point, UT was winning the points in the paint battle 42-10.

The Vols finally broke 70 and nearly hit 80. They outrebounded Appalachian State 45-27 and had 18 offensive rebounds. Fulkerson led the way down low with 12 points, but E.J. Anosike finally found his groove with six. Guards also scored in the paint, particularly Bailey, who hit five field goals inside. Springer, meanwhile, went 6-of-8 and had 12 points, all inside.

3. Shooting is still a bit inconsistent.

If we could say one thing negative about the Vols’ performance in this game, it’s the fact that they could get better shooting the ball. UT only shot 6-of-18 from the three-point line, and even with this dominant performance, they couldn’t break 50 percent from the field.

James was the only three-point specialist, hitting all three attempts. However, he went only 1-for-5 inside. Bailey, meanwhile, is still struggling to get his groove from the outside, and Vescovi hasn’t found his rhythm there yet either. Tennessee basketball shot free throws well and played great inside, but they need to be able to get more consistent outside to truly be elite.