All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee basketball: Three takeaways from 103-49 win vs. Tennessee Tech

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 18, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jaden Springer (11) goes to the basket against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 18, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Jaden Springer (11) goes to the basket against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Tennessee basketball Volunteers dominated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

Another dominant performance took place for Tennessee basketball Friday night. Fresh off their 79-38 win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers, the Vols scored another blowout win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

UT only trailed TTU early, 3-2, before taking off for a dominant win. In the process, the Vols broke the century mark and had five players score in double figures: John Fulkerson, Yves Pons, Josiah-Jordan James, Victor Bailey Jr., Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer.

With the win, Rick Barnes’ team improves to 4-0 on the year, and TTU falls to 0-8. Up next for Tennessee basketball is a Monday home game against the Saint Joseph’s Hawks. Here are three takeaways from the Vols’ Friday night victory.

1. Defense continues to be dominant.

For the third time in four games this season, the Vols held their opponent to under 50 points. It wasn’t quite what they did against App St., but it was still impressive. The fact that they could hold TTU to under 50 points and still be worse than their average shows how elite they are.

Thanks to aggressive play, UT forced 15 turnovers and came away with eight steals. The Vols also held the Golden Eagles to 31 percent shooting from the field and 26.9 percent from the three-point line. Simply put, they once again made nothing easy.

2. Inside play finally exerted its presence.

A big reason for Tennessee basketball’s success on defense was its inside play. The Vols had an amazing eight blocks. Yves Pons once again was the star with two blocks, but James also had two blocks on the night.

Olivier Nkamhoua, meanwhile, had three steals, shutting off numerous passes to the inside. He also had eight points, and Pons finally found his offensive rhythm with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Add in Fulkerson’s 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and this is what the Vols needed.

3. Freshmen had potential breakout games.

Honestly, all the guards played elite offensively. Bailey and James each had 15 points. Santiago Vescovi was the only one who struggled, but that’s because he got in foul trouble, and he still had three assists. At the end of the day, though, the real story for Tennessee basketball was the two five-star freshmen.

Johnson finally showcased his abilities with 13 points while shooting 5-of-8 from the field. Springer, meanwhile, led the team with 21 points. He also had six assists and six rebounds while shooing 8-of-10 from the field. As a result, Springer showed flashes of potentially being the best player on the team, and he and Johnson truly put their potential on display.

Home/Vols Basketball