Tennessee basketball dominates Kansas 80-61: Three takeaways
In what may have been their best performance all year, Tennessee basketball got revenge on the Kansas Jayhawks after losing to Bill Self’s team each of the past two years by dominating them in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. UT never trailed in an 80-61 win at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. Saturday evening.
Ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll and No. 17 in the Coaches Poll, UT got its first win against Kansas since upsetting the No. 1 ranked Jayhawks back in January of 2010. Kansas, had won three straight since then. This was Rick Barnes’ first win against Kansas since February of 2014, when he was still with the Texas Longhorns.
With the win, Tennessee basketball improves to 12-3 on the year. Kansas, currently ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll, falls to 11-6. Up next for the Vols is a two-game road trip to the Ole Miss Rebels next Tuesday and Kentucky Wildcats next Saturday. Here are three things we learned from this Vols’ win.
1. Yves Pons led a dominant interior performance.
Twice in the game, Yves Pons had to leave because he hurt both ankles. It didn’t matter. Pons came back in both times and led a dominant effort, coming away with 17 points and five rebounds. After 24 points and seven rebounds last year at Kansas, he has made a name for himself dominating this team.
John Fulkerson fed of Pons’ play and had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Insanely, though, Josiah-Jordan James had a dominant interior performance off the bench, coming away with nine rebounds and 11 points. UT outrebounded Kansas 38-23 thanks to those guys. Olivier Nkamhoua even helped, having four points and four rebounds despite getting into foul trouble.
2. Red-hot shooting turned this into a blowout.
Part of Pons’ dominant play was him going 2-of-2 from the three-point line. He wasn’t the only player elite from beyond the arc in this game. Tennessee basketball went 8-of-13 on the night on three-pointers, and Kansas going a mere 6-of-24 combined with the Vols’ interior defense helped them to dominate.
James’ nine points were all three-pointers, as he was 3-of-5, allowing him to dominate inside defensively and stretch the floor offensively. Victor Bailey Jr., meanwhile, was 2-of-4 en route to 11 points, and Santiago Vescovi hit his only attempt. This neutralized Kansas’ attempt to play zone. Add in the team going 16-of-17 from the free throw line, and they couldn’t be stopped.
3. Jaden Springer once again showed his offensive value.
Amidst an amazing three-point shooting night and epic defensive performance on the inside, Jaden Springer became the icing on the cake. Again, there is a reason the Vols are undefeated in games he plays more than five minutes and are winless in games he plays fewer than five minutes. Springer didn’t even hit a three in this game and was still elite offensively.
On the night, Springer had 13 points thanks to going 7-of-7 from the foul line. He also had a three assists, and for what it’s worth, he had four rebounds and a steal. At one point, he began drawing double teams but consistently found the open man, helping to open up Tennessee basketball’s offense. With him, this team appears unstoppable, and they showed it in this one.